Wednesday July 23, 2003

Fly Marcos

The Marcos by Fly is a model that seemed to take hold in our home racing. Since its first release we have collected as many of them as we could because not only do we think the style of it is attractive, but we like the way it performs as well. Once again, a new livery has been released and sure enough it found its way here rather quickly.

For those that have been in our hobby for awhile, nothing about this release is any different than those in years past. However as I looked around our little online community, I noticed that I have not taken the time to give one a closer look. Incredible really since this model is so popular here and that newcomers are among us constantly, made it almost mandatory to include it.

Upon this release I was talking with Gene Molzon of Slotcarplace and soon we had this model mailbox. My wife is the biggest fan of these beauties, and she couldn't wait to open the box and head to the track. Luckily before she began to add "character" (that's what she calls it when you add a few scratches to the finish) I convinced her to let me grab some photos first.

Some of the liveries on the Marcos do not meet with instant approval, but this one certainly did. We found the red and silver to be very striking and the black trim really added to the overall appeal. However, some of the Tampo-stamping, although very well done seems to again be missing some of the protective clear-coat. Again you can fix this yourself, but I wish Fly would take a closer look at this application.

Wheels and tires are all standard fair for the model, and I was pleased to find the axles and wheels to be straight and true. Most all of these models need some tire sanding to get them where we like them, and once completed really improve the performance. As with the Fly Classics, we simply place this model on the track backwards (we find it easier to hold this way, Thanks Al!) and give it a few bursts of the throttle while allowing the car to rest firmly on the sandpaper. My 6 year old is always ready for this part of the tuning process and always ready to lend us a hand:) We use tape to secure the sandpaper to the track and give it 10 second bursts until we get them clean and true.

However before sanding, lets take a look under the hood as there are some "Standard Fly Front-Motor Mods" we perform before our models ever see the track. 3 screws are easily removed and as stated reveals this model to have the standard Mabuchi motor in the front motor configuration. You also see that this model utilizes the round B21 button magnet instead of the B73 Bar Magnet. With this button magnet, the first modification you might want to perform is using some adhesive on the top of the magnet. Sometimes this magnet works its way loose and it will attach itself to the drive-shaft, in fact most of the models we have collected usually find the magnet already raised out of the pocket. We use Super Glue on ours as we leave these magnets in them, but if you ever plan on removing the magnet, I would suggest using a clear silicone adhesive for easier removal.

Next, we always secure the bushing that holds the drive-shaft and 9 tooth pinion in place with adhesive as well. We again use Super Glue as you do not need to remove this shaft to replace the rear gears if they ever fail. Even with Super Glue, I have managed to pop this bushing free from its mount without any damage to the shaft of chassis.

In the rear you see 2 brass bushings that also get a dose of adhesive to hold them in place and prevent them from spinning in the chassis mount. However, BEFORE you do this, take the time to closely inspect the 27 tooth crown gear. Sadly, I have seen too many times where the molding of this gear has had imperfections in it, with the usual culprit being one or two teeth that are shorter than the rest. This will certainly effect performance and you will need to replace it before you can really begin racing this model. You can run it, but soon you will hear the sound that might remind you of an old coffee grinder, and once you inspect the spur gear, you most likely will find several teeth worn away. Luckily our model was free of any defects, so after we performed these modifications we added a drop of oil on the bushings and each end of the motor, and it was time to re-assemble it and hit the track.

Performance of this model in our eyes is positive. The braking is very distinct and you can dive very deep into a corner before letting off and acceleration is crisp as well. The main problem one might find is that there is a small correction window here in a slide. The button magnet, once it breaks free usually results in a crash, and most times you might find your model sliding on its hood. The mirrors are usually the first victims of hard tumbles, along with the rear wing. However, once you get some time under your belt with them you will begin to get a good feel for the model and you might find it addicting as we have. Our lap times are an average of 3.4 seconds with this model on our Carrera track using the DS timer. The Fly Venturi and Panoz are excellent adversaries to compliment this model with the Venturi slightly faster, and the Panoz being a dead even match. Both of these utilize the button magnet along with the Panoz being in the front-motor configuration, and this makes these 3 models close, challenging racing.

Regardless of price or quality control, these models have found their way into our home racing. The sleek lines and performance of this beast has led to many late nights in our basement slicing and dicing them. We feel this model is a must for any fan of the series, and for those who enjoy the tuning aspects of the hobby. Hopefully those of  you just joining us get the opportunity to own a few and experience the fun we have had with them, as they have certainly added many slot-memories here for us. I can only say that they will continue to be a part of our racing schedule for some time to come, and look forward to every release.

Harry

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

Thanks go to Gene at SlotCarPlace  for providing us with this excellent model!