Something different on the News Page but we are happy to hear Armchair Racer have settled into their new location right across the road from their old one. Nice to see shopfront retailers are still thriving in our ever more competitive hobby. The arrow on the picture shows the old shop so if you are out the front wondering where you should be turn 180 degrees and walk across the road. Of course look both ways before you cross the road as you are in Artarmon home of all those crazy high end panel shops test driving Ferrari's and Porches.

Slot.it / Policar have announced that the first livery of the Toyota GT86 will be available in September.
An interesting two way decision is that the stand-alone cars will come fitted with a magnet - being aimed firstly at the
home/toy shop/model shop market, but when they appear later in the Policar sets, which will have a consistent grip
with the C Series tyres, they will be supplied without a magnet

This is the first livery, coming September 2018, There are several other liveries of the GT86 to follow shortly, and
models of another Japanese brand which races in the same series in Japan is following close behind.

The new POLICAR line of entry level models is a great way to start slot car racing with robust yet properly performing
models aimed at racing at home. We've designed these cars with our younger customers in mind: new, modern cars
with worldwide appeal, lights, a simple one piece chassis, 'easy change' braids, and of course Slot.it plastic wheels and
tyres for a smooth ride. They're the models that will also be featured inside the POLICAR boxed sets.

The cars can be easily converted to digital racing with our digital in-car ICs.

Main features:
• Chassis: rather than the usual Policar/Slot.it chassis, we've opted for a simpler, single piece solution.
• Magnet: the cars are supplied with traction magnet, because it is likely that these models will also be used on tracks
with very limited grip, such as those found in many homes. The same cars, when found inside the boxed POLICAR sets,
will not have a traction magnets, since Policar tracks will feature adjustable power supply and good mechanical grip.
• Wheels: assembled from Slot.it plastic wheels and inserts, to guarantee their roundness, a tried and tested
combination on all other POLICAR models.
• Lights: front and rear lights will be standard on all these models.
• Upgrades: most Slot.it high performance racing axles, crowns, tyres and wheels may be used.
• Chassis upgrade: a 'racing' plastic Slot.it chassis will be made available for these models, or alternatively, 3D printed
units will be available from our Shapeways web printing service.

The last generation SP21 tool has been unavailable for a whole now.
Today Slot.it announced a replacement tool - due to ship through the "chain" in a few days



The SLOT.IT extractor/press consists of:
Main body (1) entirely made in plastic: designed to work with electrical motor for slot cars, from the most common
short can to the more sophisticated, double long transmission shaft 4WD motors.
Counter bushing (6) made of brass which must be screwed onto the lower inside part of the main body, before using the tool.
This bushing performs two very important functions:
- centre the double shaft motor perfectly by means of the axle housing hole.
- keep all those motors that are not equipped with the double shaft centred and, at the same time,
safeguard the inner bushing of those 'long can' motors motor that do not have an axle stub protruding
from the can.
Special steel extraction plate (5) fitting in the relevant housing in the main body (1) to extract pinions. It's very resistant,
and comes with a very thin eyelet to be inserted between the motor and the pinion: only 0.7 mm.
This allows safe extraction for those pinions located very close to the motor case without causing any
damage.
Multi-function brass tool (2) which, depending on the operation to be performed, must be inserted in the main body with
the plug (steel, interchangeable, Ø1.9mm in order not to damage the pinion hole) downwards, in case
of the extractor, or the pinion housing downwards, in case of the press. The pinion housing for this
element were designed to house pinions with a diameter ranging from 5.5mm to 7.5mm without
damaging them.
Steel plug (3) : the tool comes with two steel interchangeable pins, of 1.4mm and 1.9nn diameter, for pinions with 1.5 and
2mm hole, secured to the brass tool by means of an M3 grub screw (4)
Advancement screw (7) whose upper part comes with an ergonomic plastic knob (8), while the lower part is designed to
couple perfectly with the tool's bevel, to reduce friction and to allow the press to operate perpendicularly without play.
How to press a pinion.
Remove the steel extraction plate from the main body.
Unscrew the knob screw (7,8).
Slide the tool along the main body rails, the proper pinion housing facing downwards.
Position the motor in a way that its case (with double shaft motors, the shaft which is not involved in the operation)
in the counter bushing (6).
Position the pinion in its housing on the tool and place the assembly next to the motor axle
Screw the knob screw (7,8) forward until the tool and the pinion make contact..
Start (by means of the handle screw) to insert the pinion in the motor axle.
Once the operation is completed, loosen the handle screw and extract the motor.
How to extract a pinion :
Loosen the knob screw
Insert the multi-function tool with the proper plug (1.4 or 1.9mm) downwards and place it on the upper part of the extractor.
Insert the steel extraction plate with the groove facing the tool
Insert the motor so that the eyelet sits between the motor case and the pinion, facing the plug.
Start fastening the handle screw until the pinion is fully extracted
Upon completion, unscrew the handle screw and extract the motor.

There are also extraction and counter plate spares available

Quoting their website.

NSR's objective is to make a Classic car using modern technology, so high tech ‘Ready To Race’. It needed to be competitive straight out the box.
The Porsche 908/3 is an innovative model with high tech components, highly performing on track still respecting the scale modellistic aspect."

So to translate their english translation, " We have made a car focused on going snot fast"

The first livery was as is so often the case across brands in the slot world - not going to win the beauty pageant



The second take; which has come along just a few weeks later is now here



All reports I have seen, say this is possibly their quickest classic sports model.

There are some changes to the mechanics which it is worth knowing in advance if you need to change any parts



The pod is a little different - note the cut out at the back, in step with the convex forward protrusion on the chassis



A new axle bush with minimum contact area of lowest friction. The motor is the usually shark 20k with slightly angleset sidewinder

It will be very interesting to compare results alongside prior models when the NSR Classic is raced in Nelson, NZ injust a few days

If you hate fantasy liveries - look away now. For the rest of you, serious eye candy follows. The Sideways Lambo in flat black "Carbon Fibre" livery
Said to be available from late April in our part of the world.

They have fitted, for better or worse, their more powerful Raptor motor to these - rated 21,400rpm, 350gcm @12vdc, for 18.8 watts power
instead of the "Baby Raptor" motor that they fitted to the other three models - rated 17,000rpm, 245gcm @12vdc, for 9.8 watts power
That's a pretty massive margin of difference - 25% more rpm, but 90% more actual power.
Gearing is the same, so the torque will be massive. With high gripping tyres, I think you may need chassis and pod upgrades to "Hard"


It comes with a Key ring, so next time you park your Toyota Yaris outside your mate's, you can wander inside; throw these on the table; wait for the
green then go into denial when they look out the window.






The surface finish looks stunning - in the shot below you can see that carbon fibre texture effect.

It has been two years since S.R.C. announced they were to make the McLaren M23 F1 car in Yardley livery.
But by golly, now it is finally here, the fit and finish, and the drive train do look pretty good. Production just 1,000 units

Best bit for kiwis is, it's a "Bear" livery.



They have altered their mechanics from the Fly-style angle offset used in their Ferrari T4 and Renault F1 cars.

Yes, those front wheels do turn - in previous SRC F1 cars, the turning has not been especially precise, we will have to wait report of
how well the front end drives.

It all looks pretty special to me. You will need deep pockets though, at 80 plus quid from the pom-shops and $149 from Australian shops
It might be gracing more shelf-queen displays than F1 class races at clubs. Even underneath detail is very good.


Looking forward to getting my sticky little paws on this one. At 1973 it is between 1 and 3 years younger than the Policar releases.
I imagine people will run them side by side for period F1 racing.


It looks better detailed than the pictures I have seen of Scalextric release. Anyone out there with both examples?