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each but prices will drop soon and they do enable a much more realistic light output than is achieved with a singe bulb and fibre optics. I will equip a rally car with them soon and let you know how I get on. We are constantly being told to subscribe to the Scalextric Racer magazine as with out it there is no life in slot racing, etc., etc.. Recently I was shown a complete set of them and to find out where I am going wrong I read them from cover to cover. Took me about 30 minutes (I 9m a slow reader), and it struck me that if it were not for four NSCC members there would be no Racer at all. Sixteen pages every 2 months, that 9s 8 a month (I do more than that a WEEK for you) and not a great deal on racing, which is what I naively thought from the title, and some of the replies on the back page to readers enquires! Mind you I did glean a lot of information regarding takeovers and who now produces what, I mean, with Hornby Hobbies 9 current aggressive attitude to protecting their name and products all the products shown in Racer must be made at Margate mustn 9t they? It seems to me the only reason to buy Racer is the opportunity to purchase 8Limited Edition 9 cars at above shop prices, which from past experience will appear in the High Street stores at normal prices in 18 months or so. Sorry, but Racer is not for me. No. 205 April 1999 The independent club for everyone interested in all aspects of 8scalextric 9 type cars in all scales. 2 1999 Q: When is the TVR going to be released? A: The C2194 TVR is only just being shipped out, Hornby have told me (mid February). But I think I said that last month! Ah well, It is worth waiting for. Q: I have some track with 8Made in Argentina 9 stamped on the underside. Did Hornby start production in Argentina or is this an illegal copy? A: Hornby tell me that in the early 70 9s they sent two track moulds to Argentina, the standard straight and standard curve. The idea was to start up production there to avoid the shipping costs of exporting goods to the South American continent. I asked if there were any other moulds, especially those of cars, sent to Argentina but I was informed that only the two track pieces were sent. Q: What are the reports about the 8Senna 9 cars seen on the Hornby trade stand at the German toy fair? A: The cars, chiefly painted in Yellow/Green or Blue/White, are Diablo 9s, Audi 9s, Subaru 9s and the 8Sally Ferries 9 styles cheap F1 cars. The cars will be available, in Brazil, as set cars. Hornby are trying to establish a presence in Brazil and are using the 8Senna 9 livery as a marketing tool to try to penetrate further into the huge South American market. Needless to say, the cars will not be available anywhere else in the world so start planning your Brazilian holiday now! By Adrian Norman 3 I did warn Peter that he only had one page this month and that the Editorial pen would come down if he exceeded it - you can read the second page next month, adverts permitting! BELGIUM Brussels By Peter Morley W ell here we go again. Alan has asked me to keep it short this month, not for fear of causing excessive offense! Apparently he already has enough material for this months magazine, does that mean that some of you have swapped your hand- throttles for pens 3 or has he just found some more advertisers!! I understand that blue Opels (Vauxhalls whatever) are becoming harder to find in Toys R 9Us (sorry for confusing a Vectra with a Calibra last month), perhaps someone could get some figures and show Hornby how important the NSCC market is 3 and that despite his statement that "he can do what the 8smeg 9 he likes" a certain Hornby employee has thus far not outwitted the serious collectors amongst us. I think that the South American sets, that I vaguely mentioned last month, will be more widely available than we were told 3 certainly the shops here have been offered the four "Formula Senna" sets (2 Williams, 2 Subarus, 2 Diablos & 2 Audi A4s 3 not sure what connection these have with Ayrton (except for the dreadful Williams connection) 3 one car in white, the other green & yellow), perhaps it is like the Chevrolet Nascars which were available everywhere except for England 3 not that it stopped the more enterprising British dealers having them (and the Fords that were 8unavailable outside America 9) before most American shops&.. Talking of sets that are meant to be impossible to find, I was really upset to walk in a shop here the other day to see a "Super Tourisme" set, the one with the infamous Contract Hire Alfa in 3 several months ago I would have killed for such a set, but now that Hornby have sold off the cars in blister packs, at a tenner a piece, I decided it wasn 9t worth forking out the best part of a hundred quid for the exclusive box artwork. Still I did find a few pieces recently that should be impossible to find 3 a white Tyrrell 002 (C-48) thanks to our Mexican comrades. A blue Tyrrell 018 with Tyrrell tampoed on it 3 apparently when the lovely black & yellow colour scheme was dropped (something to do with Camels possibly?), they investigated various alternatives prior to the white & blue production livery. And Barney 9s Porsche 911 GT1 3 well a 911 GT1 in purple plastic reminiscent of a well known kids toy (that is supposedly intelligent 3 but if he was intelligent he would have nothing to do with Microsoft would he 3 yes my computers died again the other day, thanks Bill!!). I suspect the purple GT1 is a mould test for the TVR 3 I bet someone wishes they had simply moulded the car in purple, rather than painted it, rumour has it that the paint which was supplied by TVR reacted with the plastic, resulting in another delay to the TVR 9s introduction. Still that will hopefully give them time to sort the mould out and add the missing details like the air scoop on the roof, mirrors, headlight covers and correct the grille&. Apart from that I 9ve been running round looking for SCX trucks 3 how come someone decides to start a race series for them the minute that SCX announce that they will stop producing them!! I bet the importer wishes he 9d thought of that (ans sooner), suddenly a model that did not sell has flown out of the shops and has become a sought after item&. 4 1999 WHY ALL THE TOYS ..? BY D.C.SYKES PSYKEO @ MSN . COM W ow isn 9t it hard to think of a title for these little personal excursions. First off I would like to ask more experienced club members to respond with their own articles to one or more of some little questions I have. 1; I have seen pictures for a rewinding rig for electric motor coils . Does any one have a design for the rig, what gauge wire and how many turns where used for each motor type. Yes I am afraid that I tend to go by the yard stick that if one person built it I should be able to repair it, and hand rewiring and soldering did work for a defunct RX motor? 2; What exactly is the procedure for constructing an MDF slot track and laying copper tape. What hints, tips and tricks have members picked up? 3; Has any member tried producing a circuit where the lanes do not remain parallel for the full circuit length. For instance drawing close together through the apex of a corner, simulating a racing line, or allowing overtaking moves where they would realistically occur? Now then on with why all the toys. I finally got round to taking stock the other day and the result was a little shocking considering the roots of my interest. In the seventies my cousins had a large selection of track that my brother and I ran our cars on. Mostly we ran modern, at the time, such as the banger racers, Mini 9s, the Triplex Rover and the low loader rig. However in amongst the track was a small number of the original cars that had come with the track . Most of these languished at the bottom of the suitcase with the original catalogues and leaflets in several bits. The only ones still competing where a front engined Offenhauser that could out drag, down any straight, any other of ours or are friends cars, a BRM C89 that was not fast but refused to die. The others consisted of a C62 Ferrari, C87 Vanwall, C88 Cooper and a couple of formula juniors. I am sorry to say that I cannot stand to see something not in working order so I took these cars under my wing . The catalogue of problems would probably have condemned them to a spare bin in any one else 9s collection but I loved them more than the current cars and even though they more often let me down than ran I persevered. The little red Cooper taught me to solder wires, how to clean commutators, even how motors and electricity worked. Along the way I committed cardinal sins such as when the round pin broke on the Ferrari I removed it and replaced it with a brass tube glued in to take a modern guide. It never truly worked as the front was too high and the wheels span more than went forward but I learnt. It was the Vanwall 9s motor that I had to rewire the coil, mentioned earlier, it worked but the motor was under powered. Eventually the whole set became mine as my family relinquished claim on it and the track and cars went into storage only seeing the light of day rarely. Then at university I started to acquire the odd car that became available in a local model shop second hand such as a box of power sledges in bits for a few pounds. When my mate at the time found out about my growing collection I expected him to laugh, however I was dumbfounded to discover he had a reasonable collection of his own so we began to share the costs of buying cars through small ads and splitting sets 50:50 (or there about don 9t ask me about TR7 9s). It was then that we found out about the NSCC. I eventually joined up and now he has this year. Scalextric is to blame for my increasing interest in historic cars especially pre 60 9s racing cars and led us to see the reopening of the Goodwood race track (if Peter Morley needs any spare pit crew get in touch). This was a great event and I recommend it to anyone. For me to finally hear what the cars really sound like, I was born in 1966, was staggering. It makes me feel that the throaty rattle you get off the older motors is so appropriate to the models they propel as is the electric wine made by the modern cans. Any way this is why I have all the toys and thanks to the little red Cooper. 5 51 Clifton Place Shipley West Yorkshire BDI8 2AB Dear Alan, In the March issue, concern was raised regarding the Newsletters latest format and its similarity to a trade journal. I am certain the Newsletter represents a vital part of everyones membership. It provides us with an excellent means of communicating our thoughts and philosophy on a subject we all feel so passionate about. I believe the last thing anyone wants, is to see the Newsletter reduced to a cTrade rag d. As Members of the NSCC we should be aware and consider carefully how it looks and what is inside it. It is our contributions that make the Newsletter what it is, or is not, as may be the case. In fairness to the Editorial team, they can only produce a magazine so long as the membership provides them with the necessary material to do so. It is within our power as a collective Membership to ensure that the Newsletter continues to evolve positively. We are arguably entering a significant era in the world of Scalextric, Slot Cars, or what ever you wish to call it. After years of struggling with a lack of new and exciting models, there is now almost too much choice. It could not be a better time for the Newsletter to reflect such developments and indeed to a large extent it certainly does. My fear is, that because of the huge increase of available new models, the market may become saturated. This could possibly lead to a complacent, if not apathetic attitude towards the Hobby in general, my point being that I do not want to see a similar attitude towards the Club and its Newsletter. However, I certainly don 9t believe this will happen. Providing the Membership take full advantage of what they pay an annual subscription for, and make the most of what benefits they currently enjoy, there is no reason why the Club cannot go from strength to strength. As for the Newsletter, perhaps the colour advertisements might be replaced occasionally, [Or even permanently!] by colour extracts from catalogues of the 60 9s and 70 9s. Or how about colour photos of Members rare or favourite cars? Home circuits? Dioramas? The list is endless. Its up to us. If we want to see such things, and experience a varied and exciting Newsletter, then we had better haul ourselves out of the armchair, put film in the camera, put pen to paper and get on with it. I 9m as guilty as the rest but shall do my best Were lucky to have a Newsletter, lets enjoy it while we can. With reference to Nik Jefferies letter in the January Newsletter, I thought Nik might like to be made aware that IKEA sell very attractive glass cabinets. Each one can display about 40 cars, they cost £65 and go by the name cKRYSS d. Simiiar cabinets can easily cost twice as much elsewhere, so they seem quite a good deal, providing you live within travelling distance of the store of course. I hope this is of some use to you, Nik. Very Best Wishes, David Wisdom 1999 6 8 Smugglers End Handcross West Sussex RH17 6BQ E-mail: ian_metcalfe@lineone.net Dear Alan, I would be grateful if any member could advise why Scalextric have not produced all their Formula 1 cars in 1998 liveries with the correct tyre pattern (i.e. three grooves) except for the recent excellent Williams FW20. Whilst I imagine this has something to do with the re-livery of older moulds, can anyone advise me of a source of suitable spare parts for retrospective fitting myself, including shorter axles and smaller hubs? As a recent addition to the NSCC, may I also take this opportunity to thank you for the excellent magazine which I only wish I had discovered earlier. Yours sincerely, Ian Metcalfe 3 Tanner Street London SE1 3LE Tel: 0171 357 8005 email: 101355.1367@compuserve.com Did you buy........ I'm trying to trace anyone who bought cars from a collection owned by Laurie Paul, an ECRA racer from the late 60s and early 70s. His collection of cars, mainly 1/32nd kits (Monogram, Cox, Airfix, AMT, etc.) and scratch built 1/ 32nd ECRA race cars, was sold in late 1994 by NSCC member Marcus Ridley. I have so far managed to contact a number of purchasers but many cars have been resold and their present whereabouts are unknown. I raced with and against Laurie in the late 60s and very early 70s and would like to locate the current whereabouts of the cars he built and raced. If you have or think you have any of these cars I would very much like to hear from you. Niall Connolly 7 35 Rupert Brooke Rd. Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 6HQ Dear Alan, My neighbour and I are both NSCC members, and between us own approximately 65ft of track arranged into a 4 lane circuit, and have so far collected just over 40 cars. We now feel that it is time to invest in an electronic lap counter/timer. We have found that there are many reliable, reasonably-priced systems available for 2 lane circuits, but for 4 lane circuits the situation is not so clear. Investigation at swopmeets and on the Internet has revealed 3 contenders, these being: DS 030, Lane Master and Slot Master. The latter two systems seem much more advanced than the DS 030, (and are presumably much more expensive). I would be grateful if any members could relate details of their experiences with the three systems mentioned. In particular, details of reliability, user friendliness (and cost if possible). Similarly for other suitable systems not mentioned. Yours sincerely, Mark Edmonds Address withheld Dear Alan, Just a quick note to comment on two things: the great new layout of the NSCC magazine and the fact that the name has been changed. A long overdue item in my opinion. Just bearing in mind the manufacturer's currently producing 1/32nd. scale slot-cars, I think it was essential and with the new Racer magazine/club from Scalextric I could imagine there being licensing problems. I was a bit worried when there was a preponderance of articles on the HO scale stuff earlier last year. Is the committee's intention to ONLY deal with "normal" Scalextric scale products i.e. 1/32nd.? I certainly hope so. Best regards, Mark Robertson Mark, I will print any article (well non-libellous ones anyway!) on slot racing in any scale as I believe that they all have equal importance, and anyway I have to fill the newsletter somehow! 1999 8 IN PRAISE OF VACUUM FORMS BY T ONY S ECCHI N owadays there is a tremendous selection of 1:32 scale slot racing cars supplied by many different manufacturers, including several versions of the same model (Porsche 91 GT1 for example). So one would think that apart from collectors searching for rare items most enthusiasts would be satisfied. However, in my own personal experience this is not always the case. Take a recent example - about a year ago I bought and built the 1:24 scale Tamiya static kit of the Nissan GT390 raced at Le Mans in 1996. I liked the look of this model and thought that it would go well with other contemporary Le Mans cars in my competition collection. Unfortunately, a proprietary model did not feature in any of the main manufacturers catalogues. Not to be outdone, I purchased an AA Vacuum formed Plasticard kit of this model from Pendle Slot Racing. This model was first shown in the NSCC newsletter in March 1998. The body sits on standard Ninco Mclaren GT1 chassis and wheels. Power source is a Mabuchi S motor and I have added my own magnatraction between the engine and crownwheel. Using the Tamiya Nissan as a guide I painted the body in a similar style and added my transfers from stock. As you can see the visual aspect has turned out quite well (Figures 1 and 2 pg 17), and it goes as good as it looks. Because of its inherent lightness it runs, in general, against other vac formed models to keep the competition fair. It is great fun to have cars like this to race - knowing that they are a little bit different from those generally available. I hope this article shows that with a little effort and imagination one can extend the limit of on 9s enjoyment without spending a packet. After all that is what slot car racing is all about. THE ELECTRIC TRAIN THING BY B RENT F IELDER R ewind the years, back through the eighties, back past the seventies, start to slow down as the mid-sixties hove into view. That 9s it, stop, right there. It 9s 1965, I 9m eight years old. Recalibrate your mind into the one that inhabited your skull all those years ago. No computer games, no beeping Gameboys and no television in most of the houses down our street. Life is slower, simpler. We kids play with Dinky toys and marbles, catapults and bows and arrows. The only thing that gets plugged into the electricity supply is the reading lamp and the valve radio. The new electric train set of my neighbour is a thing of wonder and mystery. A black transformer with a red dial controls the speed of the Hornby train as it quietly circulates the simple circular track. Although I am honoured to be allowed to troop into their front room to witness the spectacle, I find myself becoming restless after some forty five minutes of relentless locomotion. Yes, it 9s marvellous, but it doesn 9t actually do that much, once you 9ve seen it go round and round then that 9s about it. A visit to my Aunt 9s house at around the same time proves to be a defining moment in my young life. They 9ve got something called a Scalextric. cIt 9s a bit like an electric train set d she explains as I am ushered off out of the way so that she and Mum can drink tea and gossip in peace. There on the floor of their front room sits my Uncle, he 9s putting together some black rectangular bits of plastic, I look on blankly. My cousin comes whooping into the room and declares loudly that he 9ll win the first race. I sit mutely and watch as the complicated wires are attached and the electric train thing is put together. Eventually my Uncle declares himself satisfied, it 9s ready. What is? I haven 9t got a clue, where 9s the train? Crikey! It 9s not a train, it 9s a little red 9 racing car and it 9s going round the track like stink! Wow, there are two cars on the track at the same time - and they 9re having a race! I slowly realise that my cousin and uncle are each controlling a car, making it go quicker and slower by pressing a little lever up and down. I couldn 9t have been more excited if the Martians had landed. That was it, I was hooked. Although I couldn 9t get my own set for another four years I never stopped wanting one and would talk endlessly about Scalextric to anyone who would listen. I 9ve still got my original cars and, like everyone else in the club, have been buying new ones ever since. And electric trains? ZZzz. DUNDEE SLOT CAR COLLECTOR AND RACING CLUB REPORT OF OUR FIRST MEETING BY R OY B UTCHART S aturday and its finally arrived after an awful lot of telephone calls to a lot of different people trying to organise the first meeting of our club and also trying to get rid of my wife, let me rephrase that, trying to get my wife out off the house for the night, so that I could set up the track in the living room. The other problem that faced me was what kind of shape it would take. In the end I managed a to solve both these problems after taking the afternoon off work to set up the track. I ended up with a disfigured figure of eight, and I must say a big thank you to my wife for setting up a lovely buffet. Anyway, 7 o 9clock came and the first to arrive was Steve from Cowdenbeath then everyone else turned up, seven in all. The living room was starting to get a little crowded but everyone brought along some of their own cars and everyone got a chance to try out everyone else 9s cars and discuss the cars handling qualities. Alan, from the NSCC, told us about how other clubs work and showed us some pictures from race meetings as far away as Australia. Although we didn 9t have an actual race everyone enjoyed themselves. It was very informal and everyone is looking forward to the next one on March 27th. Anyone interested can contact me on 01382 622012 {work} or 01382 462375 {home} or my mobile 0410 737326. mole@nscc.co.uk News has reached Mole Towers that as part of Mr. Blair 9s (sorry H.M. Governments) agreement to Euroise Britain (shafted is how some people have described it) and scrap the pound in favour of the Euro as the currency in England - I 9m sure an independent Scotland will still continue with it 9s own supposedly illegal sterling currency- he has also had to accept Brussels ruling BR54100/240/dom10/96. This ruling states that in order to provide harmonisation across Europe and allow for greater competitiveness, domestic voltages should be direct multiples or sub-multiples of 100 and that all plug fittings should also be multiples or sub-multiples of 10 from the year 2001. What this means is that domestic voltages will drop from 240V to 200V and household plugs will have 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 pins. It also means that your favourite hobby will have to run at 10V not 12V (or 18V at is normally is!). There is a sub-pharagraph which limits domestic appliances to 1A maximum which again will bugger up our cars as they draw considerably more than now. Write to your MP now to protest. Maybe this is all part of the global masterplan to make motor racing safer by making them go slower, perhaps Hornby will bring out a skateboard figure with a red flag soon! 1999 10 NSCC SWOPMEET MILTON KEYNES MARCH 14TH BY P HIL E TGART I t is easy to become a little jaded when you are a veteran of NSCC swopmeet. However, the comments from a number of the clubs newer members reminded me what a totally mind blowing event my first pure slot car swopmeet had been some years earlier. The impact of this years NSCC Milton Keynes swopmeet must have been fairly significant for first time visitors as the volume, diversity and quality of items on offer was impressive. As ever the event commenced with the car park trader rhetoric soon after 7am. Talk was of many things, but one of the key themes was the sheer volume of new products expected this year. Not a new theme, but significantly more product than ever before. Slight concern was voiced that the total product overkill seems to mirror 1967/8 just before the slot car bubble burst. The feeling was that whilst collectors are streamlining their collections, in order to keep the volumes of new product they need to acquire down to sensible levels, that generally the market is fairly healthy. In this position we hopefully won 9t see a repeat of the late 60 9s early 70 9s slot car marketplace! Whilst everybody has their own preferences, it seems that collectors are moving away from post Exin era Spanish Scalextric (i.e. Tyco and Technitoy output), and that due to its lack of development in the last five years Ninco product is now also falling from favour with collectors. Minor brands only seem to be of interest dependant upon subject matter (e.g. the Reprotec Fiat Abarth, Pink Kar Ferrari 250 GTO). The collecting market seems to be polarising towards Hornby Scalextric and Fly cars, with the reputed quality of the Hornby TVR Speed 12 it will be interesting to see how the two key players unfold their product development strategies for 1999. One of the key issues both companies must address if they are to retain the support of the collectors market is the current difficulty in obtaining information about product in circulation. This is an issue on a number of levels, firstly the lack of definitive information as to what has been produced. Recent examples are the recent (mis?)information regarding the Fly Limited Editions a Repsol Porsche (which according to Spanish sources is much talked about but not yet seen!) and a slot race commemorative Limited Edition version of the S11 Porsche 908 (which again is much talked about but unseen). By the same token there is the frustrating situation that has unfolded in recent months with the unexpected appearance of unannounced liveries (e.g. Thompsen Telecom Calibra, Toys- R-Us set orange and blue GT1, yellow Agip Formula Loundse and a series of seven 8de- specified 9 cars including 2 XJ220 9s in a John Lewis set). Collectors have their own means of finding out information, but relying on sources such as the Internet is not always prudent as things have a habit of not always appearing. Returning to an earlier point in this article if the product overkill and 1968 syndrome is in the air then brand loyalty is more critical then ever and every pound spent with you is worth two as it 9s also one your competition are not getting in a highly competitive market. So other than the micro and macro economics of slot car collecting what were the themes of discussion? Not unexpectedly who had what to offer i.e. what new product was in circulation? Surprisingly in the light of a slightly weaker pound, there were less visitors from Spain this year, and with the exception of Santi Alsina they bought mostly new cars with them to swop. If you extrapolate the logic of this situation it becomes apparent that the Spanish are as keen as ever to get old English Scalextric, but that the focus on collecting older Spanish 11 models is stronger than ever as so few were brought over to swop! The former Spanish distributor for Pink Kar, Carlos Portabella, had a few of his personal Pink Kar rarities for sale. These included yellow, pale blue, dark green and clear GTO 9s and Bugatti T59 9s in pink, clear, plinth mounted chrome and one of three gold plated cars in brown suede presentation boxes which were made for the three principles of the company. There were a small number of rarer Fly Limited Editions which changed hands fairly early (chrome Marcos, red Marcos, S11 Porsche 908, etc.). However, I saw no Viper Pacecars which have exceeded the £400 barrier mint boxed. The selection of Scalextric items in the hall was very impressive. Your 8Scalextric dollar 9 ( should that not now be Euro? Ed. ) could have purchased any of the following mouthwatering items; Sierra Cosworth metallic purple plastic, BMW 318i clear mould test, Fiesta pale blue abandoned Scorpion livery and an ivory Benetton with front wing, rear wing and barn doors in turquoise! Also on offer was a resin prototype of the Ferrari P4 complete with wing mirrors that had disappeared by the time the finished car arrived. As an aside the same designer had also had the resin prototype Lamborghini Muira and Ford 3L, but had given them to his daughter to play with all those years ago. Nothing remains of those two!! Brian Walters continued to clear through items from his personal collection, which this time included a fairly amazing VIP collection for sale including a Frog Eye Sprite, Austin A40, two stock cars, Porsche Carrera 6 and the Ferrari Dino. Brian also continued to offer a number of Spanish cars at seriously cheap prices, but disappointingly some things just did not sell (e.g. Ferrari F1/87 blue near mint boxed £20 - unsold!!), possibly indicative of the fact that there was just too much to choose from! Milton Keynes also offered a very rare opportunity to purchase a white Bison Datsun. This was a fully tampoed version and looked as though it was not suffering the flaking that is so common on these ultra rare cars. Also available was not only a near M/B Ternco Metro, but also a far rarer tampo error version missing the side tampos. As far as older collectibles went several very desirable items changed hands including an excellent red and cream tinplate electric Healey, a yellow DB4 with no marks and a simarly spotless powder blue DB4. A good selection of accessories were also seen including the rare early electric lap recording building and a near mint boxed rubber track paddock. A set of the carded blister packed mid 80 9s cars was also sold including the Sieger, Casio and the rare dark blue Track Champ still sealed in its blister pack!! On the more modern Scalextric front a small number of burgundy Impretza 9s had re- surfaced, a handfulof the plain black Monte Carlo 9s, the first of the Taurus NASCARS had surfaced and a handful of the 1999 product launch XJ220 mettalic red trade only were offered. Prices seemed to settle at £150 although it was worth noting that those who missed last years Diablo 9s that one or two of those were around at less than the much nicer looking Jaguars! The queue for club XJ220 9s was endless but people seemed to be holding on to them! There was one table with a nice selection of Mexican cars all in nice condition (i.e. complete, straight and with decals) and prices were fairly reasonable. Quite a few rare colours were offered Sigma 9s in gold, blue & green, Corvettes 9s in red & blue, white Mclaren, orange Honda, dk. red BRM, blue Stratos and an orange Mini! The quality & diversity of items on offer was well up to MK standards if not far beyond!! A very successful day with the last trader still packing up well after 5pm!!! Thanks to Nigel Copcutt and his team for the hard work organising the event and heres to next time!! 1999 12 I shall be trying harder this year to extract higher quality information from Hornby Hobbies. As mentioned by Peter Morley in last months 8Winding Up 9 column, there were a couple of sets made for toy stores which slipped past the net. One was the Calibra Cup set (C1027L) for Toys-R-Us with a blue Calibra 8Hutchinson Telecom 9 livery (C2110W). The set sells for about £40, has a very small oval circuit and the other car is the yellow 8Old Spice 9 Calibra. Argos also arranged a special set with Hornby Hobbies. This is £90+ set called 8Porsche GT Endurance 9 (C1032K) and contains two striking Porsche GT1 cars. C2138 is a metallic blue and C2139 a metallic butterscotch, minimal tampo printing with racing numbers 45 and 46 respectively. C2K LIST : A few updates from last months 9 list. The main points of interest being the possible Pontiac NASCARs and the two sets from Toys-R-Us and Argos. C2110W Opel Calibra 8Hutchinson Telecom 9 - Blue: Sold in set C1027L 8Calibra Cup 9 through Toys-R-Us. C2138 Porsche GT1 - blue, No45 (from set C1032K Porsche GT Endurance only available from Argos 8Superstore 9 (not smaller Argos outlets) C2139 Porsche GT1 - butterscotch, No.46 - as C2138 C2143 Ford Taurus NASCAR - Quality Care C2144 Ford Taurus NASCAR - Primestar C2164 BMW 8Mensel 9 - has been replaced by 8Ceccotto 9. C2185 Pontiac 8Skittles 9 (last reported to be Chevy but now possibly a Pontiac) C2186 Pontiac 8Hotwheels 9 (as C2185, confirmation to follow.) C2207 Ferrari F40 8Scalextric Racer 1999 9 gift. C2228 Jaguar XJ220 81999 Range Presentation 9 For NASCAR fans not fortunate enough to have seen the new NASCAR vehicles yet, you ought to take a look at the new versions. For instance, the old C2022/3 Kellogg 9s and Kodak cars are completely revamped with the new body versions, complete with driver and all-over tampo printing. These are C numbers 2135/6. They are worth looking at as a static model but even better as a racer. Spot the difference. The Ford Mondeo C2043 is lit and C2090 is a 8de-spec 9 car that is unlit. That is the official difference between the two cars but no doubt many of you have seen tampo and colour glass variations. Goodness knows how many Renault Laguna variations there are! FACTORY LINES by Adrian Norman 13 ROGER GREENSLADE 9S BOOK SOME INFORMATION BY J EFF D AVIES R eading February 9s edition of the newsletter I saw Roger Gillam 9s advert for Roger Greenslade 9s book, cA History of Electric Model Roads and Racetracks d and I may be able to add some further information. The book was on sale to the general public, and I was given 0004 by Roger Greenslade in February 1986 in Bristol, where he signed and inscribed the book to my son Richard, as I had supplied several of the cars shown in the book to him. I believe there was talk of another run of 1000 books but I am not sure what happened. I joined the NSCC in March of 1982 after Steve DeHavilland informed me of it 9s existence at a swopmeet. Shortly after joining Roger Gillam was kind enough to invite me up to his house to see his fabulous collection and we raced on his 1/24 track in the garage, and he took me to my first Scalextric swop meeting. I still have the cars I purchased on that day - a Ferrari 250 and a Mercedes 1905L, along with about 2,000 others of all makes and scales. Since that day I have written, raced, collected and been involved with numerous television programmes about slot cars, writing for Model Mart, Slot Car Monthly and numerous other magazines and papers. I have seen the price of cars rocket from a couple of pounds each to the current astronomical levels for the rarer cars. I can remember, on my first factory visit, buying the white Capris with black & red frames and chrome bumpers from Hornby 9s factory shop for £1.50 each, and walking into an old toyshop full of old Scalextric cars stacked floor to ceiling that they had discovered in their warehouse. I immediately purchased the entire contents of the shop, including several Cox Glowplug engined models, one of which, a custom trike, is featured in Roger Greenslade 9s book on page 110, figure 501. Another model was a single seater pole racer with a Cox engine which I sold to Barry Smith. The Scalextric cars went to everyone, including both Roger Gillam and Roger Greenslade. I have often searched out old model shops to repeat this discovery but so far with no success. In 1988 I ran the Tyco National Slot Racing Championships after doing a television programme for TVS called cNumber 7T3 d. I really enjoyed the three days this programme took to make and spent a very enjoyable evening with John Watson on the evening before the programme was broadcast live on a Saturday. Over the years I have been given a large number of either rare or prototype models from various manufactures like Tyco, Corgi, Matchbox, MRRC, Scalextric, etc. (I have the first Renault Mégane to come away from the factory in a box, one of a limited edition of 5000 models, however the box is unnumbered, the first couple of Vauxhall Vectra 9s to make a programme for Channel 4, as well as the first two FLY silver Venturi 9s which were airmailed to me direct from the factory to make the same television programme). All of these and many more I still have, which leads me to ask: How could Roger Gillam have sold such a beautiful collection? Mine is going straight to my son. Since childhood collecting and racing slot cars has given me immeasurable pleasure (and nearly driven my wife to divorce me too!). 1999 14 V JUST TOY CARS OR 1S THERE MORE TO IT? BY R ICHARD W ALLACE H ighland Slot Car Club had a very successful two days at Elgin Model Fair in November 1998 raising £300 for club funds and attracting a number of potential members. Highland Slot Car Club was formed in 1997 with four founder members - Richard Wallace (Strathpeffer), Roddy Morrison (Dingwall), Ronnie Mackintosh (Culloden) and Alisdair Mackay (Invergordon). The canoraks d as their slot widows call them, started regular get togethers to race a variety of cars and things have not looked back. Initially racing took place at Richard 9s house on a home made track, but since then a larger four lane track made of wood, with copper tape to supply the power along side the slots, has been built. This was the track shown off to great effect at Elgin. The trip to Elgin had a number of aims, to raise club funds, attract potential members and make people aware that there is lots more to slot cars than setting up Scalextric on the living room carpet. In addition the club is desperate to find permanent premises in either Dingwall or Inverness to allow the construction of a longer track which would be more suitable to run the full range of slot cars. A space of at least 40 feet by 20 feet would be ideal provided it is secure, dry and. has power. A. low rent would also he very atractive. Richard Wallace has had a stall at Elgin Model Fair for a number of years, dispalying a variety of slot cars which he collects, but this year taking the big track along was undoubtedly one of the star attractions (Figure 3, pg 15). The expressions on faces told its own story! During the two days a dozen slot cars were given away as prizes for setting quick laps and it wasn 9t just the lads either. Victoria Scott from Burghead set a time on Saturday morning which was to last well into Sunday when it was beaten by another girl, Heather Taylor from Stanley (Perthshire). Young John Buchan was determined to acquire as many cars as possible but was beaten to the fastest time by Roy McKeand from Elgin who received £25 of gift vouchers for his efforts. The prizes were generously donated by The Model Shop, Inverness; The Sports and Model Shop, Dingwall; Gaugemaster Controls plc (Fly and SCX); Riko International (Ninco); Monarch Lines (MRRC and Carrera) and Hornby Hobbies (Scalextric). If anyone is interested in coming along to a club night or has premises which could possibly be available then please contact Richard Wallace on 01997 421070. BITS AND BOBS B Y M EL T URBUTT F ollowing the publication of my article in the March edition of the newsletter, the editor has kindly agreed to let me produce a series of further articles featuring the kind of cperipheral d accessories that bring a Scalextric layout to life. Some of the articles will feature ready made accessories and some will give ideas on what can be scratch built or adapted from other forms of modelling. As I work away from home (and therefore the computer) these articles won 9t arrive on a monthly basis, but hopefully will appear from time to time as and when I come up with something that I think may be of interest. Before I go any further, perhaps you will indulge me while I explain my approach to collecting the models that bring us all together. I received my first Scalextric set for Christmas in 1964, aged seven. I can still remember arguing with my dad in the toyshop as I had picked the 50 set (with BRM and Porsche F1 cars) and he wanted the 60 set (Ferrari and Aston Martin GT 9s) because the cars had working lights. Eventually I won the day and the rest, as they say, is history. 33 years later I finally got around to joining the NSCC. What has surprised me since then is the number of members who collect Scalextric cars and never take them out 15 of their boxes. I couldn 9t even comprehend getting the latest offering home and not using it, but there again I do also race a genuine 1964 Mini which many people would lock up in the garage at the first sight of rain. Now I 9m not knocking the true collectors, if that 9s what floats your boat then that 9s your business, but for me half the fun of our hobby is in cdriving d the cars as well as looking at them. For me things also have to be fairly realistic irrespective of which company makes them, hence my rally car collection includes the SCX Corolla and will NEVER feature the Scalextric version no matter what colour they paint it. As far as the club racing aspect of the hobby is concerned, well I was put off that some years ago after witnessing a red blob with pink tyres beat a blue blob with green tyres. Perhaps things are different now, but the Movers and Shakers TV programme certainly didn 9t tempt me to dip a toe into that particular water again. OK, enough of the soapbox, on with the plot. As I said in the original article, my layout is permanently housed in my loft so many of the accessories that I 9ll be talking about may not be suitable for those who have to manage with a temporary one. For this I apologise in advance. I was in a similar position for many years and have whiled away many an evening designing the ultimate circuit (in fact I still do). My only aim is to pass on a few ideas and perhaps promote some interaction through the newsletter, after all there must be others out there who see a building or other feature at a race circuit and think cnow that would look good on the old Scalextric d. This month 9s article concerns a cheap way of building cArmco d type safety barriers. During a recent visit to my local DIY store my attention was drawn to the display of wooden mouldings which Lawrence and his mates on Changing Rooms would use to make a boring old door into something a bit more gothic. These mouldings come in all shapes and sizes, but the one that attracted me was flat at the back and had four rounded strips carved into the front (Fig.1). When viewed from the front it looked exactly like Armco barrier. I purchased two eight foot lengths of this moulding and an eight foot length of thin doweling for £3.00. Once up in the loft I measured the area that required a new barrier and set to work. First the moulding was cut to the appropriate size. It was then marked off to represent where sections of barrier had been joined. I worked on every 100mm because it looked about right, but this will depend on the total length of barrier required and dividing that into equal sections. For instance, if your barrier is 330mm long then divide it into three lots of 110mm. A saw cut was then made half way through at each of these marks to represent the join (Fig.2). Next the position of the finished barrier was marked on the baseboard and holes drilled to accept the posts which would support it (that 9s what the doweling is for). I used a hand drill rather than an electric one as it causes less of a problem with the sawdust and doesn 9t make the human population of the layout jump around like some mass rave. Not every post needs to be buried in this manner, just the end ones and perhaps a couple halfway along a long run of barrier. The remaining posts can be just glued Figure 1 Figure 2 1999 16 into position. I cut the dowel into 400mm pieces for the posts that are cplanted d and 300mm pieces for those that will be stuck in position. With all the materials prepared it only remains to glue the longer posts into the drilled holes using a shorter post as guide to ensure that they are all the same height. The completed length of barrier is then glued to the planted posts and held in place with clothes pegs until the glue (PVA, where would modellers be without it ?) has set. The shorter posts can now be spaced out evenly and glued into position (Fig.3). Now go and put the kettle on. After a couple of hours the pegs can be removed and the barriers painted. I painted mine Aluminium, Figure 3 Figure 4 but all sorts of colours have been used at real circuits. The finishing touches come in the form of advertising banners attached to the front of the barriers. I use suitably sized logo 9s cut out of magazines such as Autosport (Fig.4). To add some variety I also sliced some of the mouldings lengthways and stuck one strip above the other to represent two layer barriers (Fig.4). So there you have it, a cheap and easy way to make your circuit safe and all for a couple of quid. For those who really want to impress professor Sid Watkins and the rest of the safety commission, you could add safety fencing to the top of the barriers made out of the mesh sold for car bodywork repairs, but perhaps that may form a future article. Before I go, I should mention that Armco is a trade name that has become generic rather like Hoover, Portacabin, or even Scalextric. In actual fact the steel barriers that line many circuits are called Ayrton safety barriers and are made by a division of British Steel. So there you go, you learn something new every day. Bye for now, Mel.

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