Tuesday March 23, 2004

A New Storm Brewing...
The Scalextric Lister Storm LMP
Le Mans 2003

When it comes to LMP class racing in our scale, Scalextric has been very serious about bringing us some of the best models available. This latest effort by them has been discussed for months on the internet and with it's arrival not only are fans of the series going to be happy, but they are in for a surprise or two as well.

If you are new to our hobby you might want to take a look at the Cadillac that was released by Scalextric just a few years ago to appreciate this model even more. I don't say this as the Caddy was bad model, far from it. In fact, as I look back on it now it was one of the key signs that Scalextric had every intention of making us highly detailed and accurate models that ran as good as they looked.

This Lister reminds me of the Caddy in that in brings forth new design concepts that just make a good slot car even better. Some may not care for the looks of it, but to me it looks incredible and appears to be going 200 mph sitting still. Overall shape and markings tell me that Scalextric has once again done a good job at capturing a 1:1 race car in our scale. Being the Sport version we get our "collector credit card" with number 6961 of 10,000. Also this model does not have the old standard button magnet included, but you will find out why soon enough as the front pocket is no made for a bar magnet instead. Another plus of the model is the addition of lights both front and rear. This may not mean much to some of you, but we enjoy night racing a great deal and appreciate not having to add them ourselves.

I felt the fit and overall finish of our sample was about as perfect as you could ask for. Tampo-stampings were very clean and crisp with no signs of fading or running with a durable, dirt-free clear coat sealing them all in place. Small details such as the antennas really give the car a die-cast appearance and here is where some of you will be very happy. The antennas are of a soft, flexible rubber that bend very easily but will not break. I was happy to see this as for too long we have lived with small details such as this only to soon have them broken off due to hard racing. You might think this is no real issue, but for me it is a major improvement and I hope this is a practice we see more of in the future.

Wheel and tires were all very round and true and required minimal sanding. Detail of the brake rotors really stand out through the black wheels and should please those who appreciate this type of detail. The compound of the tires is soft enough for most home track use but if you want silicones, try PMTR 4603 that are for the Fly Saleen, Lola, Corvette etc. I found this odd for Scalextric to do as the tires for the MG Lola would fit but Scalextric decided to use a wider inner rib for the wheel.

Underneath it all we begin to see even more changes. The first thing that caught my eye was that the assembly for the motor, rear axle and bar magnet is a separate pod that is easily removed with one screw. You have to force the tires a little through the body openings, but it pops out easy enough for quick maintenance.

But there is more. As I followed the lead wires from the motor I noticed that it is a quick-disconnect design. This really impressed me to say the least. Not only have they made the model easier to maintain by having this unit a separate component, they now made it so that you can virtually swap these units out completely for different motor/gear combinations. I see several of these motor pod assemblies in enthusiasts pit boxes set up for different racks in the future if Scalextric provides them.

The motor is the standard Mabuchi motor equipped with a 9 tooth pinion that is turning a 27 tooth crown gear. The rear hardened axle is held in place by metal bushings so I would advise adding a drop or two of oil on each bushing and while you are there a small drop on each end of the motor.

QUICK DISCONNECT

Wait...there is still more. A new magnet has been chosen for this model and trust me when I tell you that it works. The design is new as well. It reminds me of the Slot-It "Bowtie" magnet as it has thicker, stronger ends on the sides so that when the car begins to slide out, the thicker portions of the magnet ride over the rail and increase the magnetic downforce. This does allow this car to really crank out some great lap times and should please most of you who enjoy this type of racing. The only draw-back is that when this magnet DOES let loose, you virtually have no window of correction for it and you most likely will end up out of the slot. Now, some of you have more advanced skills than I do and might not find this to be accurate and I look forward to your opinions.

The rest of the body is mounted to the chassis with 7 screws, 5 for the front clip to access the alternate front bar magnet pocket and 2 for the rear light assembly. I say the front is an alternate pocket as if you decide to install an additional bar magnet up front, you are really pushing the limits of the standard Mabuchi motor. I know that some of you will of course add one, but if you do I would suggest installing a stronger motor to help compensate for the increased magnetic drag. Up front we see the new guide system is employed for our Lister. Some enthusiasts prefer this new guide so it should be a welcome addition. I would still like to see a deeper guide sometime in the near future, however this is just my personal preference.

On the track is where this model belongs and testing it was as fun as you might expect. After taking a few laps to get used to this new model lap times steadily fell to a best time of 3.5 seconds! This is almost a full second over the recent Spirit Reynard and Fly Lola and 3/10's of a second behind a stock Scalextric MG Lola. Braking and acceleration are both very crisp allowing you to dive deep in the corners and throttle out hard. As stated, once this magnet lets go I found myself out of the slot rather quickly but for those of you with better driving skills than myself (everyone in the hobby if I had to guess) control is mostly likely ideal for you.

In the end this model is a clear winner, both on the track and off. A combination of new design features and smooth operation make this model ideal for anyone in our hobby from the beginner to the advanced enthusiast. Some may not agree with me but I have to advise fans of this series to get one as this is a durable, fast and great looking model that will only add to the fun of your hobby.

- 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 Scalextric-USA for providing us with this model.