"QUANTUM SHOT" #683
Link
- article by M. Christian and Avi Abrams
"If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough."
--Mario Andretti
While the present generation has thoroughly moved into the digital age,
for millions of people before them slot cars were a cherished feature of
childhood; and, for a few wonderfully eccentric hobbyists, they are still
the next best thing to climbing into turbo-charged reality, smashing the
gas pedal down, and roaring into the thrill of the race.
(Chris Burden's Metropolis II: a huge kinetic sculpture made
from slot cars; watch
video)
1912 was a rather eventful year: New Mexico and Arizona became states, The
RMS Titanic hit a iceberg and sank, The Girl Scouts were founded, the
Boston Red Sox defeated the New York Giants, and Lionel toys produced and
sold the very first slot car set (right image below):
(images via 1,
2)
"I am an artist the track is my canvas and my car is my brush."
--Graham Hill Here's a classic slot car track :
(images via 1,
2)
For those unfortunate few who never had the bliss of assembling the track,
picking just the right car, squeezing the little plastic control - and
sending that same perfect car flying out of control across the rec room
carpeting, slot cars are mechanically very simple: The track is
modular, allowing an almost infinite number of configurations: from the
Monaco Grand Prix to Germany's Nürburgring. It has two power strips and
the cars have fickle brushes to pick up the power as well as a neat little
electric motor to make the wheels go 'round. However, what those
already-mentioned eccentric hobbyists have done with that simple concept
is truly staggering: from cars that are exquisitely detailed and
painstakingly reproduced from high-performance reality - to tracks that
run from exact scale copies of legendary circuits to totally insane
fantasy. It seems that slot cars have become the medium for a dazzling
amount of creativity.
"Anything happens in Grand Prix racing, and it usually does."
--Murray Walker
(images via 1,
2)
Speaking of creativity, take a look at these totally whimsical slot car
designs by Ken Butler - an anchovy can, a mousetrap, a violin, a cell
phone and a fishing lure (I guess, for those really hooked):
(images credit:
Slot Car News)
"Be it jewel or toy, not the prize gives the joy, but the striving to
win the prize."
--Robert Bulwer-Lytton The most famous car chase in movie history?
"Bullitt", of course! And now - this chase is recreated in slot cars, as
could be expected: in 1/32 scale, lovingly made by the slot car UK
enthusiast
Emigre:
(images
via)
And here's where art and beauty meets slot car fun.
(images credit:
Pete Shepherd,
2)
Why does a track have to be just loops and hammerheads and all that?
Here's a really fun and unique approach to racing: a hill climb!
(images via 1,
2)
When you talk about brilliant track designs, though, you have to talk
about the beautiful, and commonly considered most impressive, slot car
track in the world: James-Michael Gregory Harlan's
White Lake Formula 1 track. Taking over 3 years to complete, the
track is the ultimate racing circuit in a very convenient smaller scale -
watch
video:
(images credit:
White Lake Formula 1 Blog)
"It is amazing how many drivers, even at the Formula One Level, think
that the brakes are for slowing the car down."
--Mario Andretti Even though they may be small in stature, that doesn't
mean the slot cars can’t be ... well, 'immense' doesn't quite fit but you
have to admit the track that was created by journalist, and Top Gear
presenter, James May for his wonderful BBC series Toy Stories, has a huge
amount of WOW power: ladies and gentlemen, auto enthusiasts of all scales,
the world's longest slot car track! If you don’t know James May and
his Toy Stories Show, you really should: determined to reintroduce
21st century kids to his own beloved childhood hobbies, he – with the help
of the great British public – created and assembled a full-size model
Spitfire, a Meccano bridge strong enough to support a man, a Lego house
big enough to actually live in, an entire garden made out of Plasticine
(and enter it into the Chelsea garden show), then a ten mile long model
train track. But the episode we're interested in is the one done as a
celebration of Scalextric (the British slot car manufacturer) as well as
the legendary Brooklands racetrack. Using planning that rivaled putting on
a Grand Prix, James created a 2.75 mile long track - watch
video
- that followed the original race course. When it was finished, the flag
was dropped and two teams – one made of slot car enthusiasts and one of
just local folks – blasted at scale speeds towards the finish line. But
since it wasn't possible to power the entire length of the track a relay
system had to be used, so as the car passed from one section of track to
the other someone new had to take control. James May (life size) posing
with Scalextric race cars (smaller scale):
(images credit:
Toy Collector)
Another video to watch is
here... Well, if you think that James May's celebration of both Scalextric
and Brooklands was wild, check out the plans that Mazda has for the famous
Goodwood Festival of Speed: no less than a
life-size slot car track.
(image via)
And if you think that all this is a bit too whimsical -- that slot cars
are fine and dandy for crazy stunts or seriously dedicated hobbyists --
then take a look at the following designs for public transportation
systems, all of them using the same basic idea of our beloved childhood
toy. The slot car is not just racing in miniature, a venue for art and
eccentricity, but it's actually become a plan for the future of
transpiration (more
info):
(images via
1, 2)
-----
BONUS This is unrelated to slot cars, but perhaps - just as
sophisticated and exciting? Here's the incredibly cool vintage toy:
Operation X-500 The Rocket Launcher from the 1950s:
(image
via)
CONTINUE TO "AWESOME CONSTRUCTION TOY SETS!" ->
|
5 Comments:
That kid in the last pic is going to haunt my dreams.
That's so cool! In my childhood I always wanted to have such toy cars!
Wow!This looks like a lot of fun!
Thanks for the share. Those a definitely some of the most sophisticated slot car sets I have ever seen. I wonder how much the first one cost.
Though much smaller than in its heyday, slot racing is very much still alive and kicking. The newest genre is called Retro racing.
Check out: Slotblog
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