Planning a Pit Building for The New Schweizering

Although it will be awhile before I can actually start construction of my track, I know enough about the overall design parameters that I can start building some of the major elements that will go into it. The major element here will be the grandstands and pit building, which will be built primarily from scratch while integrating the four Artin Grandstands I have into its upper level. The planned structure will actually be made in three separate sections, as all the buildings on the track will be removable and stored when the track is folded up against the wall. During setup, they can be dropped into place and the electrical connections for lighting can be plugged in.

This is the preliminary plan for the 3-level pit / grandstand structure.

Since the backstory of The Schweizering is that it is an all-new Swiss racing circuit featuring modern, state-of-the-art structures and amenities, I had to come up with a suitable design. Some of the buildings (including this one) will feature large-scale graphics showcasing some of the great Swiss racing drivers of the past, like Jo Siffert, Clay Regazzoni and many others. As usual, I construct these buildings primarily out of foam core, supplemented by cardboard and some bits of wood. Since there is a lot of glass--particularly in the central control tower--I've got plenty of acrylic sheet on hand, too. Integrating the Artin grandstands is pretty simple; the top level of the structure essentially gets "built around" them.

I think the large scale graphics on the side of the building will have a lot of impact.

I construct the building from the ground up; I used corrugated plastic board for the facade of the pits, as I like the subtle ribbed texture it has. I sprayed it with a silvery nickel metallic paint, to give it a contemporary, modern look. Foam core makes up the side and interior walls, which are covered with self-adhesive wall sheets I created on an inkjet printer in various color combinations. The photo below shows the individual wall sections ready for assembly; when ready, I'll print and place the interior back walls but the interior lighting will have to go in first. As you may note, the building is only about 6.75" deep, which just barely accommodates most slot cars; this is due to space limitations but should be adequate from a visual sense.

Here is the facade of the pit garage with the interior walls ready for assembly.

For interior lighting, I'll be using some LED strip sections in bright white, which should work well for the pit garages. I'll probably use a warmer white lighting in the VIP suites and the upper grandstand sections. While it's not rocket science, planning and running the lines to keep connections to a minimum and maintaining portability takes care. As I move forward on construction, I'll try to show as much progress as I can and even take some videos.

First it was Garden Railroads. Now We've Got Garden Race Circuits...

Came across this cool video on the Goodwood website, featuring a wonderful 1:32 slot car track built in a back garden. The track, named the Borussia Ring, get it's name from a former colliery and features a number of fine plants scattered around the track. Thankfully there's plenty of space around the edge of the track, as I spy some real rocks placed along the layout.

This is green racing indeed...in a garden environment!

For more information and the original article, check out the link HERE.

Another Conversion Prospect: Ferarri 250 LM

While I know there are ready-to-run versions of the Ferarri 250 LM out there (at about $70 or more a crack) I have so far held off from purchasing one.  There have been many times in the past when I could have purchased a car when it first came out at about $50 or so and delayed long enough that it went out of production, became slightly rare, and subsequently was only available at a premium price.

It's an old kit from the 80's but complete and in like-new shape.

To that end, I picked up this nice MPC kit from the early 1980s which I intend to convert to a slot car. I have a few extra chassis available that might fit; I could also go the 3D printed route, I suppose. I don't need it to be a racer, but just run smooth and fast enough to keep up with most of my other classic Le Mans cars. The kit itself is pretty well detailed, and seems to fit together pretty well - so hopefully my skill will be up to the task.

Recent Updates from The SLOT Garage

Been offline for a week or so trying to get caught up at work after my daughter's wedding in Cleveland on June 5th. It was a wonderful weekend that included a rehearsal dinner cruise on Lake Erie, a ceremony and reception in Cleveland's Grand Arcade and lots of dancing, revelry and great fun. Now that the wife and I can "return to our regularly scheduled programming" I have had a chance to get some things organized toward building my next track as well as expanding my slot car collection.

Some very nice additions to the GT stable.

Among my recent acquisitions are three sharp Scalextric GT cars, two Aston Martin GT3s and a Porsche 911 RSR. For the most part, I collect Le Mans-type cars, LMPs, Classics, Group Cs, IMSA, GTP and GT cars, so these fit right in. The Scarlett & Mustard-liveried Aston was my first purchase; I really wanted the black Darell Lea car but could not find one--naturally, it turned up on eBay about a week-and-a-half after I bought the first car. Thankfully, it was at a good price. I like the Proton Porsche, too--although I am a little embarrassed to admit that, as a whole, I've never been a big fan of the whole 911-based body family (GT1 excluded) but the RSR has some subtleties that make it a nice fit with other current GT cars, especially with the right livery, and this is it.
 
One other thing you might notice in looking at these three cars--and this is another secret nitpick--is that I hate black wheels. I know they are dominant in racing cars now and have been for a while, but I never liked the look of a "black hole" inside a wheel well; it just looks ugly and unfinished to me. If I have to, I'll settle for a well-outlined tire (with lettering or a stripe) and even a charcoal-gray or dark pewter rim or wheel...but I always try to avoid black if I can. Of course, with some cars, like a classic Porsche 917, there's no alternative - but I guess that's life.

A couple of classic GT kits for conversion.

I also have a few scratch-build projects/conversions I'll be working on as time allows. One is an old Lindberg Aston Martin DP212 static kit which is not very well-detailed but decent enough to use for a slot car. It's not a commonly-known Aston Martin but was raced at Le Mans in 1962. It will need a lot of work to convert, but it's an opportunity to turn what many might call a sow's ear into a leather purse, if not a silk one. The other conversion project is an Aoshima Toyota 2000 GT snap kit which has all the detail the Lindberg lacks; there are a couple of nice liveries I can choose from, including a Shelby-prepared SCCA racer from 1968 - (see below).