Sunday February 06, 2005

New HO Scale From Johnny Lightning!

The latest releases of the Bowtie Brigade and Mopar Or No Car from Johnny Lightning have finally arrived here. I had first seen the prototypes at the latest Chicago iHobby Expo and like most of the JL series I wanted them in my collection.

When it comes to HO scale, I am pretty much a T-Jet and AFX collector and racer. The high speed magnet rockets found in our hobby simply do not appeal to me. Perhaps this is because of my involvement in 1/32nd scale racing, but I just prefer my models to be a little slower. It is easier for me to pilot them, and I can enjoy the model a little more if I can actually see it sliding through the corners instead of just a blur of color.

The ThunderJets and X Traction models are therefore my first choices. I chose a variety of them to start our collection with 3 from the Mopar series and 2 from the Bowtie series. Our color choices are a little strange I suppose to many racers, but my wife has the final say (us usual) on most of the HO scale models we receive. She just likes the chrome versions of these models and has collected almost every single release to include the first pull-back versions. So it was obvious that her first choices would be what I like to call "The Chromies".

All the bodies seemed very clean and had decent paint work. The overall fit and finish of the them were certainly good enough for my tastes.

Not everyone will agree, but I think they have done a very decent job on these bodies. Things like the rear tail lights on the Charger with even the word Charger stamped in place kind of adds a little more scale appeal. As much a fan I am of old Mopar iron, it was the 59 Impala that really caught my eye. Only in HO scale do we get to see such a variety in American Muscle. Not that this Impala really qualifies as muscle, but I think you get the idea. There is just something about how this old boat looks in this scale that just seems to fit nicely in the group.

I cannot see if there has been a change in chassis, but all of these models ran very well right out of the box. I know that some of the early X Traction models did have issues with the rear crown gear, however these have shown to be better so far.

The strap over the gearing does seem to fit a little better than previous releases, but again I cannot verify this, I am just going on overall fit as compared to the first releases. The new X-Tractions do come with the new, stepped wider pick-up show which some feel is good upgrade.

The only thing these models really need is a decent track system to suit them. Hopefully someday we will see an actual track that has room enough for the sliding and power and control that will allow the enthusiasts better overall control.

In the end I am more than happy with these selections. I am one enthusiast who hopes they continue both of these lines as they are just great cars to not only start this hobby, but ones that can grow with your interest level.

- 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 got to Slot Car World for providing us with these great HO models!