Monday February 21, 2005

NINCO Classic Corvette

One particular line of models that are certainly in a class by themselves are the Classics offered by NINCO. These models have always been ones that forced you to actually drive the car instead of the magnet and today have become a very popular series for many clubs and home circuits. This latest Vette is just one more addition and I was pretty excited when it finally arrived to see how it would stack-up with the rest. 

First glances at this model compared to prototype photos quickly told me that NINCO has done a great job with it in our scale. All the lines of this car were nicely done and overall fit and finish is excellent. I was particularly impressed with the clear-coat on this model as it seems to be slightly heavier than other NINCO models and was free of any runs or dirt. Nothing is perfect however, and I am sure some of you will find issues here and there. Hopefully the photos here and on the NINCO website are enough for you to come to your own conclusions.

For me, NINCO has always achieved a good balance of scale detail and such is the case here. Some feel that they should include more detail, but I am not sure why...or even where...you would start. When scale detail starts to get in the way of what this model is actually designed to do, then it is simply too much. The cockpit and driver here is more than enough to please most racers and any interior below it would simply be nothing more than wasted space.

Wheels and tires are nothing new but are nicely round and true. One item that seems to keep following NINCO models is a good amount of excess free-play in the front axle.

The vertical free-play isn't so much an issue as the side to side action it has. As with most of these models I like to trim the axle a little to minimize this and it really only takes a few seconds with my trusty Dremel and a cut-off disc. You could just as easily shim this axle with washers/shims. Sometimes though the amount is so little, that just a trimming is what does the trick.

After removing the 2 screws that hold the body to the chassis, we see the now standard NC-5 Speeder motor along with the common NINCO button magnet mounted near the front of the chassis. The Speeder motor in this car certainly should be enough power for most enthusiasts, and possibly too much at times. This smaller car with a very light magnet could have easily gone with an NC-2 for most small to medium sized layouts, but more power seems to be what most car makers now think we want. However, having this much power in the motor is easily changed so even if you want something milder, it is basically a snap-in replacement.

Although it is a very minor point, I was hoping this chassis would come with the removable motor mount for a quicker and easier change to the NC-1. For those just starting out this is not a big deal, but for those that have a large collection of prior models with the NC-1, it might be worth mentioning.

Operation of this Vette is still a great deal of fun, especially if you have straights long enough to let the Speeder motor breathe. In tighter corners some of you might find it a handful with all that power, but once I settled down with some practice the car was drifting quite nicely through even the tighter turns on our layout. I am also happy to see this model stay close to the original classics by having such a light magnet set-up. Most owners of prior classics will likely remove the magnet and replace the motor to match it better with early releases. Still, even running this car box-stock is a good challenge for many enthusiasts.

In the end I am happy to see this model arrive. It at least continues the classic line NINCO started years ago and can be matched easily to prior releases. It also is a model that many newcomers can enjoy even without a heavy magnet inside. Learning to drive models like this is sometimes the most fun you can have in 1/32nd scale racing and if this sounds appealing to you, I highly suggest taking a closer look at this and other classics releases by NINCO.

- 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!