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Scalextric Texaco Ford Sierra Rs500 1988 Btcc Steve Soper


Vinno

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Scalextric have had there fair share of issues in recent times which came as a surprise to myself and possibly a few others out there. How could there be a problem, they were building what I considered their best catalogue of cars as long as I have been into 1/32 home slotcars which is over 30 years? Plenty of Aussie cars, real Aussie models too not those old Mondeo's painted in DJR race liveries and whatever else they did. And their Classic F1 and other models like the GT race cars were all fantastic in detail. But it is true that Scalextric have some very big financial problems so hopefully the changes in some of their models do what they hope to do and reduce costs as well as improve sales.

 

Most complaints about Scalextric cars centered around their poor set ups which hampered drive-ability, shallow guides that meant poor non magnet performance as they deslotted all too easily and overly complicated chassis that were hard to put back together with wires from lights popping out. There is always the plastic wheel complaint which is a lucky dip when it comes to true wheels but this is a common problem across the market. They were difficult to set up as race cars as they usually needed major surgery to make the chassis float which is a must have for a non magnet race car.

 

So on to the Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500. This is a car Scalextric have previously made in the early 90's. Then it was a pretty poor looking model but compared to the competition at the time it was fine as there was no competition. At least until Ninco and Fly came along anyway.

 

So initial impressions are the car looks right compared to the real version on the right. The proportions are very good and the tyre clearance is very tight meaning it sits well on the track. The antenna looks rather tall and I am sure they could pick up the lunar landing with it. The mirrors are a rubberised plastic so shouldn't snap off at the first roll down the track. The wheels are a pretty good representation of the real ones but in real life have a little too much of a chrome look to them. A little dull coat will fix that though. The decals are very good as is to be expected these days. Don't take too much notice of the slight differences in the pics below as they are different race cars. Looking past the exterior reveals the first major change. The driver is very plain with only face and seatbelts painted on. Also I would guess the driver is from a rally car although it will make for a great Dick Johnson with the open face helmet and microphone in the upcoming Shell car.

Scaley%20Texaco%204.jpgScaley%20Texaco%2013.jpg

 

You can just see the plain looking rear interior pan though the rear window here and the picture to the right shows the dash which is very dull looking. This is hard to see through the window and not really an issue if all you are worried about is a race car. It would be possible to buy some decals for gauges if that is what you want to do but most will put it on the track and drive it.

Scaley%20Texaco%203.jpgScaley%20Texaco%205.jpg

 

There is a paint imperfection on the bonnet which Jim Berry from Armchair Racer also pointed out on his model he used for the shop website pictures. You can see it on the picture below coming from the left hand side of the round "T" decal to just under the battery decal on the bonnet so it appears to be something that will be on all the cars or at least this batch. It is hard to see without getting it in the right light.

Scaley%20Texaco%202.jpg

 

Opened up the chassis is pretty simple and you can see what is probably the most controversial change. An inline Mabuchi Motor sitting proud and apparently this is what we have all been asking for according to Scalextric marketing. It does sit in nice and tight so no issues with the motor moving around causing stripped gears or chattering. Gearing is the standard 9/27. The car still comes with lights which I would happily see dropped in favour of some more driver and dashboard detail inside the car. But this is just me and I am not sure this is what others may want. There are little pockets alongside the motor which look to be perfect for loading up with your favourite weight for those non magnet people. The tyres are around 8mm wide and look right for a Sierra Group A car which had to run 10 inch wide tyres due to their weight. They were always overpowered on the racetrack. One surprise is the wheel rib down the centre. It is the same width as a Slot.it which makes tyre replacement easy as a set of Slot.it 19-20 X 10 fit perfectly although they will need a little narrowing to stay inside the rear guards. And you will need to replace the standard rear tyres as they are really only good as low grip fronts

Scaley%20Texaco%207.jpgScaley%20Texaco%208.jpg

 

Another welcome change is a deep guide. This has been showing up on a few random Scalextric cars lately and it would be nice to know it is now here to stay. Unfortunately I don't think it will appear on older cars as the Bowe Mustang I also purchased had the standard shallow guide. Why they can't make this a standard is beyond me?

 

Looking at the underside of the chassis with the body mounted reveals a very clean design with pretty much perfect fit around the sides. Two Screws at the front and one at the rear also make for a nice tilting effect with the screws backed off. The rear of the chassis has a very slight clearance around the body as does the nose of the car and this really helps. I did not need to sand the sides of the chassis at all so I would suggest this is one big improvement and pretty surprising for a Scalextric car. For those who are new to car setup this assists with grip as the weight of the body is car float separate to the chassis.

Scaley%20Texaco%209.jpgScaley%20Texaco%2016.jpg

 

I have added a few comparison pictures from the Ninco version I modified a while ago, turning into a RS500. When looking at the Ninco you can see the car has a wider shorter roof and flatter nose. My Ninco probably sits a little low in the rear also when compared to the better proportioned Scalextric car.

Scaley%20Texaco%2010.jpgScaley%20Texaco%2011.jpg

 

Scaley%20Texaco%2012.jpg

 

 

Someone also mentioned they thought the New Scalextric car was the same body as the old version Scalextric made many years ago so I thought I would add a couple of photo's to show otherwise. It is definitely a new model and one that I will be buying quite a few more versions of.

Scaley%20Texaco%2014.jpgScaley%20Texaco%2015.jpg

 

So how did it drive? Initially I ran it with the standard tyres and while quiet it was all over the place. I changed to some N22 Slot.it tyres and the car was transformed. With the screws backed off it had good grip, was quiet and did all you would expect of a decent slotcar running non magnet. It was a little light at 72 grams so I initially added 9 grams of lead to help it gain some traction. It was very good but today I spent a bit more time truing the tyres and gluing in the lead and adding a little more, taking the car to 88 grams in weight. On my track it is the fastest Scalextric sedan type car I have now. It consistently lapped in 6.8 to 6.9 seconds where my best Trans Am with sidewinder setup could only manage a 7.1 second lap. So did Scalextric do a good job with this car? If you want a driver that responds to minor changes it appears the inline setup works very well.

 

Others may have some different opinions but I like to drive my cars and this one works for me so my simple summary of the car below.

 

What's good?

  • Deep Guide
  • Slot.it compatible wheels
  • Chassis design

Not so good

  • Interior detail
  • Paint flaws although minor

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Another great review, and one car that is now definitely on my purchase list...

Edited by shadow_rusty
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Thanks for the review Vinno

2019 NZ RTR Nationals Gt 3rd

2017 NZ RTR Nationals NSR Classic 2nd

2017 NZ RTR Nationals Group C 3rd

2017 NSR Classic Challenge 3rd

2015 NSR Classic Challenge 2nd

2014 NSR Classic Challenge 3rd

2015 Garden City Invitation Overall Champion

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Yes thanks for a great review Vinno. This car is much higher on the want list now.

 

One positive thing I note, having built the Tamiya 1/24th static kit awhile back, is that Scalextric have got the livery nice and Red. Tamiya's Texaco decals were too orange....

They are only toys .... until you pull the trigger.

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Good review Vinno. Regarding the guide. Is the post the same as the guide it replaces? seems a bit strange that the Mustang doesn't have it unless it's different. NSR 8mm Ultragrips should be a good replacement tyre although the standard tyre should be OK where I race. My Mad Butcher Porsche runs alright on standard tyres. Gotta add one to my shopping basket too.

bram1_zpsfkhrhndv.jpg
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Hi Wobble

 

The only difference is the depth of the guide from what I can tell. Scalextric had the deep guide as a spare about 7 or 8 years ago and stopped doing them. They have appeared in some cars over the last 6 months but not all.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Great review and very informative - sounds like it will be a good drivers car on wood tracks.

 

Will fit in beautifully with out Touring car masters - anything that ran in ATCC and bathurst before the supercar era. Older guys are fiting out Xy and Monaro resins, while the rest of us are running plastic bodied BMW's, XB's etc.

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  • 2 weeks later...

HI Vinno

Thanks for the review. To me it looks like there is not much room for a SW setup...but I might be wrong.

I favour the SW setup but if all the cars in these series are going to be IL then I am fine with that. For instance, in our digital club we love our IL Carrera DTMs.

On the other hand, I think they have done a mistake by releasing the Z4 in a IL setup and very skinny tyres when compared with the rest of their GT3 models.

Cheers

G

 

"I am an expert at the top of my field when mowing the lawn".

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

So...couldnt resist.

 

I notice the DJR is still coming. Quite clever that Scalextrics mob...bringing out the less desirable cars first ?

 

Anyhow my take.

 

Still have that nasty two leed connection to pickup that braeks at the most inopotune moment.

 

RM-Scalextric-Ford-Sierra-Texaco-2016-23.jpg

 

Mine has a nasty notch in gear train when turning rear wheels, like a tooth burred.

 

RM-Scalextric-Ford-Sierra-Texaco-2016-22.jpg

 

The right front has a nasty wobble in wheel.

 

 

Im hoping to convert chassis at a later date, so maybe? it will run like Slot it Alfa

 

Scalextric-Ford-Sierra-Texaco-2016-1.jpg

 

Scalextric-Ford-Sierra-Texaco-2016-2.jpg

 

Nice car. Pity about the issues with mine.

 

RM-Scalextric-Ford-Sierra-Texaco-2016-01.jpg

 

RM-Scalextric-Ford-Sierra-Texaco-2016-03.jpg

 

RM-Scalextric-Ford-Sierra-Texaco-2016-05.jpg

 

RM-Scalextric-Ford-Sierra-Texaco-2016-08.jpg

 

RM-Scalextric-Ford-Sierra-Texaco-2016-10.jpg

 

RM-Scalextric-Ford-Sierra-Texaco-2016-14.jpg

Edited by Roger Miller

...............Take it easy

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi Vinno and all.

 

Good review but I was disappointed you did not preserver with rear tyres. One other person did say they used but our class rules require standard.

 

I only have the BMW Z4 but the first thing I noticed was the tyres were much narrower than say on Audi R8 and once glued proved near impossible to sand or at best were variable. No matter how slow I sanded including with water and a drop of detergent they just got hot and sticky.

 

Has anybody worked out a way to achieve better results. The older tyres sand great.

 

Car goes OK but not great. Weight is not allowed either.

 

Regards

 

Chas Le Breton

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