Slot Car Illustrated, The Online Magazine for Slot Cars! - HO

Articles

El Camino 1969

Published: November 22, 2002

Every once in awhile during my daily surfing of slot car shopping, a car seems to comes out of nowhere and grab me. This is exactly what happened when I was innocently shopping at Slot Car World and I spied the Nu-Rora El Camino... except in this case it was in HO scale and not 1/32nd!

For the folks who are veterans of HO scale, Nu-Rora is nothing new, however for a novice like myself; I was unaware of the models they offered. After I had called SCW and demanded (begged?) that this beautiful Chevy be sent to me quickly, I went straight to their website to learn more.

After poking around the site and reading about my latest addition, I discovered the reason why this car looked so fantastic to me. It is the efforts put forth by Nu-Rora that makes these cars what they are.

Many hours are spent painstakingly making adjustments on the bodies until they meet their criteria. From upgraded guides to accurate wheels, they are intent on providing the modeler with a quality product.

I was amazed at the detail when I first seen the photographs, but that didn't prepare me for when I first seen it up close and personal. From the added surf boards to the color combination, this car really impressed me. And then my wife Cindy got a peek at it. She had a 69 El Camino herself years ago, and she immediately snatched the car from me and declared it hers. How could she do that? How I ask you?

I wish I was better at digital photography, because these photos do not do this model justice.

Arriving unharmed and intact in the attractive Nu-Display box, I couldn't wait to open it up and get an up close and personal look. The car is held in place quite well by double-sided tape, yet easily removed and once I had it in my hands, I was very pleased.

As the saying goes: "It's all in the details." Designed to fit the classic Thunder Jet Chassis, the body detail showed me just how much effort was put forth. From the side and front emblem SS and painted grill work, to the snaps on the bed cover, this model shined right down to the license plate detail. I found the surf boards to be a nice touch and seems to round out the model.

The paint and markings were clean, crisp and showed no signs of fading or unevenness. In my opinion, the mold lines and body shaping detail were outstanding, you can see they took their time on it.

The wheels and tires were also nicely done, having a great scale appearance, and all seemed round and true. I have very limited experience with any other after-market wheels and tires in HO scale, but they did impress me on the detail. They have worked hard in reproducing these wheels to be as close to scale as possible, and yes, you can even get these separately to improve some of your existing models.

This isn't the only car available of course. They have a 69 Camaro and 69 Mach 1 also available, and an awesome 37 Ford is coming soon. And for those who enjoy painting and detailing their own cars, you can purchase these body kits unpainted and ready for your own artwork. So if you have a few Thunder Jet chassis lying around, and you arer not sure what to do with them... well... now you do!

Perhaps it is because I am a "newbie" in some ways to the world of Thunder Jets and HO Scale that this car impressed me so much, but I like to think I know a great model when I see one, regardless of scale. It is the attention to scale detail that I appreciated, and I am sure you will be too. Some might think the price tag for one of these beauties is a little high, but I disagree. At $49.95 you are getting a excellent quality slot car, that when you take into the account the hours put into its creation, really isn't that bad, at least in my opinion.

I spend that much and more in 1/32nd scale on some models and never think twice. I am of the opinion that the scale should not dictate price when it comes to quality.

But as much as the car did, the people who created it did as well. Their dedication to the hobby and credit they give to other companies on their own website showed me I was dealing with a very professional and motivated company.

Their intent on helping the hobby grow is priority one, and I couldn't agree more.

If you have passed on these models before, do yourself a favor and grab one soon, you will be happy you did. Even though my collection of HO scale is pale in comparison to most, I can promise you it will include many more of these creations. After all, you can't have too many slot cars...can you?

Adding one or two to your current collection is highly encouraged. It was definitely worth the wait!

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