SJ EPISODE 12: Track Build Guide #6 - Terrain and Land Forms

Does your track skittle through a desert, roll through the hills or climb a mountain? If so, how do you create that environment? In this episode, I'll talk about the various methods that can be used and show you how I go about creating and shaping the land forms used on my track. There's a lot to cover here, as it's kind of an old-school method, but one of the benefits is the low cost, as old newspaper and plaster cloth won't do much damage to your wallet.

After the demo, I'll talk about the possible pitfalls of getting hobby advice and also ask for your thoughts on slot car content you enjoy and how you might use Facebook groups.Check out the episode HERE.

 

 

Looking Forward to the 79th Cleveland Slot Car Show

I've attended the last two Cleveland Slot Car Shows and come away not only impressed with the overall organization, but managed to come away with some great slot car buys as well! This Spring show (set for April 21) will have many activities throughout the weekend. Racing will begin Friday evening and the whole day Saturday. Live auctions on Friday and Saturday from the show, with a special charity auction Saturday evening. A slot car forum is scheduled for Saturday evening with manufactures, vendors, and old timers fielding questions on the slot car industry.

Organizer Greg Bennett has let people know that there will be a good selection of 1:32 vendors again, as well as a 1:32 race event to enjoy. That's good news, as the larger scale cars have had an increasing presence at the last few shows...a trend that appears to be continuing.

The show itself will take place on Sunday, starting at 9:30am, with all kinds of door prizes and lots of old and new slot cars in all scales. We are putting out a request for a vendor or venders interested in selling and sitting in on the slot car forum that sells or makes controllers and metering devices for testing slot cars. For more info, contact Greg Bennett on Facebook HERE.

SJ EPISODE 11: Track Build Guide #5 - Curbs & Cobblestones

Since part of our track runs through an old medieval city, much of it features cobblestone surfaces. While there are some labor-intensive methods of achieving this look on the track itself (primarily etching a pattern into the plastic track with a soldering iron)  I'm using something simpler for the street curbing and walkways. In this video, I'll show you how I do this with some Google image searches for a cobblestone pattern and some basic computer graphics. Add a little weatherstripping and you've got some nice curbs.

After the demo, we'll also take a look at a new addition to the garage, highlight some European YouTubers and see how you can enjoy worldwide content using YouTube's Auto-Translate feature. There's so much good slot car content out there, and language doesn't have to be a barrier to enjoying it! Check out the episode HERE.

Car Tunes with Pete and Joe

If you don't sleep in on Saturday mornings, I suggest you grab a cup of coffee and have a listen to Joe and Pete's semi-weekly chat stream CAR TUNES.  If you don't know, Joe created the Irreras Carrera channel on YouTube while Pete is the creator behind the Show-Me Slot Cars channel which hosts the chat. Both run Carrera digital, and they provide some entertaining banter as well as some helpful info on running digital setups.

In addition, they have also set up a Discord site that will allow the Slot Car community to host discussions ans "rooms" on a number of topics. It's a great way to gather and disseminate info as well as carry on conversations after your favorite live stream is over. Check it out HERE.