NINCO BMW X5 "Isostar"

by Shawn Smith

The latest RAID truck in the NINCO product line might still be coming off of the assembly line in Spain, but thanks to NincoBob of MRC one of the new BMW X5s was brought back from his recent trip to the NINCO headquarters and days later it showed up at my door for review. Interestingly the first Ninco X5 came to Slot Car Garage almost 8 months ago so in some ways I was expecting this truck to have undergone some changes... it doesn’t look like it has. Not that it’s a bad thing as the first BMW X5 was great!

Appearance:

The only thing really different between this ‘Isostar’ liveried truck and the original ‘Motor Cadi’ BMW X5 is, quite simply, the livery. Both the original and this latest X5 are both predominantly blue although they are a different shade of blue. The ‘Isostar’ graphics also add a bit more color to this particular paint scheme.

Details haven’t changed much either as this most recent effort possesses the same chrome accented grill inserts, the same separately applied headlight and taillight details and the same style of mud flaps behind all four wheels.

Three roof mounted ventilation inlets are still found on the top and the very durable side view mirrors are a welcome feature as the top heavy nature of these trucks can be the cause of some spectacular roll-overs.

As is prototypical of the 1:1 X5 RAID trucks, the rear passenger and rear lift-gate windows have been painted over. In the 1:1 trucks this mainly hides the multiple spare off-road tires carried in the rear of the truck in case of flats on the course.

Tires and rims once again are unchanged from Ninco’s first BMW X5 and some extraneous rubber flashing on the knobby off-road treaded tires is still included as well. At first glance this makes the rim look a little chewed up but rest assured it’s the tires causing this look.

Interior details include the modeled roll cage, the painted dash board details and as no rally-style car would be complete without its navigator, the Ninco Isostar BMW has the obligatory co-pilot complete with a clipboard full of driving instructions that is so crisp you can almost read it with the naked eye.

 Performance:

Again, the formula for success has been unchanged and everything from the three screws to keep the body secure to the chassis, down to the quiet band-drive all-wheel drive system, has been retained on this latest BMW X5. I’m going to start sounding like a broken record but it has to be said... no changes is fine by me as the original was a blast to toss around the track and so is this latest.

Powering our all-wheel drive X5 is Ninco’s NC-7 ‘Raider’ motor that generates a healthy 19,300 rpms while providing more than enough torque to make this truck a handful at times.              

Piloting one of these trucks can be entertaining to say the least. With suspension springs on all four corners the trucks demonstrate a form of ‘body roll’ not found in ordinary slot cars. While some aren’t fond of the novelty, almost everyone watching me test this truck certainly liked it and commented on how realistic the truck’s behaviors were.

Because there is some ‘leaning’ involved with driving one of these trucks the Ninco ‘ProArm’ drop-arm guide system is a necessity. Also remember that Ninco has specialty ‘off road’ track sections manufactured to get the most out of the trucks suspension. These track sections, as frequently seen in my exterior shots of the truck, have both a bumpy ‘dirt road’ surface as well as special bumps and simulated rock piles that can be placed on the track for these trucks to negotiate.

Probably the most interesting thing to me is that Ninco uses a totally different magnet style in these trucks than any of the rest of their product line. Instead of a cylindrical button-style magnet the X5, ProTruck and Mitsubishi Pajero all use a very strong bar magnet that clips in to the bottom of the chassis.

I honestly would like to see Ninco take this rectangular magnet style and implement it more with their line up of modern GT cars and leave the round magnets in their classic series. In any event the bar magnet is just as much a factor in the body-rolling antics of these trucks as easily removing these bar magnets allows the trucks to slide around the corners just like any normal non-magnet rally style slot car will. In either set up it won't be likely that you’ll set any new track records with these RAID trucks, but if it's fun that you're looking for these will certainly take care of that.

The Final Verdict:

I liked them 8 months ago and that opinion hasn’t changed. Yes they have their ‘gadgets’ that some slotters will discount as a novelty they can live without, although for anyone who can pick up a ‘novelty car’ and enjoy it for what it is this slot car is just a plain blast to drive. Testing this X5 at the commercial track drew a bunch of on-lookers commenting on how the truck whips through the corners on 3 wheels, how fast the trucks fly down the straight-a-ways and just how great it is to see something fun and unique buzzing around the track. If you missed out on the previous versions of this truck I can’t suggest enough that you need to at least give one of these a try. They can be a bunch of fun if you let them!

Special thanks go to MRC – Model Rectifier Corp for providing the new NINCO BMW X5 for review. As always, please feel free to email me with any comments or questions about this or any other review and I’ll be happy to answer any questions that I can. Happy slotting!

Shawn Smith