20 replies to this topic

[Allan Wakefield]

So there I was thinking my skills were getting better and along comes Mr. Schwaar and proves me a novice once again.

This is a resin model kit made by 'Feindesign' of Germany and has been built and detailed by Pit Schwaar.

It sits on the usual high tech German 'nuts and bolts' chassis by Schöler.

Rivets are real and not painted on anywhere.

The pictures speak for themselves...

[Cheater]

I am speechless (and that almost never happens, as most who know me will testify to!).

The pic of the engine and exhaust system shows detail at a level never seen on slot cars. The exhaust pipes seems to show scale corrosion and rust!

WOW!!!

I understand Pit actually races these incredible works of art, too. Bet he's careful not to deslot much, though...

[TSR]

Allan, it is just... too much!

Fantastic work, don't crash it!

[Jairus]

The bar is raised yet again...

[Cheater]

J,

I don't think the bar can ever get any higher than this...

[team burrito]

Simply stunning, everything else is a toy car.

[Allan Wakefield]

I think, at this moment in time, that the Germans understand scale form, detail, and the balance between good looks and on track performance better than any other country.

These cars race for points and there is a concours element with a maximum of 20 points. More are possible but the maximum is 20. These points rely on quality of build, finish and attention to details.

I am sure, like most of their 1/24 scale racing cars be it modern or old timer, none of them are true 1/24 scale in terms of fine measurement but the overall balance is not found anywhere else at this time. Especially if you consider how fast and hard they DO race these cars.

Sure they are not as fast as D3 (for example) but turn faster lap times at 10 volts than almost all 1/32 cars on just a Fox 1 motor. As an example many might associate with, on our track (44m routed wood) an out-of-the-box Slot.it Group C car with trued tyres and 12 volts will lap at around 8.5 seconds. A DSC car at 2 volts less will lap in around 7.8 seconds. A D3 turns in a lap time in the low 6 second mark.

What makes the whole scene lively, fun, and ultimately fairly safe considering the monetary value on the track at any given time (lets face it, nice they are but they are also damned expensive) is that everyone racing also marshals. They have a vested interest in making the driving as safe as they can whilst still being on the limit and they all concentrate as hard as they want their opponents to do when it is their turn. A dedicated 'chaos' marshal with control on track power is also required at all races. This is not over-used, only when a car can not be retrieved before placing others at risk.

If anyone is ever over in my neck of the woods (Zürich) I welcome the chance to take you to such a race and let you try these for yourself. True appreciation of these works of art only comes when you have driven one hard.

Oh and Dokk? Sadly that one isn't mine

If you guys are interested I will get one that is mine and open it up to show the inner workings.

[Tex]

Excellent! Superlative! I've seen the German cars on Jens (what's his last name? or is it Dieter Jens?) website; always very detailed cars.

What is super is the fact that THIS Lotus 40 has the CORRECT (oops!)... KORRECT exhaust bundle as opposed to the Dynamic/Lancer/Russkit (sorry Dokk, don't know the actual makers specifically) Lotus 40's which have essentially an Indy car Ford exhaust bundle molded into it.

GREAT-looking car.

[gascarnut]

there is a concours element with a maximum of 20 points. More are possible but the maximum is 20.

?

How does this work?

[tonyp]

It has to do with the EU.

[Ron Hershman]

Outstanding... love that detail on the front spoiler/air dam.

[Ron Hershman]

A couple of links to more beautiful cars...

A few here:

http://deutscheslotc...%... Top 10.htm

Lots here...

http://deutscheslotc...erie.php?sid=30

Dennis should know these guys...

http://www.slotcars.co.za/

[Hworth08]

The car doesn't look that good to me. There are no fuel lines to the injectors? Bet the engine won't even start! Just joking, a beautiful job!

The headers are a real work of art. We used to call them 180 degree or cross-over headers as two cylinders from each head ran into each collector with the purpose of better scavenging the exhaust gases out of the cylinder. Dyno proved it worked but those things were a nightmare to route in a stock car. They sure produced an unusal, beautiful pitch though, almost a whine, giving a stock car the sound of an Indy car.

[68Caddy]

I saw this car on Edo's side of the world.
I been depressed ever since I saw this miracle.

Nesta aka 68 Caddy

[Jean-Michel Piot]

I already spoke of this car in another topic, answering to the Dokktor that the best Lotus 40 I know is the one made by Fein Design. Only very few things have to be improved on this car (the rear lights and ? put springs on the exhaust, make a metalic rear view miror), but apart from those minor things ...

Have three of them at home, waiting to be built.

You can build it in either Jim Clark's or Richie Ginther's livery as both raced during the 1965 LA Times Grand Prix. The front spoiler also slightly differs from Clark's version to Ginther's one.

Note that Pit Schwaar did not build the photo-etched support furnished in the kit for the rear-view miror

I wrote to Karl-Heinz Hornberg to congratulate him, order several cars, and tell him that the "Lotus Ford" decal on the nose of Ginther's car was wrong because it was white instead of yellow, showing him a picture taken during the race. He answered me that he had ordered additional decals to correct this and, few weeks later, I indeed received some. So as from now-on the kits are even more accurate. A very nice guy who does a fantastic job.

His web site is here:

http://www.fein-desi...l.de/index.html

If you go at "News" section, you will see that Karl-Heinz also very recently issued the same car in John Foyt's white livery, as raced (well, just an attempt, it did not finish the race) in Nassau. Perhaps Fein Design will also propose the more popular pale blue version of Foyt's car that also first appeared during the 1965 LA Times Grand Prix.

As I now have almost every vintage Cox car I wanted, I will rather spend my time in the future finishing the Cox cars I have and only or mostly building Karl-Heinz' beauties. See for instance his splendid Chaparral 2A, below the Foyt's Lotus 40.

Last thing. Were the wheels gold or rather yellow (like they were for the Team Lotus Lotus 30)? The dust of the race might have made them look in such a color that German modelers we spoke of were confused. Frankly speaking, I do not know. I will ask people at Classic Team Lotus (managed by Clive Chapman, Colin' son), just in case... One thing I'm sure of, on the very same car as illustrated here but earlier in 1965 (in August by the way, at the Trophy Guard race) the wheels were black.

[Allan Wakefield]

How does this work?

There is a points system for various elements. If a car has enough elements complete it is possible to get over 20 points. However 20 points is the cut-off with anything over that being ignored. I will try and find a score sheet to reproduce here.

[Allan Wakefield]

OK, a few in-depth looks at the DSC cars.

This one IS mine and has seen around three hours racing in all...



Details are all there for the seeing...



These 'Weisel' tyres need a polish as they need to start with an almost mirror finish. These are left from the last race and you can see the wear in the fish scale look. Another one polish and they will need replacing so the diameter does not shrink too much. Further down you can see the debris build up inside the car...



The underside, in this case a 'Schöler' chassis...



Note brass weights to help conform to minimum body weight and aid performance. Also interesting to see how the outriggers are fitted to the body...



The chassis sans body, also fine-tuned and tweaked to suit the car...



After three hours, roughly, on the track it shows only two signs of wear. A crack under the right exhaust...



And a stone chip on the side under the light cover...


For a deeper look into this series spend some time HERE. It is all in German but pictures paint a thousand words and if you browse over to the 'concours' section you will see fairly clearly how the complex marking system works.

Enjoy...

[Quickcars]

That might be the nicest Lotus 40 I've ever seen in any scale. Amazing level of detail and the thing actually runs! I've seen some of the tracks these run on and they are as nice as the cars!

[TSR]

I already spoke of this car in another topic, answering to the Dokktor that the best Lotus 40 I know is the one made by Fein Design. Only very few things have to be improved on this car

Jean-Michel,

I hate to be the one throwing a wrench in the bicycle wheels here, but while the detailing is as good as any static model of premier quality and the work is outstanding, the body shape, obviously patterned after a modified Cox model, is not that good and simply in my opinion, does not capture the bulbous lines of the type 40 at all.

In fact the Russkit vac body would have been a much better starting point.

[Horsepower]

Party pooper! You have to admit these two cars are FAR beyond the abilities of mortal men.

[marco]

Pit Schwaar announced on the German Forum that his company Phoenix Racecars will close at the end of this year. He has some inventory remaining for sale until October 31st only. His contribution as a maker has few equals. Last call!