Qld 1/24 Plafit Chamionship 2007

[wwwace]

Hi all,

 

As the new Formula 1 season has started this weekend we will begin with our new championship in one weeks time :

 

 

The first round (of eight) of the Queensland 1/24 Plafit Championship 2007 will kick off at Narangba Raceway on Saturday, 24.March 2007.

The same proven and popular concept, regulations and format as in 2006 has been retained for this year. However we have increased the number of rounds from 6 to 8 as only six results count towards the championship.

Last years support class, the 1/24 Porsche 996 GT3-RS, has now been granted its own championship series this year.

This will run in conjunction with all eight QLD Title Rounds plus one final race at the end of 2007.

Paul Craig will be in charge of this series for 2007.

 

 

As this years new support class we will for the first time have "hard body" Model Car Racing in 1/32 scale :

 

 

There is a separate thread about this class on this board :

CLICK HERE

 

See you all at Narangba on 24.March, racing starts at 12:00 noon.

 

Cheers

Werner

[Springbok Racer]

Hi guys

 

Please note the track at Narangba will open at 10h30 on Saturday.

 

Cheers

 

Springbok Racer

[wwwace]

 

As announced Round 1 was contested last Saturday at the twisty Narangba Raceway in the north of Brisbane.

Same as last year had shown, home track advantage was a bit of a factor again in 2007.

Several new cars were present as expected at the start of a new season. Good to see the Lola T70 MKIII GT making a return to boost the Sports Car field. Also in strong force is the ever popular Porsche 917K which in fact took the first three places with the first Can-Am Car, a McLaren M8A in fourth.

 

 

Following are a few high speed racing photo shots at the breaking spot entering the difficult donut section of Narangba Raceway :

 

Peter's Matich SR3 in front of David's Sid Taylor Lola T70 with Stuart's McLaren M8A in third.

 

The familiar Gulf Porsche 917K of current Plafit Champion Jan, followed by runner-up 2006, Simon who switched from last years McLaren M8B to a new Porsche 917K in David Piper paint design.

 

Good to see are the body/chassis movements with the spring-loaded Plafit Excel Chassis switching in a very short distance from left side to the right. A very important feature on this track.

 

We also had of course Round 1 of the 1/24 QLD Porsche Cup. An interesting and close race on this short and twisty track.

 

As usual, results and more info can be obtained from Paul's 1/24 Model Car Racing Website :

CLICK HERE

 

Our thanks for a very good race day goes of course to our hosts Andrew and Simon as well as everybody who attended.

Next Round will be held much further south at Coomera Raceway on 28.April 2007.

 

Cheers

Werner

[wwwace]

...A few more new cars for this season :

 

 

 

Ferrari 350P4 Body made by Lancer.

 

 

 

Cheers

Werner

[manic35]

Great looking 917Ks Werner!

 

A good friend sent me a 1/24 917 Fujimi Plastic kit and a Plafit chassis through you. I've started putting it together and it's already looking great, such a classic car!!!!

[orangepicker]

Great looking 917Ks Werner!

 

A good friend sent me a 1/24 917 Fujimi Plastic kit and a Plafit chassis through you. I've started putting it together and it's already looking great, such a classic car!!!!

 

 

 

probably the plafit that was supposedly sent

[manic35]

Great looking 917Ks Werner!

 

A good friend sent me a 1/24 917 Fujimi Plastic kit and a Plafit chassis through you. I've started putting it together and it's already looking great, such a classic car!!!!

 

 

 

probably the plafit that was supposedly sent

 

Werner sent it to me dude...you really should let it go man.

[wwwace]

Great looking 917Ks Werner!

 

A good friend sent me a 1/24 917 Fujimi Plastic kit and a Plafit chassis through you. I've started putting it together and it's already looking great, such a classic car!!!!

 

 

Matthew,

 

Any chances of some good pic's ?

 

Cheers

Werner

[manic35]

Great looking 917Ks Werner!

 

A good friend sent me a 1/24 917 Fujimi Plastic kit and a Plafit chassis through you. I've started putting it together and it's already looking great, such a classic car!!!!

 

 

Matthew,

 

Any chances of some good pic's ?

 

Cheers

Werner

 

Soon, still needs some more work.

[ForestRaceway]

I really like what you guys are doing in Qld, Werner. The cars look fantastic - I'm a big fan of open cockpit sports car/can-am cars in clear bodies, especially when they are built to such a high standard. You also seem to have the right formula for a championship - lots of different tracks and fairly tight rules. We hope to run a similar sports car race meet at Adelaide Model Raceway in the future - similar bodies and sponge tyres but using scratchbuilt brass or vintage chassis. We hope it'll be a national racemeet run sometime in the middle of the year but it is only early days at this stage.

[wwwace]

I really like what you guys are doing in Qld, Werner. The cars look fantastic - I'm a big fan of open cockpit sports car/can-am cars in clear bodies, especially when they are built to such a high standard. You also seem to have the right formula for a championship - lots of different tracks and fairly tight rules. We hope to run a similar sports car race meet at Adelaide Model Raceway in the future - similar bodies and sponge tyres but using scratchbuilt brass or vintage chassis. We hope it'll be a national racemeet run sometime in the middle of the year but it is only early days at this stage.

 

Thanks for your kind words, Wade.

But you are doing very good things as well in regard to 1/24 Vintage and Scale Racing in your area down south. I still got that great VHS video which was produced in 1997 "Waiting for the Green". And you are still going with this regular event.

 

Yes, we received a lot of positive feedback for our championship from interstate and also overseas. The quality of cars presented and raced speak for themselves.

Based on many successful overseas race formats we believe that the use of ready available production chassis attracts more new racers rather then going the scratchbuilt "free for all" path. A fact we have experienced during the previous racing series and in the past of course.

In future we are looking to organize some larger race events interstate and we have some encouraging interest in this regard already for this year. The ulimate goal of course would be an Australian Championship with selected national events in all states in this format. Now that we finally have a proper and enthusiastic IMCA representative here in OZ (because our format is associated to it), things are looking good in this regard.

As you said : "Early days at this stage", but we are working on it.

 

Cheers

Werner

[decraigs]

Just some more pictures from the weekend

Thanks Paul

[gascarnut]

I just received a car from my "old" mate Springbok Racer, and it is just GORGEOUS.

 

 

These cars look better in the flesh even than in the photos!

 

Congrats to all of you for producing them and for then going out and racing the stuffing out of them - that's how it should be done!

[Big Al]

Ohh Dennis, you lucky dude..

 

Car looks VERY nice. Starting to attempt the "internal" decalling etc now, but having some problems with the paint I'm using.. Jan, Werner, you guys need to write up a decent little "How to" for others to learn guys...

 

See you soon for the Springbok Races Jan.

 

chow

 

Big Al

Edited April 12, 2007 by Big Al

[wwwace]

Hi Alan,

 

Waterslide decal application to the inside of vacuum formed bodies is not so hard if you follow a few but important steps :

After all cutting and sanding to the body is done give it a thorough wash in water plus a drop of dishwashig detergent. After drying do not touch the body inside with you fingers.

Now you are ready to apply your decals. Most sheets have a layer of light glue underneath all decals which is activated when you put it in water of course. Using tweezers carefully grab the wet decal, turn it onto its front side and slide it over the backing paper in order to get some glue/liquid on it. With a cotton tip put some water on the area where you want to place the decal on the body inside. Slide the decal into place and press on carefully with a clean cloth or a dry cotton tip.

Use a magnifier to check that the decal edges are sitting properly and plan on the body surface during the drying process. Let dry for several hours.

To seal the decal edges apply a little clear paint (best Tamiya X-22 Acrylic) again using your magnifier. Let dry another hour.

Now you are ready for painting. Use only waterbased Polycarbonate Paint like Parma Faskolor or if you still can get it Tamiya PC Paint. Nothing else.

The first layer of paint over the decal should be as thin as possible. Let completely dry before applying the second coat to avoid a possible crinkle of the decal.

 

On straight and plan body surfaces like the Ferrari 512M has, there are hardly any problems. However with large decals on rounded body areas it is best to use decal softeners like Micro Set and Micro Sol. These help "bending" the decal around difficult surfaces as done so with this Alex Job Porsche 966 GT3-RS :

 

If possible large decals should be cut into smaller pieces when the design allows it of course. It was done so with the black pattern on the right rear and the left front/side of the car.

 

The Martini 917K I did a while ago for Jan was one of the harder ones to do because the decal design does not really allow a lot of cutting. So the application of all decals took about four times as long as the time needed to paint the whole car.

 

Anyway Alan, after you have done about three, four, fifteen bodies, you will get on top of it, trust me.

More questions, as always, please let me know.

 

Cheers

Werner

[ForestRaceway]

Thanks for your kind words, Wade.

But you are doing very good things as well in regard to 1/24 Vintage and Scale Racing in your area down south. I still got that great VHS video which was produced in 1997 "Waiting for the Green". And you are still going with this regular event.

 

Thanks also for your kind words, Werner. Yes it is nice to be a part of a race which has some of history.

The waiting for the green video was of the first Adelaide GP, run in 1996 and luckily the race is strong as ever in recent years.

 

Regarding championships, yes definitely tightly constrained rules based upon readily available parts are best. Of course at AMR the rules are very open for most of our races in an attempt to attract as many runners as possible.

The results in an interesting spectrum of bodies and chassis and also allows for imagination for scratchbuilding/modifying to improve the cars.

In my experience this works well for singular big races but of course with championships the more controlled/standardised it is the more people know where they stand and the less variation in performance between cars.

The championship I used to be involved with now use solely track cars to remove the problem of some cars consistently outperforming others.

I have to say I have a preference these days for singular big races. I've been involved in championships which have been very tight such that if you have one bad race, you can blow your chances.

Also it can be difficult attending all of the races.

Still, a championship with interesting cars, covering a large number of tracks is appealing.

I'll stay tuned as to what you intend to do re: a more national approach.

 

Cheers,

 

Wade

[wwwace]

Last Saturday, 28. April, Round 2 of the QLD 1/24 Plafit Championship 2007 was held once again on the fast and smooth Coomera Raceway close to Dreamworld at the beautiful Gold Coast.

 

 

 

Car presentation was again as expected superb, as good as it can be with vacuum formed bodies.

Stuart's McLaren M8A, with the famous Number 4, was once more the car which beat all as far as concourse points went. This, together with a good and solid race, secured him a podium finish at the final race result on the day.

 

 

 

Not too often seen is the Ferrari 312P Coupe which body is produced in the US. It sure adds very nicely to the variation of this race class.

 

 

And so the battle raged on. Norm had a big moment here with his Ferrari 312P just in front of both charging McLaren M8A's.....

 

 

....But as usual, a good track marshal prevented disaster once more. Well done, Paul.

 

 

With the absence of our current 1/24 Plafit Champion Jan, who was busy winning a major slot car race event in South Africa (I am sure there will be a separate story about this appearing here very shortly), we had a one-two victory for the boys of Narangba Slot Car Club and their superb two David Piper Porsches 917K, seen here getting another of their many laps.

 

 

Two successive overall race wins for Simon has him taken the lead in the current championship standings but the season is a long one with another six rounds on different tracks to come.

Thanks to all who participated, organized and worked behind the scenes of this long but great race event.

See you all next month at Nomad Raceway in the Western High Country.

 

Cheers

Werner

[wwwace]

 

This coming Saturday we will tarvel west to Highfields, next to Toowoomba up "The Range", to compete in Round 3.

A packed race day with three classes will keep competitors and officials busy.

Also good to see more sponsors joining this series. Welcome aboard.

 

See you all at Nomad Raceway. Be early, track opens at 10:00am.

 

Cheers

Werner

[wwwace]

Raceday for Round 3 of the QLD 1/24 Plafit Championship 2007 was last Saturday 26th. May at Nomad Raceway in Highfields / Toowoomba west of Brisbane.

The car and driver which won in South Africa also claimed victory here :

Congratulations Jan. The Sunoco Ferrari 512M was the quickest car also starting from pole position.

 

Once again the 1/32 Plafit Super32 GT's were a popular support race class........

 

.......as was the 1/24 Porsche 966 GT3-RS Championship race.

 

To the main event and again, 1/24 Model Car Racing at its best. Simon and Paul drifting their Sports Cars through the long left-hander back onto the main straight.

 

The two Lola T70 from David and Paul in close battle......

 

....lap after lap in different heats.

 

Close racing through the well known and feared Nomad Raceway "Esses".

 

It did not always go well.

 

Peter's Ford GT40 finished second in front of the David Piper Porsche 917K driven by Andrew.

 

Final lap for the first four placegetters.

 

Many thanks to our host Peter, to all competitors as well as to all sponsors (Nomad Hobbies, Toyworld Toowoomba, Pura Milk and Plafit Tokyo).

 

Cheers

Werner

[Big Al]

Hi Werner, Jan, others

well done on another excellent event. I must say the Plafit S32 cars look nice, and there's HUGE potential there with all the available true GT/FIAGT/JGTC cars available on the market..

Clearly a possibility for a manages standard 1/32 class with awesome looking cars.. I think Craig's keen to get one to sdemo to the guys.. alas I envisage another steep mountain there tho..

 

Anyway, we're preparing for the August 6 Hour Endurance event up in Witbank, which I believe Jan's going to be there, and I'm also joining them in the Durban team, cross fingers. I'm now in full build mode for the IMCA trip in November, using the Super GT cars from the JGTC series. I'm hoping to try and get our "open" class going here with the other chassis', and then using the hard, plastic kit bodies, so that our guys can get more up to spec with the IMCA events.

 

And it was good to hear from Tim down there, now he needs to come and race more often with you guys.. Jan, get him to come join you guys.. I also think you guys should get onto the IMCA site, and try and get one or two guys to attend events in Europe next year, because there's plans on the go there for a bigger International event.. It could be good to have proper, skilled modellers and drivers there from Aus you know, so get Tim round to chat, and race..

 

Chat soon.

 

Regards

 

Big Al

[Springbok Racer]

Al

 

Thanks mate, yip will be in Witbank with you guys. Still waiting to hear what I must do for the team (whichever one it turns out to be).

 

The Super 32's are proving to be a good intro class for model car racing as it appeals to both board and plastic track drivers. Furthermore, with all the plastic bodies lying around (because some just don't work in standard out-the-box form), the use of the Plafit Super 32 chassis gives new life to these discarded beauties. I will pack a few in bag when I come over in August.

 

Cheers

 

Springbok Racer

[Springbok Racer]

I just received a car from my "old" mate Springbok Racer, and it is just GORGEOUS.

 

 

These cars look better in the flesh even than in the photos!

 

Congrats to all of you for producing them and for then going out and racing the stuffing out of them - that's how it should be done!

 

And now I'm the lucky one ...............

 

Just received my Lola T160 from my mate Dennis ............... man am I glad we're not competing in the same competitions, I'll be making up the numbers .

 

Have a look at my car and other masterpieces on Dennis's Photo Pages .............

 

Thank you mate, I love it .......... already tried it and it is faaaaaaaaaaaaast ............

 

Cheers

 

Springbok Racer

[gascarnut]

Have a look at my car and other masterpieces on Dennis's Photo Pages .............

 

Here you go....

 

 

 

 

It is built to conform to the Southern California Retro CanAm rules, which try to replicate how the Pro racers were running around the end of the 1960s, with scratchbuilt brass and piano wire inline frames. I try to put a bit more scale detail into my cars than some others, and of course for Jan's car I needed to go the extra mile to keep up with the M6A he sent me. Back in the day there was a lot of handpainting on the cars, which I'm not too good at yet, so on this one only the numbers are hand-painted.

 

I cut out most of the scoops and air inlets for both looks and performance - those holes in the front wheel arches and the open radiator exit work really well to keep the front end of the car planted

[wwwace]

 

Round 4 of the QLD 1/24 Plafit Championship 2007 and the 1/24 Porsche Cup 2007 will be held at Kilcoy Slot Car Raceway about 100km northwest of Brisbane this coming Saturday.

The beautiful old 6-lane commercial Axton built track is always a delight to race on and it will be the center of a very packed racing schedule, starting at 10:00am with a combined race of 1/32 Plafit Super32 GT cars and V8 Supercars, with a separate classification, which will be an Australian first.

 

So be early, the track opens for practice officially at 9:00am and bring a jumper, as it is a bit nippy out in the country at this time of the year....

 

See you all there.

 

Cheers

Werner

[wwwace]

....Looks like we are getting slack as far as race reports go.....

 

As announced, Round 4 took place on a cold winters day at the beautiful country town of Kilcoy.

 

The old Flashtrax 6-Lane Track was in top condition as always.

 

The famous downhill section into the donut is always good for mishaps.

 

Every championship round always sees some new cars.

 

Ferrari 350P4. The body is manufactured by Lancer in the US.

 

Again the Sports Cars had the upper hand over the Can-Am Cars and we experienced another Porsche 917K first, second, third. Also quick was this Porsche Carrera 6 on the outside lane.

 

It was an easy win for Simon with his David Piper Porsche 917K here seen putting another lap on Kevin's Lola T70 Roadster and Norm's McLaren M6A.

 

As usual we had the 1/24 Porsche 996 GT3-RS and the Plafit Super32 GT Cars as support race classes but this time the Plafit Super32 V8 Supercars were also included as these cars are used by Kilcoy Slot Cars as their club car class.

 

In contrast to their high and narrow body shape, these cars handled very well on the fast, long 6-Lane board track.

 

Our thanks goes to Kilcoy Slot Cars for a great day of racing.

We will be back at Kilcoy for the final Round 8 of this years championship in October.

 

Cheers

Werner