Friday December 08, 2006

NINCO Megane Trophy

The Renault Megane Trophy model from NINCO has been very popular among enthusiasts and for good reason. Not only does this model look good, it can be tuned to  different driving styles and track conditions very easily. As with many of the models released by NINCO, just a few minutes of your time can pay huge dividends in performance for your home racing.

The livery on this model may not appeal to everyone, but it still captures the stance and fine lines of the Megane. The one item that some will notice is that the yellow body color just does not want to lend itself to clear coat like other colors seem to do. Although our sample was free of any dirt, runs or fades, the finish over the yellow does not do the model justice.

However, this is of course my opinion. Some of you may feel it looks just fine, and really it is nothing too glaring. Although the livery is void of any racing markings, the design on the paint still makes look right at home with any race version. Finally, there is always the option or re-painting the model to replicate your favorite team or driver. We do not mention this option often, but many of you are very good at model car painting and can easily transform this model into what ever you want. I did notice some areas such as the head and tail light assemblies had slight excess flash molding to them. It isn't a real glaring issue, but some of you will notice it rather quickly.

The interior is of the half tray type design and has just enough detail for my tastes. Visible roll bar, driver and fire bottle certainly give the model a more scale appearance. Sometimes keeping it simple just makes things easier, not only in model production but for you as well. I like these type of interiors as they give you plenty of room to work with inside the model, yet have a great scale appeal. Although some enthusiasts want full interiors with the most detail they can have, there are times the effort is wasted. Scale detail I cannot see adds no appeal to a model for me, and sometimes actually gets in my way. A good balance of scale authenticity and race-ability is what I like and NINCO achieves this for me.

Wheels and tires are fairly round and true and I noticed no cracks or bends in the hub areas. Added brake rotor detail increases the scale appeal for many enthusiasts and I agree with them. With our initial inspection completed it was time to head for the track for our out of box test to see how this latest racer would perform.

As with most models released today, out of the box performance is pleasing. The model functioned as intended and we clicked off 50 laps very quickly. The button magnet that NINCO utilizes is just enough magnetic downforce for my tastes and the motor certainly has enough power. Braking and acceleration are crisp enough and I soon settled down into a nice, smooth rhythm with the car.

Looking underneath we see the model is equipped with the NC-5 Speeder motor in the angle-winder configuration. 4 screws mount the body to the chassis and were easily removed. Once inside there is a couple modifications you might want to perform to increase the performance. The motor had a visible amount of free-play in the mount. Under power you can see it twist in the mount. I seal each side and the end of the motor mount with a small bead of hot glue. This really helps keep the motor firmly in it's mount.

You might also check the rear bushings to see if they are secure in the chassis under load. The right side bushing on mine had a very slight turn to it under power so I again added adhesive. Being careful around the spur gear and adjustment bushing, I also applied adhesive to the other side as a preventive maintenance  measure.

My final step was to clean up the wheels and tires using the methods described here. After this was completed it was back to the track for more testing. NOTE: You may not think that this step can really improve the performance that much, but is indeed one of the most important maintenance procedures you can do. Not only on NINCO brand models, but for all of your plastic wheel equipped race cars. When it comes to sanding your tires, or even replacing them with after-market silicones, having the wheel as round and clean as you can get makes a large difference in how concentric these tires will fit. They say a house is only as good as it's foundation...this applies equally here.

The front axle did not have much excess vertical free-play, so no major modifications were warranted. The side to side free-play might be too much for some racers, but a small washer on each side would cure this rather quickly. I performed this quick fix on the latest Nissan shown here.

Plastic Track Testing

Advanced testing was done on our home track utilizing PARMA 35 OHM Econo controllers with a Pyramid adjustable power supply set at 12 volts.

The NC-5 is better suited for a larger layout than our home track, but it still can be mastered. The control I had in the corners was much smoother after I learned the outer limits of the car. We posted lap time averages in the 4.3 second range so I was pleased with the overall performance of this car. We keep almost all of our cars in box stock form so I do not change any tires or motors. I see no need to change motors as this power-plant is more than enough. Tires are available for the car if your track or driving taste prefers them.

With the half tray interior there is plenty of room inside to pretty much add what you want. Plenty of space is here for lead, or for those who love the magnets can find many suitable applications. This is why I like this interior design and hope NINCO stays with it.

Wood Track Testing

On our 16 foot by 5 foot wood oval this car was equally fun to drive. The tires needed sanded and cleaned for optimum grip but this goes for all models. Although some after-market tires will be used by many enthusiasts depending on the track surface, we like the feel of the NINCO standard rubber. I like a slot car to be a little loose in the corners so it is more forgiving, and these tires provide that. We had quite the time power sliding this car in and out of the turns.

We matched this model against other releases such as the NSX, Supra and recent Mosler. My driving skills are not as advanced as others, but I still managed to keep this Megane running right with all 3. The NSX did seem to have a slight advantage in the tighter corners, but the performance was very close and I was pleased with the results.

All in all I enjoyed piloting this model. It is very quick and responsive and its tuning options are very broad. It is becoming a very popular model for many enthusiasts for these reasons. I look forward in testing even more tuning methods to see just how well I can get this car to perform. Adding at least one of these models can only lead to increasing your slot car fun, and fun is what this hobby is all about right? I can safely say you should be pleased if you decide to choose one.

- 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 MRC For Providing Us With This Model!