Model Race Cars...

a racer waxes nostalgic!

Article by Marek Plachecki

4/11/04

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Within two years he has read everything he can in Model Car and Track and Model Car magazines, routed his own track, powered it with twelve volts, bought up discarded cars from kids in the neighborhood, and switched to MRRC 15 ohm barrel controllers. He is racing Strombeckers and Monograms and Atlas purchased at the local hobby store. He knows four fellow racers that continue to meet and race and laugh over scale cars till the end of high school, through all the changes in their lives and adolescent pains.

The town even has a Speedway for a few years, where the locals hang out and run 1/24 blobbies. Its fun but not the same. He rebodies his Classic Manta Ray, with a Ferrari P4, and astonishes the guys by running a real looking car!

College, life, work, marriage change his life. He is a man. His parents have given or thrown away all his slot car stuff when he asks whatever happened to... in the late seventies, its all gone. By the time his son is born in '82 slot cars seem a dusty old extinct hobby. But he is racing HO (Tyco and AFX) to rekindle the past. His son is growing up with HO... and computers.

Its 1999. The man is staring at a Scalextric Hockenheim F1 set. What is this? The Brits never let Scaley die? The glint is in his eye! He buys the set! He researches on the internet. The passion is back! The Hobby is alive! There are others like him out there!

The little boy is me and now I'm more involved in model car racing than ever. I've rekindled a hobby that gives me hours of recreation.

The track by now (Autodrome) is a Scaley classic four lane, "u" shaped layout in the "car" room consisting of two 8x4 tables, one 5x4 and one 3x4 table, allowing for a fast 50 foot circuit.

Details are added all the time. Its a constant work in progress and part of the work is a nostalgic hunt for, and rebuild of some cars from my past. Although it can be done, the cost of actually finding the original cars on eBay, Electric Dreams and other sites is often quite prohibitive. But some of the old timers can be replicated.

One of my friend's favorite cars was a Monogram Porsche 904 in silver. Although narrow he could run great challenges to my Ferrari. What luck that MRRC produced its Clubman Kit, including the original 904 body from the original molds. The new Porsche 904 runs great with its hotter modern motor and better tires. Its a trip down memory lane.

My absolute favorite car from the past was a Ferrari 275P by Monogram, which was a giant killer on my routed home track in the 60's. In my memories, clouded by pink glasses, no matter what the guys ran, this car managed to squeak out overall victory. Once again MRRC provided a modern day replica, which when fitted with a Slot.it motor and PM bar magnet, eats the competition in races of the Sixties, when my son and I compete.

And then there was my Ferrari 250 GTO/LM, a giant killer in real life and on the slot track. This car, originally by Monogram with the Mabuchi mid size can and lovely adjustable brass chassis, was so smooth, and MRRC's Clubman kit with body from the original molds is a great replica, with stunning performance that can be tuned to suit your track.

As in the distant past much of the fun derived from model car racing for me is in the tweaking, assembly, tuning and construction of the cars. I love to race, and run, ready to run cars like the Monogram Cobras and Corvette Grand Sports of today, but assembling these nostalgic beauties as tributes to my youth and the slot cars of the past is something I will always enjoy as great fun.

I have worked on and assembled an assortment of F1 and sports cars of the Sixties from a variety of sources but I'll save those for another rambling article.

There is an enormous variety of cars, tracks, skills, interests, abilities and people out there enjoying the hobby. Have a great time doing what you enjoy and find rewarding as a great hobby! And don’t take it too seriously! If you are of the age that you remember the boom era of the 60's or just new to the hobby, take a trip down memory lane and hunt up the cars that made an impression on you from the near or distant past. It's well worth the smile on your face.

Good day, eh!