Saturday September 20, 2003

Proteus

Lamborghini Murcielago

This release by Proteus was one that I was certainly curious about to say the least. Although many enthusiasts seem to have dismissed this little company due primarily to its first release, this latest effort is a completely different model and I can safely say you should give it a closer look.

Once again, Proteus has modeled a exotic street car and to their credit they have done a very good job of it in our scale. According to prototype photos they have really captured this model nicely and should please most scale enthusiasts. Although these models are not everyone's cup of tea, I like the sleek lines of this model and find both versions to be very striking.

Overall fit and finish of both models were very well done with an even, dust-free clear-coat covering the body. What little Tampo-stampings there are were done fairly well, except the actual Lamborghini logo on the front hood was smeared a little and is pretty much illegible.

The first thing that might catch your eye when it comes to durability is the large side mirrors. And I can safely say that they WILL come off rather easily in a tumble, yet were easily snapped back in place. To avoid losing them or breaking the small post mounts you can simply remove them before racing.

Interior detail isn't abundant here, yet still gives the model a decent prototypical look and feel. We even get a full driver this time who is outfitted in common racing garb (anyone recognize him?). Small details such as the gear shift lever and console switches are painted in silver which adds a decent touch to the overall scale effect.

We are now getting to the part where this model began to impress me. First on the list is the wheels. Proteus has really done a splendid job on them in the detail department with etched metal brake rotors that really stand out and catch your attention. The tires are very good using a soft compound that really hugs the track. As good as these wheels and tires appear, they are not as round and true as I would have liked them to be. Still, after a good sanding treatment they were much better so I can't complain too much.  The fit of the tires on the wheel might seem a little off as well, if yours are, try working the tire on the wheel a little more by hand. I tried this same method and it had the tires cleanly seated in no time.

Time to pop the hood. 4 screws are easily removed to expose the chassis and running gear. This model comes with a Mabuchi motor sitting in an inline configuration with a 9 tooth pinion driving a 29 tooth crown gear. As you can see there are some major differences between this model and the first release of the Pregunta.

The motor sits in a removable motor pod assembly held in place by the 2 screws shown in the photo. This configuration shows that other motor mounts will be available to accept different style motors quite easily. The motor leads are not soldered to the tabs, utilizing female crimped connectors for easier and quicker motor swaps. These were very secure and I didn't experience any power issues, but if this does not please you, soldering them in place would be very easy to accomplish.

This chassis has more to offer than just this however. Items such as the wire mounts to help keep things neat and tidy in the electrical department are one of them. After looking closer at this, it again seems obvious this chassis is built to accommodate more than what it comes with stock. There are extra wire guides that appear to be in place to allow ease of installing either after-market lighting kits, or Proteus has plans to release some of their own. Again, this all just my opinion and hopefully my emails to them will get answered soon and I can confirm all of this.

This model does come with a magnet which is virtually identical to the Fly B73 bar magnet except it is painted black and slightly a few thousands wider, but this is a very slight amount to say the least. Here is where fans of tuning with magnets should be happy as the chassis has another magnet location in the front, so you can either move this magnet to the front...or add an additional bar magnet.

The axles on this model were fairly straight and true as far as the performance results revealed. The rear axle is held in place by 2 brass bushings, which although are a snug fit might need some adhesive over them to keep them from spinning in their mounts under load. It also has a rather bulky brass flange mated with the crown gear that helps keep side-to-side free-play to a minimum. Still, it does have a little more free-play than I like making the gear distance a little farther than I care for, but it might be I am being very very particular here.

As far as performance out of the box is concerned you should be pleased. Although this model isn't the quietest one I have had out of the box, the operation is till very pleasing. These gears will take a little to break-in as all gears do, so in time it should quiet down. Performance was surprising, because I didn't expect it to perform like it did. We posted lap times in the 3.1 second range consistently with a best lap of 2.9. Braking was a little light for my taste, but I got used to this quickly enough. Acceleration is very crisp with control smoother than expected using Parma 45 ohm controllers, but switching to our Professor Motor controllers really made a big difference when it came to correcting this beast in a spin.

In the end I am pleased with this effort by Proteus. They have managed to produce a solid, enjoyable slot car that I think most of you would enjoy owning. Of course models such as these do not appeal to all racers, but if your tastes in slot cars aren't limited to actual "race" cars...you should consider adding a pair of these to your collection.

- 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!

Many thanks go to Gene at Slotcarplace.com for providing us with these models!