Thursday March 05, 2009

This product review is going to be a little different than most you see here. This new classic came with me on a visit to some of our friends because I wanted to get feedback from them and at the same time get a chance to try it on several different track systems. It was a lot of fun and I think this review will give you a good idea on what MRRC has brought in 1/32nd scale.

MRRC has not released a great deal of models that catches my eye, but this Porsche is certainly and exception. As many other enthusiasts chose the Ford GT40 MK IV that was released at the same time I chose instead the Porsche. Why? Simply because I like the styling and overall looks. I am no real fan of modern Porsche offerings, but the classics of yesterday I really appreciate.

Admittedly, this model is sort of a "Plain Jane" when it comes to the paint scheme but that is how the 1:1 car looked. Plain as it is I still liked the overall looks. It has a number on the door which makes it look like a true race car and that is good enough for me. Other people I visited were not as impressed but that is ok, we all have our different tastes. And to be very honest, quite a few folks had no idea what kind of car it was. Some of you might think that is unheard of, but I have seen this same response over the years with many of our models. Nothing wrong with that as people get a chance to learn about the history of auto racing through our little hobby and I think that is pretty cool :)

The finish on this car is well done with a very clean clear coat surrounding the model. And there is more detail here than you might think. Looking closer we see nice rivet detail around the car that really adds to the scale appeal for me. We take for granted sometimes the detail levels we see and they could have passed on these small options without many never noticing, but the didn't. MRRC gets a thumbs up from me on this.

Wheels and tires are nicely done although again not much to look at. Then again, the important thing here is that they seemed very round and true out of the box. The rubber compound seemed soft enough so I has hoping for some decent grip as well.

Looking underneath we see Sebring Series chassis. This chassis is very close to the same as what we found on the latest classics from Revell/Monogram. A slim-line motor is also seen which tells me we will have plenty of speed. In some cases too much, but for those who like their slot cars like rockets should be happy.

As I looked at the chassis I noticed this was a different guide than found on the Monogram models. It seems to feel ok with very little free-play but the blade itself is not as deep as the Monogram. I would have liked to see a deeper guide here but we will work with what we have. The braid was also mismatched in length but that is an easy fix.

Road Test

When I say road test, I mean ROAD test! I did not open this model at home, instead it came with me on a slot car visit to the great State of Texas. I visited a friend of mine Pete Stanley who owns a very nice oval/road course originally routed by Autorama Slot Tracks. This is a BIG track as the photos will show and thought this would be a great test for this classic.

Our first few laps told us some break-in time was needed. The car passes our out of the box test but the gear noise here was louder than most racers would like. In fact, several newcomers and innocent bystanders made comments asking what was wrong with the car. This was very interesting to me. After thinking about it, they have a valid question. A brand new slot car should not sound like this at all. Not when other brands can come out of the box and be much smoother.

Still, I knew the car would smooth out over time and I was pleased that it ran as well as it did. There was no real noticeable wheel hop and the tires hooked rather well on this surface. Still, most racers will want to use their favorite tire in non-magnet applications.

I was also looking forward to testing on a track much larger than our home tracks. Perhaps on a track like this the faster motor they choose to put in here would find a good home. Happily it was a very manageable slot car in this environment. All the speed and torque you could want with very good braking. Of course everyone has different tastes, but this should be fast enough for most home racers.

Under The Hood

Time to take a closer look. The slim-line motor has a 10 tooth pinion that turns the 27 tooth crown gear. This 10 tooth pinion is another difference between it and the Monogram releases. This system is called a Hypoid as the pinion is off center from the crown gear. I knew I could get these gears to sound better with some break-in time so I decided to leave them alone for the time being.

What I also noticed is that this crown gear is not beveled like the latest Monogram cars. Odd, but that is the case. Perhaps this is why I have the louder noise? Only time will tell.

I did notice the rear bushings were a little loose and would spin under load. No real issue as some adhesive will fix that rather quickly. We also see the dual bar magnets utilized, one in front and one in the rear.

Now it looks very close to the Monogram chassis, but look a little closer. The front axle area has an extra spot to adjust the wheel base. This I really like, just more options for later scratch-building projects. Also the magnets are different. These are wider and slightly thinner than the Monogram version. So they are close...but not identical.

Road Test Part 2

It was now time to test this car in a much different environment. We were welcomed to the home of Rick Swanson where he has a very nice 2 lane Scalextric road course in a spare bedroom. This track is a smaller one and also the magnets will have an effect.

What a difference we found. The model ran well enough and really hugged the corners. Although it felt over-powered for this smaller track it still functioned and that was all that matters. The magnetic traction should be strong enough for most of you out there, but personally it was too much for my taste. These 2 magnets really stick this car down hard. If you like this type of racing, I would say you will be very pleased.

This car just did not look and feel right to me screaming around at light speed. It's a classic! It should run like one to me. It did not help any that Rick has a very large collection of vintage models and all of them are original. I wanted my new Porsche to run like the old ones. This is just my personal choice however. As it stands the model passed all of our road tests with a variety of drivers and track systems.

Final Thoughts

Although I wish the gearing in these cars would be a little smoother out of the box I still like this car very much. It is easy to tune to just about any track environment, is very well done in our scale and has a decent price point. I have to advise any enthusiast that enjoys classic style racing to think seriously about adding at least one to their current stable. I am glad I did and only more will follow soon.

- 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!

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