January 8, 2009
 Power Slot Opel GT Review By Eric Cropper There will be 3 different liveries and each will be limited to an edition of only 1000 units. I honestly don’t know much about the real version of this model and my only memory of one is a guy down the street from my parent’s house who had one. He was a weekend racer and had an Opel dragger. I do know that it’s not an everyday car and that it falls into the “different” category and I’m a fan of “different.” So, I’m going to leave the history on the Opel to those who know what they’re talking about and just jump into this 1/32 cousin. Besides, I hated History class. APPEARANCE  I think Power Slot captured the overall appearance of the Opel really well and I’m satisfied with the body lines. I can’t say scale fanatics will find it perfect, but comparing it to some on-line photos…good enough for me! The paint job on the review car is very simple with limited logos on the car. What I liked most about this version is the flat black painted hood. It breaks up all the white, which makes up the primary color of the Opel.  The front end of the Opel is topped off by a pair of spot lights. They are separately applied to the front bumper and have a post that goes down into the top of the bumper. They appear to be fairly stout, however, could end up separate pieces once again in an accident. When I first saw the picture of the Opel I wasn’t too keen on these but I really like them now. The red version of this release actually has the headlights exposed instead of just the covers. So, those of you who want to make them work could probably do so with a little effort.  In past reviews, like the VW Polo, that Shawn did there were paint and finish issues. The Nissan 350Z had stepped up the quality of both areas. However, the Opel seems to have taken a step back towards the VW Polo paint and finish problems. Below, flashing and mold marks in the top of the silver painted front bumper and fog lights are clearly visible. As you will see later in the review, the front end is molded into the chassis and that might have something to do with this issue. The headlight covers are a separately applied piece from inside the body. The finish on them is really bad compared to the rest of the flat black hood. Then you have the white printed characters that make up the license plate on the hood and they are executed almost flawlessly. Again, an area that Power Slot will need to continue working on to reach the standards other brands have set in clear, smooth, and opaque paint and printing.  The above picture shows the 2 front air vents just behind the bumper. They have actual opens in the body though my dark picture doesn’t show the detail. Another detail that was done right is the side markers that start on the side of the fenders and only slightly overlap into the hood of the Opel. While on the subject of paint and finish issues the two following pictures point out other locations on the car that need to be addressed. The main standout graphics on the Opel are the red and blue stripes that run down each side of the car. Both sides have bleed or overspray. The passenger side pictured was the worst of the two sides. Plus, the white smudge in the blue stripe to the right of the #1 appears to be paint from the white box of the number. Next, is a rear wheel that had its flat black paint sprayed off center. The other 3 wheels were perfect.   The Opel comes to an abrupt stop around back. After all the long flowing curves up front the rear looks like a mistake. “What do we do now?” “Ahh, just hack it off.”  The back of the GT is well done. This is another flat black area and this is actually part of the body. Well, except for the silver and black painted exhaust pipes. They’re molded into the chassis. The colored tail lights look really nice and add depth to the rear end. The silver painted gas cap needs to be completely painted to pull off the look of the real one. Nothing my fine brush and holding my tongue in my cheek wouldn’t solve.  The interior of the Opel GT is a pan styled interior with minimal details molded into it. The only hints of a color other than black are the driver and fire extinguisher. The driver has painted goggle outlines, but no band that connects them in the middle or disappearing into the sides of the helmet. Combined with the smudged red for the lips he starts to resemble the Joker. I like the effort with the hand painting, but sometimes a solid color works best in my opinion. Nothing to get up in arms about…especially from someone who has a skeleton as a driver in one of my 1/24 brass chassis cars and a Hannibal masked and jacketed psycho Chihuahua in a 1/32 scratch built Bomber.  The best thing about Power Slot is that they listen and try to improve each release in some area. Tires have been an issue with past releases. The VW Polo was a 2 piece mold and left a raised raise line down the middle of the tire and was present through to the inside of the tire. The 350Z was absent the mold line and was a softer compound. However, it had tires that weren’t centered on the rim and each had been glued to the rim to keep them in place.  I was told that they created an entirely new molding process to get the Opel’s tire compound and fit closer to today’s standards. I’m glad to say that they succeeded in both areas. The rubber is softer than both previous cars and the tires fit the rims and without the aid of an adhesive. The tires have a ribbed tread pattern molded into them similar to some SCX and Ninco tires. They didn’t have any raised edges or centers and provided a nice flat contact patch on the track. So, PS is still reaching to achieve a slot made with the right components to make it a performer on the track. Thumbs way up!!! Note: There were no extra tires like with the 350Z. I guess PS is confident with the new improved ones on the Opel. Which is a good thing! PERFORMANCE The Opel’s body is only held in place by two screws pointed out by the arrows in the picture below.  The below shots are to show you that the entire front end is part of the chassis as I mentioned earlier in the review and just a look at the underside of it too. I will caution those of you who purchase one of these cars to first release the back end of the body when taking it apart. The front end is a snug fit and it is easier to pull back on the body to pop the front end away from the chassis. Simply do the reverse when putting it back together.   Once the shell is removed this is what you’ll be left with below.  If you remember from the Nissan 350Z review PS had a motor pod chassis under it. That isn’t the fact with the GT. It’s just a plain old typical chassis. However, it is sturdy and doesn’t really have much flex to it. The power plant is the Power Slot PS-3 rated for 25K at 14V and is held in place by 2 screws through the motor mount to keep it firmly in place. There is a 9 tooth brass pinion and an adjustable 27 tooth crown gear just as in the Nissan. The Nissan came with a key wrench for the gear. However, the Opel was minus it. There was a piece of tape on the bottom of the case that seemed out of place. So, it may have slipped out in transit. Bad for a first time buyer, but if you have a Slot It key it will fit the PS gear too.  The axles are mounted with brass bushings. The Nissan’s front axle had a lot of up and down play, but had set screws that could be adjusted from the top and bottom to help control it. PS went a different route with the Opel. The front axle doesn’t have any set screws and the bushings have both up and down and side to side play. The play of the front axle is very similar to that of a Ninco car minus the brass bushings. The below pictures show the front axle bushings side to side play and up and down play when pressing down on one tire with my finger.   The front axle has side to side slop too. Instead of cutting the excess off the axle I chose to put nylon washers on each side. This solved two problems. First, the side to side slop was removed and the same washers limited the up and down play of the axle itself. All is right in the world again. Other options might be to replace the bushings with ones that are narrower in width and thus might fit tighter or glue. I didn’t attempt either because what I did was sufficient to me. The picture below shows the excess length of the front axle.  The guide of the Opel was absent the spring that the Nissan had on its guide. The spring actually kept the nose of the Nissan up too much. I simply removed it and the 350Z was riding nice and low. The Opel guide has plenty of up and down movement. So, if you feel you need a spring one could be added. The braid PS uses is on the hard side. However, it seemed to conduct the juice just fine and didn’t hinder the guide in any way on the track. I know others will change it out for their favorite brand.  TRACK TIME I hooked up the Scaley digital lap timer since I didn’t dig it out for the Nissan 350Z review. Don’t want Harry to cut my high paying salary for a poor review. I ran the Opel on my 4 lane Sport track with wall warts for each lane and a stock controllers. I still don’t have the $ to get the track up off the floor and the aftermarket power and controllers hooked up to it. Again, I mention my “high paying salary” through HRW. (joke Harry) So, I ran the Opel box stock in lane #2. The first thing I noticed was the gear noise. I was a heck of a lot louder than the Nissan. However, it has the same gearing components and everything seemed smooth by hand. The gear noise will probably smooth out as they break in over time. Also, I think it has more to do with the fact that the gears are right at the rear of the car and the noise escapes the body more easily that the 350Z. Either way it didn’t seem to affect the cars performance. Since the Opel is only 82 grams with a 25K motor in it acceleration isn’t a problem when you mash the trigger. This car will launch without hesitation and has very good breaking when you need to get the rear back in line. Yes, the weight in the rear of the Opel makes for some serious slides in and out of the turns under heavy gas. Hey, it’s a rally car. So, that’s part of it. The tires provided ample grip and as long as PS keeps improving them things should only get better in this department. I got the lap times down to 7.2 seconds. I didn’t mess with removing the magnet because I think weight placement will be very important to get right in the Opel with its heavy backside. I’ll leave that for later or until one of you non-mag pros figures it out and drops me a line on what, where, and how much. (hint) Click here to watch Opel Hot Laps Click here to watch Opel Slide PowerSlot Nissan 350Z Revisited Since I didn’t have the lap timer out for the Nissan review I decided to revisit this model for an actual lap time instead of guessing by watching the video of a hot lap. Also, Shawn had issues with his 350Z tires and upgraded them with some Fly Porsche wheels. After seeing his new shoes it got me thinking about doing the same thing to mine. I ended up replacing the front and rear axles with Ninco axles, a stock plastic Ninco gear and brass bushings (already on the rear axle that I stole from a Ninco LMP), and the 2nd set of wheels from my Ninco Evo Pro Kit. Both options dramatically changed the Z’s appearance as you can see in the pictures below.   Did the new shoes improve the handling and lap times of the Z? Get ready for a big surprise. First, I turned the car back to box stock. In lane #2 I turned a fast lap of 7.7 seconds. I did a little gentle sanding with some fine sandpaper, cleaned the tires and back to the track. This session got the fast lap time down to 7.4 seconds. I cleaned the tires again for a third session and got down to 7.2 seconds with the stock parts. Needless to say I was really surprised with the drop in lap times. Next came out the Ninco stuff and the thought that I was going to blow the 7.2 seconds lap away. These tires have been used and didn’t need any additional sanding done to them. I just cleaned them in the same manner as I did the Power Slot tires. After the first session the times between the 2 brands were identical. What the heck? I cleaned them again and back to the track. I only managed to get a faster lap time of 7.1 seconds running the Ninco parts on the Nissan. The only thing I can say that separated the performance of the parts is that the Ninco parts did make the Z run smoother under full acceleration. That’s where it ends though on the track. Oh yeah, here’s the kicker with these lap times. The 350Z was run non-mag and with no additional weight added to it. “Did he say he ran it non-mag?” questions Mr. Dyke. You heard correct Dan. This is a really good running non-mag slot. JUDGEMENT DAY  Overall, I’m pleased with Power Slot’s Opel GT release. Yes, they made a major improvement in their tire compound, molding process, and fit upon the rim. However, paint and finish issues of the past came forward again in this release. I went back to their Nissan 350Z for a follow up because I love it. The more I drive it, the more I like it. I think I’ll find myself getting into running the Opel the same way. The Opel isn’t a car for everyone based solely off its appearance. However, there are those of us out there, myself included, which enjoy the odd out of place car to shine among our “mainstream” cars. Power Slot is all about creating something you don’t readily see speeding around the track and I applaud them for taking chances with their releases and with their efforts to improve them now instead of later. Once they get all aspects of form, finish, and function under control they will truly have created something special in our world of slots. I’d like to thank Michael of Euro Model Imports, the official US Distributor of Power Slot products, for providing the Power Slot Opel GT for this review and allowing HRW and myself to be the first to put this release on the track. His site has pictures of the 2 other Opel releases and the rest of the Power Slot line for you to view. You can also find out what retailers are selling this original slot car lineup her in the States. Feel free to direct any questions or comments to the email below. Eric Cropper AKA legionofone AKA HRW Minion ecropper@hotmail.com
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