The Aedandega

by

Joseph McHugh

Here are some photos of my home track that my 7-year son and I put together this winter. It basically represents a flurry of activity between Christmas 2002 and February 2003.  Since we are newcomers to the hobby, we are pleased with the way it has come along in a relatively short time. We hope to bring it to the level of the many tracks that are found on this site and all over the web.

The Table:

We bought a Scalextric LeMans (Classic) set for Christmas and just kept adding to it. Getting into the hobby at the time we did proved to be a bit strange since Scalextric was making the transition from Classic to Sport track.  I found myself searching the web far and wide for the rare Classic track pieces and the even more coveted converter pieces for the new Sport sections- but it was fun because I found myself immersed in a slot car enthusiast subculture bigger than I ever imagined. My son designed the table under-structure and it’s sturdy enough for both of us to stand on. We went with 3, half inch thick 4 X 8 sheets of good wood. I recommend going to ¾” thickness to prevent any buckling. We used several “25  2 X 4s underneath. The table height is such that you can enjoy the track sitting or standing. I wanted to put contoured landscaping on the track right away, but knew that I wanted to play around with many different track configurations, so I kept it simple and painted the surface with a roller and several shades of green and yellow, and tan paint (some black and white paint too). I thought that it would look really cheesy, but it doesn’t look bad at all - and it’s very simple and fun to do. I think it looks much better and it is much easier to deal with than the green grass paper that is sold in hobby shops. Painting the understructure and the rails is well worth the trouble.

Scenery:

I bought lots of lichen, trees, and we have a plaster rock making kit with natural looking paint from Woodland Scenics. The ads, placed all about the “retaining walls”, were logos I found on the web. I got started with these ads at Gene Molzon’s comprehensive site, http://slotcarplace.com that is conveniently linked through this page. Also, there is an extensive collection of logos linked to the “Tricks and Tracks” page http://www.scalebuildings.com/custom.htm the link is: http://logo.nino.ru, These helpful sites are definitely worth a visit. To make my ads, I went to the office supply store and purchased some “4 X “4 mailing labels, stuck the sheets in my printer, arranged my favorite logos on a Word document, and I was quickly turning out lots of ads that I stuck on the borders of the track. I’m sure you’ll recognize the buildings and structures are Scalextric.

                                                                                                               Cars:

 With our original Le Mans set came two Mercedes (CLK GT numbers 1 and 2)  Le Mans type cars, which I really love! They are a challenge to drive because they do not have strong magnets. I really enjoy this because they behave, in my humble opinion, more like real racing cars would: they spin out on sharp turns if you give it too much throttle and make racing quite challenging and exciting. Some of the NASCARS have too strong magnets which make the cars behave in an unrealistic way. We also have a beautiful FLY Saleen Campeón de España, two Lolas from Scalextric and a handful of NASCARS. We look to get more cars soon!

The Track:

I realize that our track setup isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea- but we really like it. It has four hairpin turns and three other wider turns. It also has a wicked little quick turn that demands attention when driving. We also have a humpback bridge, a skid chicane, a rough terrain section, some cross-overs, and other chicanes. So as you can see, there is a bit of a learning curve to this layout. I think those features make the driving more realistic because passing is more than a question of just more throttle, you must pick your spots carefully. A good lap on a car with strong magnets is around 13 seconds and with weaker magnets, 15 seconds. Yes, it’s a big layout! There is even talk of adding a fourth table!

Joe McHugh

Nice Work Joseph! I think it looks great, and appears to be a real challenge to tame! - Harry