Pandemic Positives: Worldwide Slot Car Chat

 I know there hasn't been much good about the COVID-19 pandemic, aside from some hobbyists having more time to devote to some of their track and car building projects, but one thing I came across that has been a great source of information and enjoyment is the weekly Worldwide Slot Car Chat, hosted by Greg Gaub on his YouTube channel. Each week, since last April, Greg has been setting up a Zoom meeting for slot car enthusiasts from around the world to share their projects, tips, advice and experiences in an open forum that's fun and extremely informative.

The weekly Zoom slot car chat has visitors from all over the world.

And when he calls it "worldwide" - it's exactly that. Among the "regulars" and weekly visitors are hobbyists from Britain, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, All over the EU (Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, The Netherlands and more) as well as throughout the U.S. (even Hawaii)! Likewise, the level of experience and the range of specific interests adds to the enjoyment here. There are old-school modellers and racers who started as kids back in the 1960's, people who came into the hobby later in life who have created awesome tracks and built large collections, and relative newcomers who have lots of enthusiasm and lots of questions.

Like all the best online resources and gathering places, the discussions are helpful, positive and often fascinating, as everyone shares their unique perspectives and thoughts on how they enjoy the slot car hobby. While a dozen or more participants will appear on-camera, there are many other who just join in to talk sans video or just listen in. You'll find that some folks are more into car building, some into track building and scenery, many are into racing of various types and some just enjoy collecting. Whatever you're into, you'll find something of interest here, like:

3D Modelling and Printing
Track Building
Car / Chassis Design & Construction
Slot Car Manufacturers
Hobby History & Development
Racing Tips & Club Activities
Molding, Casting & Scenery Construction
Sources for Hobby Products & Accessories
Electrical Systems, Controls and Track Timing
...and much more!

I have been binge-watching all the episodes that have been posted over the past year, and I've learned a lot; it's almost like attending Slot Car School! Greg posts meeting times on all the primary slot car forums, so checkout a few episodes and join the fun. Anyone is encouraged to drop in--there's no registration or experience level required to participate, so you can log in, share something about yourself, and feel free to ask questions. You'll be glad you did.

New Additions to The Garage

 As I have been "off" from the hobby for a few years, I have some catching up to do in terms of  buying cars and adding them to my collection. I usually tend to buy in "spurts" - where I will get maybe 10 cars over a month or so after not purchasing any at all for 6 months or more, maybe longer.

I will get into a longer post soon about what I buy and why--I have by necessity limited my purchases to "full-bodied" race cars of the LeMans/GT/GTP/IMSA/Can Am etc. classes of cars, primarily from the mid-60's through the present day. It's not that I don't like other types, but I can't afford to buy everything that's out there, so some discipline helps focus my interests.

Here are some fairly recent additions to the Garage.

The purple Ford GT GTE by Scalextric is, in my opinion, the sharpest livery available for this car. I'm sure (due to its color) it will be one of my wife's favorites. I was pleased to add the Ginetta to my group of more recent LeMans prototypes; as a group, the modern cars are not so aesthetically pleasing--with all their lumps and bumps and fins--but I still like them. The SCX Renault Sport RS is a car I've had my eye on for a long time--the Megane in a similar livery seems to be everywhere but this one is not quite so common.

Overall, these make some nice additions to the stable and I'm looking forward to running them!

All in The Family: Visit Shamrock Stadium

Came a cross this nice article from the online newspaper in Kokomo, IN, featuring a local music and comedy performer who shares his love of the slot car hobby with his son. Alan Kaye got into the 1/32 hobby back in 2009, and has built not only a nice collection of about 70 cars, but a very sharp track that he has dubbed "Shamrock Stadium" as a tribute to his Irish roots.

For Alan Kaye, slot car racing is a father & son endeavor.

Remembering how popular the hobby was back in the 1960's, Alan explains in the article how he got back into the hobby when an old friend returned from living in the Southwest. He brought some of his cars back with him, and Alan found that he was hooked once again. As his own car collection grew, he started buying more track and eventually created his own scenic wonder, filled with figures, buildings and broadcast booths.

Another view of Shamrock Stadium

Alan's adult son has been bitten by the bug as well. He's started collecting on his own and intends to build a track at his home, too. While COVID has temporarily ended having guests over to race, Alan continues to hone his skills by racing against a timer. The break in action has also given him an opportunity to painting his racing room and modifying his track.

For the complete article, click HERE. 

So...What Have You Been Doing Lately?

Time flies by so fast - it's hard to believe it's been over 7 years since I posted something on this blog. And a lot has happened since then.

My trouble is the trouble I have with all my hobbies and interests: I have too many of them. I tend to rotate my activities throughout the year on a seasonal basis - and sometimes work and other long-term projects interrupt my hobby interests over an extended period. This has been the case since I went to a new department at work a few years ago and got involved in some historical projects in one of our city's neighborhoods, which has dominated my time for quite a while.

The most direct effect on my slot car hobby is that I have been working on remodeling my basement for the last couple of years and as a result, removed the track I had worked so hard to build--The Schweizering. My wife said I would have to give up the 10' x 12' space where the track was located so we could include some base cabinets and a dining table in the area. Her insistence met no resistance at the time, as I needed little convincing to tear out the whole thing and toss most of it, save some of the buildings, all the figures and a handful of scenic elements.

I had considered building some sort of portable track, but recently settled on a better solution--which is to build a new track that folds up against the wall in the very same space where I had the old track! I'll provide more details on this as I settle on a final plan, but essentially it will be about 11' wide x 5' deep (with a 3' x 2' cut out on one side to accommodate a basement window when folded up against the wall). As a result, track height variations will be limited to about 6.5 inches overall, as the whole thing will fold up into a box that's about 7.5 inches deep--so there will be no "hill climbs" like I had on the old track.

There was about a 16" vertical level change on the old track.

The fold-up track will allow me to primarily use the basement space as my wife prefers, but still provide enough room to enjoy a decent-size track of about 35 feet or so. Of course, any scenery or buildings over the height limit will have to be portable and easily placed/removed with in a short period of time. This will require a lot of planning, as I want to have some lighted elements and this will mean being able to place and plug in various scenery modules, but that will be a fun challenge. More to come...