211 replies to this topic

[Jairus]

I connected Philippe to John Greczula via email and let them talk it out.

John's response was enlightening to say the least. Whether they choose to modify the kit or drop it altogether I don't know. My understanding was that this was suppose to be a "collector item" of sorts. Nobody at AMT really believed anyone would build one and try to race it.

At any rate, I forwarded a link to John and he passed it onto the designers of the actual kits. So... to that end, I have been very careful about what is said here and that it remain helpful and informational.

[welslotcar]

Jairus, thanks for your thoughtful and thorough report on the AMT kits and their build-up.

And thanks for your diplomatic services between the slot car buyers and racers and the model/slot car manufacturer.

FYI, your artwork is prominently displayed in the current Round2Models Newsletter email (just sent out today).

[Jairus]

Really? Cool.

[Ramcatlarry]

FYI: This review turns up in the Google search for AMT Slot cars.

If the chassis KIT was offered as a separate carded item along with secondary cards for 1/24 and 1/32 wheels and tires, then ALL brand kits on the market could be built using the frame. Pricing is the question... A $20 model kit and a $15-20 frame plus other parts is worth HOW MUCH?

I intend to use 1/32 scale wheels and tires from Super Tires for the Batmobile.

[sportblazer350]

All you really need is a suitable hardbody kit and one of these:

So who makes this chassis? model#? this looks intersting, need more details!

[James Wendel]

It's ProTrack, but sadly the chassis has been "on hold" for months.
http://protrackcorp.com/24hardbody.htm

They made a sidewinder version for a while. I don't know if that one is still available.

[MG Brown]

That Pro Track chassis does look interesting.

[Champion 507]

Jairus,

Any word yet on if Fords or Mopars are in the future for these?

[Jairus]

No mention from AMT regarding any second issues. My last conversation with John was with the impression that the first batch would be the only issue. He truly seemed surprised that anyone wanted to build one and thought they would be purchased as a collectable.

I know... it made no sense to me either.

[TSR]

Very bizarre reasoning actually. Generally, collectors collect objects that ARE collectible.

[Roger Schmitt]

here are the next 4 kits coming out

due out 9/30/12
'62 Pontiac Catalina
'61 Ford Galaxie

Due out 11/30/12
'71 Dodge Charger RT
'66 Olds 442

[skeeterbuck]

No mention from AMT regarding any second issues. My last conversation with John was with the impression that the first batch would be the only issue. He truly seemed surprised that anyone wanted to build one and thought they would be purchased as a collectable.

I know... it made no sense to me either.

If they were meant to be "collector's items" them it seems to me they just should have went on epay and bought several mint 60's AMT kits and just sent them to China and told them to just copy them.

[Mark H]

maybe they would have designed them better having known people where acually going to use them and not just be shelf queens?

and what Charles said, i thought thats what these where in the first place, it would be really cool if they repoped the originals.

[TSR]

Sometimes, people do bizarre things. This one is indeed quite bizarre. What a lost opportunity.

[sportblazer350]

What i find strange about this whole topic- AMT can produce the same slot car as a kit that i built several years ago. what i made was quick, easy to assemble, and only took a few minutes to have a completely ready to run slot car. Here is what i did- from a slot car website from Las Vegas (?) that is no longer in business, they were selling ProTrack rtr 1/24 hardbody chassis ($40 then) along with your choice of AMT promo model cars ($25ea). I purchased a '57 Chevy, which was completely assembled AND painted. The body is 1 piece, no gluing hood, trunk, or any other parts; interior is a tub type, 1 piece, chassis is 1 piece, front and rear bumper assemblies are each 1 piece. The bumper and chassis assemble together with 1 screw front and back. Unscrew the 2 screws, toss the chassis; screw back on the front and rear bumpers, glue/tape in the interior tub assembly- now a complete, ready to use body. Line up the rtr chassis, mark 2 holes under the interior tub, drill holes in chassis; i used 2 wood screws to attach the chassis to the interior tub (body assembly) and now i have a rtr slot car, painted, assembled, complete, and it works fine!!!

So- what AMT really needs to do: use their existing line of prepainted model kits and/or promo cars, purchase the complete chassis assembly from a company that already makes them (e.g. ProTrack, H&R, Scaleauto, etc), OR pay whoever is pressing out the re-issue AMT brass hardbody 1960s era chassis, add a real 1965 era 36d motor (thousands of nos available), add the rest of the chassis parts, and you have a usable slot car kit that can be collected as well as raced. And can be quickly and easily assembled.

NO need to design a new chassis- there are usable chassis existing. There are prepainted and decorated, even assembled bodies (promos) available within AMT's line. so what's the big deal here anyway at AMT???

the vintage era packaging is right on- perfect!

the model kit bodies- no interiors? glue in the hood? no good decal sheets? : waste of money and effort

the chassis- not usable as is- a complete waste of time and effort.

i am really glad that AMT issued these retro kits, and i hope they do a better job with a different, and usable, chassis design, with better body kit components next time.

[Jairus]

AMT sent me a NEW Slot Car kit to review. This time it's an Oldsmobile 442. Came last Friday and it was not until this morning that I figured out a plan for this one!  More on that later...

 

 

At first glance I can see that a lot of great improvements have been made, including aluminum set screw wheels, a nice looking set screw crown gear and some set screw spacers which do away with the difficult "cut your own" spacers.  Most of this is standard slot car fare and I applaud AMT for following suit.  

 

I'll open the box tomorrow morning and get the chassis built. Pictures too of course. 

Stay tuned this week for updates on my "modified" version.  

 

Because I plan to add bits from the Revell "Hurst Hairy Olds" in order to build a proper drag car this time. (2 new drag tracks just opened up in my area and I wann'a play!)

[MSwiss]

Good for AMT for improving them.

[Joe Mig]

Jairus do you have any pictures of your first AMT kit in this post that are of the finished car?  We'd love too see it.

[Jairus]

That's because I never got it finished Joe. I sent it to AMT for them to examine the modifications, or more specifically the guide mounting modification. And I just received it back on Friday with the new kit.

The body is painted and mounted but no bumpers, glass or decals yet. Hope to find time to finish it up over the holidays.

 

[Steve Deiters]

I'm curious.  Who do they feel is the potential market for these kits?

[Jairus]

I guess I never asked.

 

But sales of the first run are selling so well that they made vast improvements in the next run. So... there is a market out there after-all!

 

I am uploading pictures and feel that this one just might make a good class for running the flat track!

[Jairus]

Okay, I opened the box and took some pictures. First the parts, then my opinions on some of the changes followed by the build up.
Should get this done today sometime. 

 

As before, the parts are arrayed out under the box top and packaged below in little plastic bags.

Window glass is both kit stock and vacuum formed tinted. (The latter eliminating the need for an interior.)

 

Decals are of course BEAUTIFUL!!!!  Whom ever designs these (I think it's John G. himself) should do a line of decals aftermarket in my opinion. Because I would love to have extra sheets of all the Slot Car kit decals for other projects.

 

Chrome tree seems a bit empty. Probably because this is an old mold from one of the AMT model kits where they only run plastic through the body, chrome and clear.  Wheels and extra parts are blocked off.  But... no worries. I have some great plans for this one.

Stay tuned as the build up is next!

[James Wendel]

Jarius - I have great admiration for you painting and model building skills, but the screw heads through the body sides look awful, (in my humble opinion).  Please consider Velcro or H&R button mounts.  

[Jairus]

The assembly:

 

All four wheels are now set screw and cleanly made. An allen wrench is provided to tighten.

 

 

Guide still remains two piece with "assemble yourself" brushes.

 

Allen set screw is same size as the industry standard! Way to go AMT!  

 

Wheel inside measures about .575.

 

Assembled wheel measure 1" dia. exactly.

 

The motor goes together same as before, screwing the adaptor to the motor and then fitting the NEW brass gear. (previous was plastic)

 

 

But... found a problem. The armature shaft seems to drag slightly on the adaptor.  I tried to reposition the adaptor and then tighten the screws but it still touched the shaft. Even swapping the screws and turning the adaptor around didn't help.

 

So.... 2 minutes on the drill press with a step-drill provided a solution. Unfortunately it's a solution that should not be needed.

But then... I might have simply gotten a bad adaptor so no judgments. Just reporting.

 

Now we're cooking!  

 

Onward! 

[Jairus]

Continuing the assembly... I got the motor pod assembled. Gear is slightly wobbly with out the set screw. This creates a slight not-concetric rotation for the gear. But after a minute of running gets quieter and quieter since aluminum is softer than is the brass pinion. The more it works the smoother it becomes. 

 

Wheels fit the axles with no wobble. Very clean tight fit and the set screw provides a good hold. But... the axles are about .0001 smaller than an industry standard 1/8th drill blank axle so replacing them will require some mill work.

The bearings are the same nylon and no problem. Cox, Monogram and Classic used these during the vintage years so no drama there.

 

Now we have a roller.

 

Brushes go together same as before.  I suggest soldering the braids to the brass clips... or replacing them entirely. But.... I managed to follow the directions with one change...

 

 

The only change from the directions was soldering the wires directly to the brush clips.

Other than that... the above chassis is build directly from the directions.

One last thing to note is the guide nut. While the nut is same as in any Parma guide package.... the threads are not. For some reason the shaft diameter is smaller or for whatever reason but the guide nut will not remain tight.  As before, I would suggest changing out the guide and crown gear for better Parma items. But that would be all I would change with this version. 

 

That is saying something!

Now... time to mount the body.
And I prefer screws regardless of what others might say!