10 replies to this topic

[mdiv]

Fellas,

 

As debuted at the June 6th C.A.R.S. Monthly First Thursday of the Month Vintage Meeting, please find below my latest finished Amateur Vintage Slot Car project - A Tribute to dc-65x: mdiv's Penske Zerex Special!  

In 2008, SlotBlog!'s own, dc-65x, Rick Thigpen, built a "Dawn of Time" Slot Car that just "got my juices flowin'!"

 

Here is his build:

 

The Dawn of Time

 

The swoopy curves of the Penske Zerex Special, and the history of the 1:1 car just totally did it for me!  It took almost 10 years, but I finally finished my own version.

 

I acquired a HowmetTX Bodies for Beer repop body several years ago from the fantastic workshop of John Dillworth and in a drawer it sat, patiently waiting for this young, naive vintage slot car enthusiast to man up and build the damn thing already!  Over the past two months I pieced together the parts to build her and threw caution to the wind and do things I've never done before:  paint my own PETG body (using Rick's great painting guide using the Testor's Enamel rattle cans), and paint my own interior!

 

My intent was to do a photographic build-a-long like the other masters of this Forum, but an amateur I am and well, in about 3 days she went from final part received to track-ready.

 

So, I will detail the build similar to a cooking recipe: ingredients and finished product.  Here goes:

 

Body:  Bodies for Beer Pactra Reproduction PETG Penske Zerex Special

Paint:  Testor's Enamel rattle can Red (1 coat only, no silver backing even though I also got silver and gray from the hobby shop)

Interior:  Clear Russkit butyrate driver/steering wheel figure, with Professor Motor painted/detailed Russkit head

Body details:  Warmack Mirrors along with silver/black sharpie body detailing

Motor:  The venerable Russkit "22" with included 8-tooth pinion and green/blue lead wire

Dynamic Rear Motor Mount for Enbell-drive 16D motors

Electric Dreams reproduction Dynamic Brass Tongue, cut-to-size

Dynamic Brass front axle carrier with Nylon bushings - screwed and copiously soldered to the tongue for that "no-twist" result!

Dynamic 3/16"-post, screw-type braid guide flag

Cox screw-type braid

Tom Andersen Front wheels/tires (foam)

Tom Andersen Rear wheels with solid rubber tires (his foam-coated rear wheels are amazing, oh how I miss Mr. Andersen )

BWA Cooper wheel inserts, painted gray (last set that Professor Motor had! Al! Come back to us!)

White Meatball and #6 decals (wish they were stickers, they got a lil scuffed up )

RGEO reproduction dynamic "T" body mounts, using Velcro strips to secure body to chassis

Cox 30T crown gear

Parma drill blank axles, cut to fit to allow wheel inserts

The humble skills of a shakey modeller

 

All this resulted in (drum roll):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And track test results?  She's awesome! This 'lil slot car modeler couldn't be happier with the speed, brakes and handling on The Race Place's Red Lightning.

 

I hope I did you proud, Captain Rick!

Fellas of the 'Blog, I invite your comments and critiques.

 

Mike D

[n.elmholt]

Mike, great job

- to add a nice finish you ought to sand the inner edges of the windscreen. I normally use a Dremel first, then wet sand to get a smooth finish :-)

Feel free to take a look at my tutorial for clear bodies here:

http://neckcheese.bl...ar-plastic.html

 

Niels, DK

[dc-65x]

Hi Mike,

 

Great vintage build!   I'm glad my thread got your "juices flowin'!"   I really enjoy the building and posting but when someone else get inspired to build, well, that's the best! Thanks!!!!

[Pete L.]

"Lookin' Good Man" !

[Lone Wolf]

Very cool, Mike.

 

I'm with cheese neck on the windshield. 

 

Looks like a salted Margarita glass in the pics 

 

A Dremel and a fresh #11 blade will work wonders.

 

You could also flow a little thinned water base flat black in the recesses of the wheel inserts to make them pop.

 

Love the rubber too, looks really beefy.

 

I always liked those Russkit 16's. 

 

They really run nice.

 

Makes a man feel good to see a creation actually go around the track.

 

Build on 

[don.siegel]

Nice one Mike, and one of my favorite cars too! Very much understand that "leave it in the drawer until inspiration strikes"! We're all a bit like that, and it does eventually strike (although I probably have some models in project drawers that have been waiting 20 years now....). 

 

My only hint was already given by Niels - the Dremel sanding drums are very good for that kind of thing. 

 

Keep on buildin'! 

 

Don 

[Bill from NH]

Neat looking car MIke! Does your NJ vintage club race similar spec cars? You're not the only one who misses Tom Andersen. I've bought a few bodies from Tom, but not his tires, decals or other items.

[mdiv]

Thank you thank you all  The windscreen was my epic fail, tried filing and xacto.  Didn't use the dremel, /bonk self.  Used it for the wheel wells.  I may go for getting rid of the margarita salt but not sure, I'm quite happy as is -- the critiques are appreciated though!!

 

Bill, our vintage club raced Rehco Sportsman/hot rods (k&b bobcat motors) as well as various 36D big can cars back in '07.  After some time it was pointed out better to just run for fun and not wreck anything 40+ years old --- I have a hoot just runnin with Pete seein if our tires are good and what we can get for a hot lap.  Rodney is playing softball this summer I think and Steve may be flyin airplanes.  We'll get more when the weather cools down, I'm mad I forgot my camera yet AGAIN.  

 

By the way fellas, if you're looking for inserts check out Dart Hobbies from Canada.  Mostly 1/32 but I think their 0.450" with 0.490" adapters will fit the Russkit rims.  Waiting for my batch to come in to try.

 

Mikey

[Bill from NH]

Not to rain on your parade, but earlier this year several people on HRW had very long waits for delivery of ordered products from DART.. I don't know if everybody eventually got their orders or not. DART Hobbies is the company Al Penrose (BWA, another Canadian) sold out to when he stopped selling slot car parts. Those inserts may be some of his designs. Hopefully, you won't experience these kinds of ordering problems.

[mdiv]

Hi Bill,

 

Thanks for the heads up and I get your drift - it took about a month to get a PayPal invoice from DART after my order email and I haven't gotten a shipped notification yet.  Luckily for me Professor Motor had one set left of BWA 1/24 Cooper wheel inserts that I snagged and used on this very project.  

 

My next project is going to use an original Russkit Cooper Lang body kit that includes chrome wheel inserts.  I was hoping to try out the DART parts but if that's not in the cards I'm not too worried.  This new project is still in the parts gathering stage and I'm trying to figure out what kind of livery I can conjure up.

 

I really do miss Tom Andersen.  The last bit of business I did with him I think he was selling me parts that were in his pictures.  Really detailed and high quality sets of inserts and painted bodies, and at very reasonable prices.  I built a Ferrari SWB car off one of these and I think the body cost $35.00, very nicely painted and detailed.  I'm kicking myself in the shins - I sold the car on eBay, really wish I still had it.  Ah well.

[Bill from NH]

I wish Tom would come back making bodies, or somebody else with a vac machine & interested in making bodies would  get his body molds. I've never heard why he shut down so abruptly. There was another person from Ft. Wayne on HRW  who club raced slot cars with Tom & Tom's brother,but I've lost his name. He is the same guy who build brass/wire F1 chassis that Tom sold for awhile.