Saturday November 29, 2003

Fly BMW 320i E-46
FIA ETCC 2002

At first I didn't pay much attention to this release because I thought it was just another BMW like Fly has brought before and with all the other new releases coming this time of year. Well it still is a BMW, but with a few changes and I thought some of you would like a closer look as this model seemed to sneak up on me and give us a nice surprise.

This new release differs from the original M3 GTR by aesthetics only as the chassis, motor and gearing are all identical and so I have light-heartedly nick-named it the "4 door version". Once again Fly has created a stunning model in 1/32nd scale and it should quickly catch the eye of newcomers as well as veterans. Body shape seems to match the prototype very well from the photos I have seen and it should please most fine scale enthusiasts.

Tampo stamping and overall fit and finish were very well done on our model except of course for the absence of a clear-coat to seal them in place. Regardless of this, Fly has really put some effort into this livery with all the small details and color variations of the 1:1 prototype. There are few minor issues in this area, but I still feel Fly has done an excellent job capturing it.

What would a Fly car be without the details? Well rest assured it is at the same standards we have seen in the past, especially in the interior department. I found that the new racing seat and belt system inside this car really sets it off and gets your attention quickly. The interior is post-melted in place but it still was easily popped out so I could get a closer look.

Wheels and tires here are all standard fare with good detail with visible brake rotors. These rotors sometimes come loose while racing and I had one loose right from the box. Snapping it back in place is very easy and I would suggest adding some glue to keep them secure. Although I happily found these wheels round and true, you are still going to want to sand the rear tires to get them right. With these standard Fly tires I like to just replace them with Indy Grips Classic tires #IG 3002 (new compound tires are on the way). These tires need only a slight sanding on the inside edge and really help this model smooth out.

The body is held on the chassis with 4 screws that are easily removed. Inside we see the Fly Racing 25,000 rpm motor sitting in the front motor configuration with a 9 tooth pinion turning a 27 tooth crown gear. The B73 bar magnet sits in the pocket snugly and provides an adequate amount of magnetic traction to suit most slot racers. There is plenty of room inside to tune this model either with more magnet, or none at all and use lead.

Up front I found that the guide was a very snug fit with minimal free-play, which I don't know if this is just luck of the draw or if Fly has made some slight changes since the initial releases. (I say it's luck) The stub axles that Fly uses for the front wheels have not made many enthusiasts happy, primarily due to the fact they have so much excess free-play. However I have to say this model has one of the tightest systems I have seen in quite awhile. All it needed was for the wheels to be pressed on a little further and they were virtually void of excess free-play.

The motor sits snug in its mount but it does seem to work loose over a number of laps. I used some hot glue at the rear of the mount and around the top of the front to help keep it secure during hard racing. Of course the drive-shaft and rear bushings also got a drop of adhesive to keep them from spinning or popping out under load. I highly suggest that if you purchase any front motor model such as this, that you at the very least add adhesive to the drive-shaft bushing. I say this as many a gear has been ground away to nothing once this bushing pops out, so just look at this as a preventive measure ok?

I have to say that once we secured these bushings in place this model was one of the nicest running front-motor Fly models we have had in a while. The gears will need some breaking in as they are not the quietest at first, but after adding some rubbing compound to them and running the model for about 30 laps things really smoothed out. There is some axle free-play noticeable in the rear bushings, but nothing any worse than I have seen before from Fly. Again, while you are adding adhesive to the bushings you need to add a drop of oil on all 3 bushings and on each end of the motor.

With using the original rear tires sanded and trued we managed lap time averages of 5.4 seconds and once we installed Indy Grips the times fell to 5.1. Braking and acceleration were as precise as you could ask for with the more powerful motor giving you plenty of punch out of the corners. The more we drove this model, we soon found a happy medium with it and could easily recover from a spin repeatedly.

Sometimes this hobby gets so busy that some new models seem to slip by without much fan-fare and this BMW seems to qualify for that category. I have to say this model was a nice surprise because I have not been much of a fan of the Fly versions in the past, but have to give credit where credit is due. Although it still needs the "standard Fly mods" to get it right, this model was worth the effort and have to recommend it to those fans of series and to the advanced modeler.

- 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 Scalextric-USA for providing us with this model.