03/08/2012

1/32nd Scale NINCO Camaro - NDigital Version - #55052 

NINCO N-Digital Camaro SSX

Can I interest you in something a little more American?

By Kurt “El Secundo” Moser 

NINCO’s typically euro-centric line of cars caters more frequently to the rally crowd and the European FIA GT crowd than it does to the American racing scene, but the NINCO1 line now sports a third American racer, the Camaro SSX.  With a couple liveries already scheduled for this car, several Corvettes already on the road and plenty of Mustangs rounding out the field, modern Trans Am racing is heavily represented by NINCO.  We’ll take a look at the newest racing partner, and see how it matches up.

The Camaro SSX, while technically not a race car (Chevy calls it a ‘track car concept’) anchors Chevy’s efforts on the race track.  It’s Chevy’s way of saying “if you want to go racing, here’s the Camaro you’ll want for the job”.  She’s all white with a black stripe, a black wing, and a black grille, with a touch of red accents.  The two red details visible from the front are a red tow hook poking out of the blacked-out grille that says “in case you haven’t noticed, I’m a race car”, and a red bowtie proclaiming “and by the way, I’m a Chevrolet”.  Sharp touches on the 1:1 car, nicely captured in 1:32.

 Now, just when I think I know what NINCO is up to with the NINCO1 line, they throw me a curveball.  The last curveball was the NINCO1 Mercedes GT3 with the motor pod and the NC-9 motor.  What curveball hit me in the head this time?  Well, one of my most-appreciated features of NINCO’s beginner line of cars was that they used a separate smoked plastic windshield, a touch of quality that other manufacturers didn’t have in their beginner lines.  Not any more.  The SSX uses a single-piece body, with the windshield painted black.  It may be a little worse on this particular car, since it has the same black paint on its hood stripe, so the painted hood has the same look and feel as the windshield, which makes this feature stand out a little more than it should.  I’ve included a side-by-side photo of a NINCO1 Mustang with black glass vs. the Camaro with its painted glass.  You be the judge.  I can honestly say, though, that even if it’s not my preference, I can’t tell when the car is in motion. 

What I can say about the NINCO1 line, though, is that they always mix in some nice looking features with obvious cost-cutters, and this holds true for the SSX as well.  The tail of this Camaro really catches the attention with some great looking taillights, exhaust pipes and license plate detail, so not all is lost in the looks department.  Making it even better as a digital racer, mirrors are heavy duty rubberized plastic, and the wing should be able to take a few good licks.

BUT it’s safe to say that the NINCO1 line isn’t exactly ‘collector grade’, these cars are meant for the track – especially in this case, with the N-Digital chip already installed, and the car ready for fender-banging.  So first, let’s look at the fiddly bits under the hood, then we can go for a spin.  Looking at the chassis, we can see that the Camaro is just like his pals:  NC-11 motor, same gearing, same tires, no motor pod, small bar magnet behind the inline motor, etc.  And that’s a good thing.  In spite of the builder’s desire to change everything, the Camaro matches its racing buddies, and that’s a great approach for this line of cars (round of applause).

What does that mean on the track?  Well, it means that whatever setup (or lack of setup) you have for your other NINCO1 cars, you will see similar performance, which just makes for better racing.  The only difference I’ve found so far is that the Camaro has slightly more up and down play in the front axle, but there’s no binding anywhere.  In testing on NINCO track, this seems to lead to a little less front end de-slotting experienced with the Corvette and the Mustang.  The Camaro seems to be able to charge into corners a little better than its counterparts, and it’s worth noting that the front tires on this car are basically rubber bands.  This seems to allow the guide to stay planted a touch better than the Mustang and the Corvette, but otherwise, the three are perfect stable-mates.  The only thing recommended out of the box would be to remove the tires, and trim the nubs off the wheels.  Once this is done, carefully seat the tires back on the wheels.  The tires fit very well on the rib, so make sure that the rubber settles over the rib when you put it back in place.  This makes a world of difference, and you’ll really be able to enjoy how well this car runs with very little effort.

So, with no question that this car was built for racing, does it do what it was intended to do?  No doubt!  It’s a great driver, a nice addition to their line-up of modern T/A racers, and the perfect digital racer.  It’s available in analog, too, so you don’t have to be an N-Digital race junkie to try this one out.\

-Kurt

Thanks to NINCO Bob Lewen and MRC for supplying this Camaro for review.

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