Scalextric V8 Supercars 2011 - Home Racing World & Slot Car Garage

06/14/2011

Scalextric Ford FG Falcon #C3077 - 1/32nd Scale
Added commentary by Rob Wessling

I normally stick to models that can be found at my favorite local hobby shop, but once in awhile a model is released in other markets I just have to have. This Scalextric Ford FG Falcon is one such model and thanks to a old friend "down under" it finally arrives after much anticipation.

So what is the big deal about this car? Well, in case you didn't know the Australian V8 Supercar series is likely one of the wildest series you could ever hope to watch. The races I have seen are full of fender to fender action with all the heated rivalries we all know and love. These boys in the land of OZ drive a car HARD and you just respect the level of competition.

The Scalextric slot car versions have long been a favorite of mine, going back to 2003 when I was first exposed to them. A simple and affordable slot car that had plenty of performance. They were and still are great little slot cars but alas my small collection is basically no more. Over the years they simply were worn out and were "retired" to my attic.

Original Review From 2003

Then I saw the news posted in our forum about all new models coming soon. However, since these models are Australian only releases, I would have to contact someone over there to get one. As luck would have it, one of my friends that is a long time HRW member and friend from there Rob Wessling contacted me and told me I had one on the way as a gift!

It finally arrived here and just seeing it brought back all those old memories.

These models are different than many standard releases in that they do not have any interior. This may seem odd to some but at the time this was a way to produce models with a very attractive price point. It did not seem to stop the folks down under from collecting and racing them either.

Although the absence of the interior does not bother me that much, I think these models deserve more scale appeal. Let's face it, we have seen a lot of scale detail go into some models that are not near as popular as these. Yet, the speed crazed enthusiasts seem to like them just fine as you can imagine.

And let us not forget our younger racers. Most of them do not care about an interior. And Scalextric has increased their line up of beginner models this year using this same approach. It keeps the cost down yet you still get all the good stuff under the hood.

But as usual, it is up to you if the interior (or lack of) is a major issue.

The rest of the model is nearly perfect in execution for our scale. Perfect? No, but hardly anything is in this hobby. Certainly close enough for my eyes and for other enthusiasts as well. The paint work is very high quality as we have come to expect from Scalextric. Markings are very crisp and clear and are sealed with an equally clean clear coat.

The wheels and tires are standard fare but I want to stress how round and true these were out of the box. It seems that Scalextric has quietly been releasing models lately with increased quality control in this area.

The tires are medium compound and grip well enough on plastic with the magnet working it's magic. However, wood track/non-magnet enthusiasts will want to change tires.

Box Stock Track Testing
New Ozark Speedway
5 x 16 - 4 Lane Carrera Track OVAL
Aftermarket Power @ 12 Volts PARMA 25 OHM Control

Like most models from Scalextric, this car with the bar magnet is a fast one. I easily had this car in the 2.7 second range and the grip in the corners should please most magnet racers.

Although a heavy magnet car can sometimes hide issues such as bad wheels/axles there was no mistaking this car to be pretty well done. It has very smooth operation with excellent acceleration and crisp braking.

One thing I noticed is that the car seemed to have an almost perfect tripod effect with the front tires barely touching the track. This is of course a good thing and not something you see everyday out of the box.

My thoughts so far are that this is a just a nice slot car all the way around. It looks and runs great straight from the case as it should and most of you will be very pleased. The lack of interior will bother some of you and I can respect that. It bothers me as well, but remember that some racers like it this way. In the end it is always up to you if Scalextric did a good enough job.

Looking Closer

Turning the model over we see a very basic chassis with 4 screws mounting it with the body.

The model is a sidewinder configuration with standard gearing. The Scalextric standard Mabuchi motor has an 11 tooth pinion that drives the 36 tooth spur gear and the gear mesh is fair. I say fair as there is a light whine to it that veteran Scalextric owners will notice immediately. This is ok because it will quiet down with prolonged break-in. What you might find different is the sound the entire car makes. Given there is no interior the sound resonates inside and creates almost a low growling sound.

A major difference between this chassis and original releases is the digital wiring plug. With this compatibility plug and play wiring, the extra two magnet pockets are eliminated. Not an issue for me, but for those who like a milder magnet operation might need to be creative and find alternate ways to mount the magnet.

Advanced Testing
MidMo International Speedway
4 x 16 - 3 Lane MDF Routed Wood Road Course - Flat Latex Surface
Copper Tape Conductivity - Aftermarket Power @ 12 Volts PARMA 25 OHM Control

After a quick sanding and cleaning of the tires it was off to our wood track. The first thing I checked however was the front tripod effect. Here on the flat wood surface you could easily see the front tires barely touching. I was happy to say the least. Sanding the front tires is usually required to get a model this way, but none was required here.

Any veteran enthusiast will confirm to you that if a car runs smoothly on wood, it is a good sign you have a decent slot car to start working with. Well, you will find that here. This model has almost ZERO wheel hop and runs wonderfully on my track. There is a light chatter but that is due to the tires.

The compound is not that bad but the low profile makes them a little harder can cause this chatter effect. The tires are just not ideal for my track surface. That is fine though as this is one of the changes wood track owners live with.

One thing that is also worth mentioning is the ability to back off the mounting screws and allow the body to have more float. This is a critical area at times, especially on very large tracks. On our small track it helps too, and after backing them out a turn or two the car handled even better with less chatter. A tire change will still make this car better of course.

Now I want to share with you the thoughts of another long time enthusiast. Rob Wessling is from Australia and has been a long time contributor to HRW as well as a friend of mine for many years. By all rights you should get the opinion from one of the people this model was produced for so I asked him to give his thoughts on this latest release:

"The FG Ford Falcon is the latest addition to Scalextric line of V8 Supercar models. Most believe it is also the quickest, at least they do at my local club where up to 17 racers regularly attend club meets. The Scalextric V8 Supercars are the most popular class of racing for plastic chassis models.

The first reports I heard from Pete Richards of Nomad Raceway in Toowoomba about the new Scalextric FG Ford were quite astounding. This model was far superior to both the BA/BF Falcons and also the VE Commodores in outright performance on Pete's Blue King layout. So much so that a tier one and tier two arrangement for the class was being considered.

I took the plunge, deciding to upgrade to an FG for club (identical to Harry's #6 car in this review), retiring my BA Pirtek, which was one of the quicker BA Fords at club. The model was built as per Harry's usual tuning regime, about the only thing I do different for club is super glue the front tires so they provide a nice hard/no grip surface. On its first run at the club it broke the track record for V8 Supercars by some 4/10ths of a second, and some 6/10ths of a second better than my previous best with my old BA Pirtek.

This was quite impressive considering I had never expected coming anywhere near Dave's old lap record (he is very, very quick).

I think the new FG chassis is better than Scalextric designs in that it has the ability to float freely in the body with the body mounting screws backed off a tad (removal of the molded exhaust in the chassis facilitates this), the other designs had all manner of tabs etc to mate body and chassis together.

The body also sits a lot lower on the chassis, giving a correct "stance" to the model as per prototype, and yes, I can hear the calls of "about time too" from the wings! The lower body will also improve handling by providing a lower center of gravity.

The tyres (tires dang it!) also appear to be a different specification to earlier releases, they came up a treat after truing in my tyre lathe.

As always with these V8 Supercars from Scalextric, the Tampo work is superb, a fine looking model albeit sans interior (hey, interiors add more weight anyway don't they?).

- Rob

All in all this appears to be a winner for Scalextric. The only "downside" is that it is not available over here. Yet. I say that as the first series of these models were released the same way. Australia only and then out of the blue they were imported here. Who knows? This could happen again and frankly it should. These cars, even with the absence interior, have just as much appeal to me if not more than many other releases out there.

A very solid and smooth model is what you should find if you choose to add one to your current stable. I am very happy with it and this will not be the only one in my collection. Interior or not, it is one fun slot car.

- 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!