Saturday June 23, 2007

Summer is upon us here but with all the new releases it feels like Christmas. Auto Art has released several different models in both 1/32nd and 1/24th scale in the past few months and this Mustang just adds to the list. Coming in several different versions, we decided to do a side by side look at 2 of these hot rods and they are more fun than we thought.

Street or racing trim? It seems many hardcore slot car enthusiasts prefer a model of a true racing car. I must admit that this holds true for myself for the most part, but there are street models that I really do enjoy. However, this hobby is not just for myself but my entire family. My 10 year old son could care less about having numbers on the door, in fact he chose the street version over the race version the minute he saw them. Sometimes when we are critical of models such as this one, we need to take time to look at them from a wider perspective. Many of you have children and sometimes a car like this is just perfect for the young driver. Auto Art appears to have done a great job in this rendition of the car with the excellent fit and finish we have come to expect from them.

The Ford Mustang has a rich history to it and I think Auto Art has done a fine job in reproducing it in scale. I also think it was very smart to go ahead and make these new versions considering the popularity of the car. I know several friends who own Mustangs in different trim, and these models could make good candidates for re-paints.

The racing version of the model is simply stunning to look at. The model depicts the Grand Am series car that was piloted by James Gue and one of my favorite drivers Gunnar Jeannette. The paint work here is near perfect with Tampo stamped markings being very crisp and clear.

Detail level here speaks for itself. Auto Art has really put a lot into the interior as well as the rest of the car. Many enthusiasts enjoy this kind of fine scale modeling and this car should satisfy almost anyone.

Wheels and tires are nicely done but you may need to work on the tires to get them seated properly. These models use a different style of wheel with no inner rib as we commonly see and this kind makes the tires difficult to seat. It makes matters worse when you see the wheel has excess flash molding, so you should clean this up before trying to seat your tire. After I cleaned the flash molding, the tires seated cleanly and it smoothed out our ride.

Out of the box the model functioned as intended although we needed to adjust the braids to fit our Artin rails. These cars were a lot of fun although there is very little braking action. We posted lap times in the 4.4 second range which really isn't bad for a model this size, not as quick as the latest Bugatti, but good enough to race them side by side as we intend to do.

Underneath we see the model is in a sidewinder motor configuration with 2 small bar magnets for added traction. 3 screws were easily removed to expose the inner workings of the car. Be careful when doing this as these models are lighted and have a quick disconnect lead that is not very long. The motor has a 14 tooth pinion that drives a 44 tooth spur gear and the mesh was very quiet and smooth.

As we mentioned, these models are lighted and this small addition paid us large dividends. We enjoy night racing from time to time and after our initial testing it was time to shut off the lights and do battle. We simply had a blast racing these cars like this and in the dark the absence of numbers on the door of the street version meant nothing.

For those that might notice, we are racing on the inner 2 lanes of our 4 lane Artin track. The gap that is present for mounting the track clips for 4 lanes gives you slightly more room and although it is still close, the cars can pass each other without contact. In the corners things can get a little tighter and you will do some door rubbing, but that it a part of racing for us.

I think these models are overall nicely done and really add a nice choice to the ever expanding ready to run 1/24th scale hobby. I look back 10 years and see how much this scale has grown and Auto Art is a major player in this scale. Not all the models they have appeal to me, but these Mustangs certainly do and are worth a closer look to those who want to race in a larger scale. Perhaps in the future we will see even more dedicated race versions along with other models to go with them. For now though I am just happy to have these new pony cars available and I am glad I decided to get a pair. They have just added yet another fun aspect to our home racing hobby.

- Harry

As always feel free to contact me about this article or just the hobby in general at harry@homeracingworld.com, or better yet drop into our Message Forum and share your thoughts with other enthusiasts!

Thanks Go To SlotCarWorld For Providing These Models.