Saturday February 26, 2005

New Revell/Monogram E-Type Jaguar

The latest classic from Revell/Monogram is finally here, and according to the latest emails and talk I have seen on the internet, most of you are pleased. One of the main attractions of this model is simply the fact it is a vintage Jaguar and models such as this have long been favorites in our hobby.

Our own Bruce "Da Vols" did a quick review of the first Jaguar in our forums, and after reading it I just wanted my own that much more. One main plus about these models that enthusiasts have already mentioned is how Revogram has made different body styles instead of staying with just one. I have to agree that this is good to see and they deserve credit when credit is due.

Looking around the web for prototype information was easily accomplished and I can only say that they have done a good job in the overall body shape and look of the car. The fit and finish is also very well done and a durable and dirt-free clear-coat seals everything nicely.

Small details are present that make the model even more appealing in the scale department. One small item is the exhaust where they have painted a brown over the silver to simulate wear (rust, dirt, heat...you decide) and the bug shield that is in place over the right side hood louvers. Driver and interior detail is more than enough for most enthusiasts and overall the model should please even scale collectors.

Wheels and tires were nicely round and true, although the rear tires did need a decent sanding to get the contact patch I like to have. There might be a slight issue with the overall wheel dimensions, but in truth it does not bother me in the least even if there was. They are nicely done for my tastes but hopefully the photos will help you come to your own conclusions. The thing that concerned me the most was if they were round and mounted correctly, and they were. Silicone tires will of course be an option later on when they are produced for those who feel they need them, but I will stay with the standard rubber for now.

After removing the 4 screws that mount the body to the chassis, we find familiar ground. The power-plant is mounted in the front motor configuration with a 9 tooth pinion driving a 27 tooth crown gear. The crown gear is light blue instead of white and I am not certain why except that it is a new mold and they are coloring them for easy reference. The rear crown is also marked with "9/27" so this would indicate they are now doing just that. Gear mesh is VERY quite and smooth as other releases are right out of the box, so it appears this new gear works just fine.

One thing I did notice was that there is a good amount of side to side free-play in the rear axle. The culprit in this case is the chassis mount for the drive-shaft bushing. You will need to apply some adhesive here to eliminate this slop and to keep the bushing from spinning in place and possibly damaging the chassis. You also need to add adhesive to the rear bushings around the axle as I did notice them slightly moving under full load (12 volts).

The front guide could sit slightly lower in the slot, but it isn't bad enough to really cause any unnecessary de-slotting. All it took was sanding the front tires down a little to get it seated nicely. You can just sand the rear tires first and then swap them to the back. However, there is enough vertical free-play in this guide to fit a washer or shim under it to cure the same problem. I did not have any that would fit so I just sanded the fronts as stated. Even if you do shim the guide, truing up the front tires is still a good idea as it simply makes the car run smoother with less front end hop.

Operation of this car out of the box is very smooth and fast. The braking is still light compared to other models but we are getting used to this and after a few laps we found a good rhythm with it. We began timing this car and after we settled down we could maintain an average of 4.0 seconds on our road course. The center of gravity is a little high on this model and most de-slotting was simply rolling over. With the stock tires sanded and clean we could still get a little drifting out of it but once the magnet breaks free, we didn't have much time to correct before she fell over. If you have the Daytona Coupe you will find this car almost identical in overall feel and operation.

If you move the magnet to the forward position you should find a more forgiving model to pilot. This is where we like to keep most of our Revogram models for this particular reason. Lap times only raised to around 4.2 seconds but lap times really do not mean much to us. Overall better control just increases the fun factor for our taste in driving, so this Jag will keep this existing setup.

Non-magnet however is a different story. You are going to need a good amount of sheet lead under the belly of this model to keep it within a decent control range. With no weight at all, it is very slippery and prone to tipping over much easier. We adjusted our power supply down to 10 volts and this did help matters, but lead is still needed. Luckily there is room on the inside and especially the underside of the chassis for tuning. I am sure those who race non-magnet will find a good amount to work with and come up with a hot set up.

Match-Up

The first choice against our new Jag was the Porsche Spyder but it quickly showed itself to be the quicker of the two. It's lower center of gravity and shorter wheel base is just too much for the Jag to overcome. The Grand Sport is a close match on the road course with lap times right at the same the Jag posted. We drove these models fender to fender for quite awhile and I was pleased with this until we changed over to the oval. On the longer straights on the oval, the slightly taller-geared Grand Sport would pull away. It wasn't a great amount, but enough to make the Grand Sport the clear dominant model. So, if you have a small to medium road course, you should find these 2 models a decent match. If you have a larger layout with good amounts of straight the Grand Sport should emerge the clear winner.

The Daytona Cobra however ended up being the perfect adversary aside from the other Jaguar they have released. The Cobra we chose was the latest Limited Edition model that comes out of the box with the same 9 / 27 gears as the Jag. The body style and wheel base are very close although the Cobra is slightly shorter. The weight of the Jag is 2.8 ounces while the Cobra tipped in at 3.0. It was time to head to the track and do battle to see how they matched up.

I am sure some will have different findings, but on our home tracks these 2 cars were so close that no model has the advantage. We were constantly neck and neck with some of the closest racing you could ask for. With almost 300 laps raced in the first series of testing, the cars were never apart more than one car length. This is a good thing as there are still Daytona Cobras out there available and combined with the other Jag will make a very interesting field of racing. The older Daytona's will need the gears changed to 9/27, but other than that, they are ready to rumble.

My final thoughts about this model are very positive and rightfully so. It has great scale detail and runs smoothly right out of the box. The magnet is enough to please most enthusiasts who use them and it can be tuned without the magnet just as easily. Classic racing with these type of models can really become some of the best racing you can have in our hobby, and I think you owe yourself a closer look at them for your own stable.

- 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 SLOT CAR WORLD for providing us with this new model.