8 August 2009

My early days in slot cars - Part 2

My introduction to the models that started me in the hobby showed my first couple of cars, the Ninco Ferrari 360 GTC and the Scalextric Ferrari 330 P4.

Today I'll present my third car. I decided to stretch the previous post to the "part 2", just because this model already earned its place in my heart - I scored my first race win with it!

The choice for third model fell on the Slot.It Ferrari 312 PB, #86, driven by the great Ronnie Peterson and Tim Schenken to 2nd at the 1972 Watkins Glen 6 Hours race, where Ferrari achieved a 1-2 finish with this model (check the Racing Sports Cars Archive in: http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/Watkins_Glen-1972-07-23.html).

Here is the photo of the model, taken from the Slot.It website:















Driving this model proved an altogether different story when compared to my previous models. I was left astonished after this first contact with true Slot.It machinery! Not only was the car dead fast straight out of the box - it broke all my previous laptime records - the option to evolve it made me wonder how far it could go!

I bought this car in April 2007 but the series only started in January 2008. This was my first full series that I took part, ending in a quite honorable second place (and surprising, too!). From the six races that the series predicted, it won the 3rd and last, with a couple of podium finishes too - this must also be my most successful model to date! Here is a picture of the car standing in the track, after a race:
















Amazing: I used some red tape to cover the headlights and the car ends up with a completely distinctive look!


The car did start another Classics series later in 2008, but some damage and lots and lots of miles proved it to be ultimately uncompetitive. After the first couple of races, I decided to give him a well earned retirement and completed the series with my other "barchetta", the Alfa 33/3, and finished the season with the NSR Ford GT40 mk.IV. But I still take my Ferrari to the track. I even tried the new generation Flat-6 motors in anglewinder setup, but the gear mesh proved too noisy for my taste (at the time there were no 6,75 mm pinions available from Slot.It, I have to try these new ones). Also, the heavier motor seemed to lack power at low rpm, something the stock motor has plenty!


Until next time, have a great weekend ;)

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