October 12, 2009
 FlySlotCars Sunred SR21 GT OPEN Valencia 2008 Review By Shawn Smith Walking out of CincySlots with the new Fly Sunred SR21 I had already made a few snap judgements about the car and one, was that I just couldn't wait to get this baby on the track.  A different card carrying the new FlySlotCars logo on the upper right and a 'symbol' series logo on the upper left were the only decorations I could see before taking the lid off. Notice I said 'symbol' as I'm really not certain what that shape is although I found online someone listing these cars as the 'madness series' and I'm totally clueless if this symbol is supposed to represent 'madness'. With the card now out of the case I noticed a circular marking with 1:32 in the center of the English and Spanish writing of 'slot scale model'. Looking at the back of the card the writing that caught my attention most was an ALL CAPS line that reads 'FOR ADULT MODELLERS ONLY. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN'. Wow, ok, if you feel so strongly about it!  First time on the track and, hmmmm... something seems odd already. Is it just me or is this chassis so low that it actually touches my Carrera track?  With the body behind the front wheel missing by a hair the front splitter is on the track surface! 'Spacers' was my first thought as I stood there staring at the car, followed shortly by, 'how does the other side look?'  'Ah-HA!!' Well there we have it folks, a simple case of a warp in the chassis. 'Whew' I thought... 'and here I thought something was really wrong!' (haha) The good news is that just be simply loosening the screws in the front, and may I add that both were in way too tight for my liking, the issue did somewhat deminish although didn't go away entirely.  Back on the track I do have a tiny fraction of clearance all around on the track now but there is still no denying that this car is going to hate Carrera track inner radius banked turns and any track that may have uneven connections or even drastic changes in elevation. If any of these are a feature of your track prepare for some serious getting stuck, bottoming out and scraping a lot!!  Focusing more now on the 'looks' of the Sunred SR21 I'll be the first to admit I have never seen this car before now. I'll blame the poor coverage of global motorsports in the US as the #1 contributing factor for my never having known about this car and now getting my eyes on it it's both beautiful and a little bit odd. Sort of reminds me of seeing a gorgeous woman walking down the street in front of you, having her turn around to face you only to realize she has the most gigantic nose you've ever seen on a woman's face. I mean sure the rest of her is simply stunning but my heavens only a face a mother could love...  Things that I, as a 1:32 model slot car racer, can love are some really well done details such as the screw head details around the headlight covers, silver painted hood latches and tiny Dunlop logo painted on the splitter in the image of the nose. Likewise directly above the silver painted door hinges are a nice touch as is the tiniest of antenna on the roof.  More fastener detailing around each of the side windows here, small but seemingly sturdy side view mirrors on the door and deep cavernous aero body work are highlights of the cars styling.   Out back a very unique styling to the tailights, and a slightly off center pair of exhaust tips, make up the highlights that are dwarfed by that giant rear wing. More good news here as Fly has been criticized for how weak they made the wing supports on their Daytona Prototype cars however the wing supports on this Sunred SR21 should prove a little more sturdy.    Mechanically speaking, if you already have one of the FLY DP cars then you're already going to know what to expect here. I did notice that the wrapping on the motor has changed but the chassis set up, dual magnet configuration, and grey plastic pinion, crown and bushings all remain the same on this model.  Gearing has a nice mesh to it though and with just a short amount of run in on the test block it sounded smooth and relatively quiet. The splines on the axle mean if you ever decide to change to an aftermarket crown you're going to do yourself a favor by changing the axle too and I would recommend being careful trying to get the rear wheels off as well.  Up front there is a pretty good amount of distance between the guide and the axle. Guide is non-sprung, with a tolerable amount of slop for my tastes, and it has a good range of motion allowing for the car to get almost 90 degrees in the slot.  The single lug 'Speedline' wheels look great and I love the drilled brake rotor details and even the tiny valve stem on each wheel. Great detailing work here and also nice to find that the wheels also were flashing free and looked to spin without any noticable wobble.  All back together, turning some laps on the track, and if you read my comments on the FLY DP review you can imagine a similar result here with the chassis set ups being pretty much the same. The Sunred SR21 is certainly raceable but I find driving it quickly in stock magnet trim to feel nervous and on the edge of control through all of the track but my long front straight. Motor has ample power to move the 87 gram car and lap times were decent although not near being the fastest box stock car to be tested on my track. Rear tires did benefit from a good sanding and two of the tires did have odd little mold pockets on the lip that were easily hidden by turning the imperfections to the inside of the chassis and with all three body screws loosened some I got in a good rythm with the car and quickly learned where I could and couldn't get away with over-driving it on my track.  Final thoughts on the FlySlotCars Sunred SR21... While it's hard for slot car companies to sometimes make a molded red, yellow or white car look good I think Fly has done a respectable job on this model. Some of the decals are clearly water- slide and not tampo printed, the interior is shallow pan which is something we historically haven't seen from Fly, but knowing that the retail on these here in the US are priced at $49.95 I'm willing to let some of the expectations go to get a unique race car with some othewise nice detailing that provides a level of performance I can enjoy. The looks of this particular model might be 'love it or leave it' but I for one am happy to see another option out of the Fly camp and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do in the future. Thanks to www.cincyslots.com for providing the FlySlotCars Sunred SR21 for review and please visit the CincySlots.com website via the banner below. Also please visit the Our Message Board to talk further about this and all other models of slot cars. Happy Slotting! Shawn Smith - SJSlots Shawn@HomeRacingWorld.com Thanks Go To CINCYSLOTS For Sponsoring This Review!
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