Avant Slot Looking to Build on Growing List of New LMH / LMDh Cars

I sometimes laugh and tell people I am "All Endurance Racing - All The Time" - which is kinda true - from the early 60's to the present day, I love my Le Mans and IMSA cars. Even with a relatively tight collectors focus like that, there are still so many cars out there...and the growth of 3D printing has put even more of them in reach.

That said, it is good to see that at least one slot car manufacturer has put a flag in the ground and has plans to produce some more of this growing list of WEC / IMSA Endurance Racing cars. I saw this announcement from Avant just recently, and it is an ambitious release list, to be sure. In real life, endurance racing is seeing a huge influx of new (and old) LMH/LMDh participants, including Porsche, BMW, Peugeot, Ferrari, Cadillac, Acura, Glickenhaus and even Vanwall and Isotta Fraschini!

I'm sure some of these cars will be (or already have been) modeled by some of our 3D printing superstars, but it will be nice to see some new products from our slot car manufacturers, too. SRC will be producing a Porsche 919 soon and Slot.it will add an LMH Oreca car as well. That will no doubt be used by many privateer teams, thus allowing a wide array of liveries. Acura is using that chassis, so maybe that will be a car we can look forward to. Let's hope!    

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Get Your Weekly Fix with Dave Kennedy's Slot Car News

 As I recently got back into the hobby, Dave Kennedy was a familiar name to me and I was happy to see that he had transitioned much of his presence from his Slot Car News blog to a really amazing YouTube Channel. Dave's original blog has transitioned to more of a commercial racing news source, and the content there is now handled by others (though he retains ownership of the site). Dave now primarily focuses on the 1:32 model slot car industry and provides weekly updates on new models coming out, new products, and other content that will be of great interest to most hobbyists.

If you want to know what's going on in the slot car industry, Dave Kennedy is your man.

With his extensive experience working for SCX, Scalextric and Carrera, Dave knows the ins-and-outs of the industry and best of all, isn't afraid to tell it like it is. He's done awesome videos featuring straight talk on subjects such as brand licensing, model production numbers, the basic differences in chassis and motors, and other topics that people often ask about. He explains why companies like Scalextric and Carrera think like "toy manufacturers" and not "slot car enthusiasts" - and how these factors shape the way the industry creates and sells products. It's fascinating stuff, and it's one reason why I look forward to his Friday uploads.

Besides the latest hobby news, Dave also provides a lot of useful and educational content that will be of use to slot car hobbyists--especially those just starting out. He offers helpful tips on the different brands of track, what different manufacturers have to offer, basic car maintenance and much, much more. While his expertise makes him compelling to experienced slot car folks, he doesn't assume you already know everything--and that's refreshing.

Dave also recently started doing some live-stream chat events, where he will happily talk about new developments and answer your questions. Check him out on YouTube at Slot Car News Official.

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SRC Getting Closer to Releasing Toyota TS050 LMP

 While I am not quite as enthusiastic about the looks of modern LMP cars (all the bumps and lumps and fins tend to detract from their overall aesthetics) I still want to make them part of my slot car racing experience, and already have some Lola B10/B12s, Audis, an Aston-Martin and a Scaley Ginetta.

Having recently dominated the LMP1 category at Le Mans, the Toyota TS050 is soon to be available as a slot car, courtesy of SRC, and photos of the test cars have been showing up all over social media. Apparently SRC has designed the car with different body molds to ensure that the three versions that ran from 2017 to 2020 are represented.

This is a significant departure for SRC, which hasn't focused on modern-era cars that much. Most of the reaction I've seen is very positive--and many enthusiasts are already clamoring for them to make a Porsche 919 to go along with it! The photos I've seen look great, and I'll be happy to grab one when they're available. There's a nice interview with the SRC folks in the Toyota UK magazine HERE.

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