Saturday September 27, 2003

Scalextric L88 Corvette

More American Muscle!

This model is one of those that have been talked about for quite some time among our little slot car community, and for many reasons. I have waited as patiently as I could for its release and it has now finally appeared. Although arriving in an undecorated state, it allows us to get a closer look at how well Scalextric has captured it in our scale as well as its performance.

I have heard many comments about this model since its first prototype photos were released, some good and some bad. All I can say that for the final release my eyes tell me Scalextric has done a decent job of capturing this car in scale. Of course, hardcore Vette fans and true scale enthusiasts will notice a few things here and there in the scale department that will not please them, there is just no way around it. According to Scalextric-USA this model is based on the 1969 model and prototype photos tell me they have come close enough, so either you will feel this way, or you won't and hopefully the photos are good enough for you to draw a better opinion.

So with that said what about the rest of this machine? I found mold lines and body fit to be on the usual high standards Scalextric has been delivering to us lately. Some details such as the side pipes and rear-view mirror might be the first victims in harder crashes, but they are stronger than you might think. This release is an important one in my opinion, so I decided it was fair to take more time with it to see just how durable it is going to be. So in the last 24 hours I have once again allowed several younger enthusiasts to put this car through its paces. I am sure over time items such as these, and possibly the front clip will give way, but after seeing some of the punishment it has taken I can only say it should hold up rather well for your home racing.

Interior detail is nicely done and although some do not care for the driver included, it really isn't an issue for me because I can't notice him that much as the car whips past me at speed. A full roll cage is present along with a decent instrument panel, console and even battery detail. The roof on this model is removable as is the interior itself, allowing you increased modeling variations and I felt that this was a nice touch. be careful when removing this roof as you might pop out the rear glass, if you do it is easily re-installed but you will need to use a very light amount of adhesive, again a few drops of clear silicone will hold it in place without distorting the glass.

Wheels and tires are also a decent attempt with the soft compound tires providing good grip. I like these tires, but still find they need a good sanding to get them as true and round as I prefer. This can be said for every car made on the market today however, so it really isn't anything negative. The wheels are a 2 piece design meaning the wheel and visible brake rotor are separate and these rotors are glued in place behind the wheel. They are identical to the early Trans-Am wheels so silicones will be a direct fit. The wheels are a very tight fit on the axles as I had to resort to 2 sets of pliers on each wheel to break them free for removal. (Wheel Sizes At The Outer Rim)

Speaking of removal, 6 screws hold the body to the chassis and were easily removed. I did seem to have to apply a little more elbow grease to the 2 rear screws, but they still came out unharmed. The 2 center screws are for the interior and hold it snugly in place. I must stress this right now: Be careful of the front lighting electronics. The circuit board for the front lights might be a little snug inside the body causing it to stay in place after the chassis is free. I found that you can just fit your finger inside to help pop this out and prevent damage to the wiring. The board is mounted to the self-centering guide spring bracket, but you can still disable this function by simply removing the spring and re-attaching the bracket. I found that the front height of this model is virtually perfect for my driving tastes as the front wheels barley touch the ground, allowing the front guide to rest nicely in the slot.

One thing some of you will be surprised with is the fact Scalextric has used a front-motor configuration for this release, however given the body type and interior this really was the only way to fit it all in. I am very pleased with the quality of the drive-line as I found that neither the drive-shaft bushing, or the rear axle bushings would spin under load. After extended racing though you might begin to hear a slight squeal of the gears, and if so check the drive-shaft bushing and make sure it is secure and is lubricated as well as the rear axle bushings. The drive-shaft bushing is a very tight fit inside its mount but I still advise a little adhesive on top just to make sure it stays there. I have found that hot glue or clear silicone such as Shoe Goo are the best for this application as they hold everything in quite well, yet is easily removed in the event of maintenance or changing to after-market products in the drive-line.

The Mabuchi motor has a 9 tooth pinion driving a 27 tooth crown gear with gear mesh about as smooth as you could ask for, and extended break-in resulted in an even quieter drive. A bar magnet is present with 2 positions to choose from to suit your driving tastes, or you can simply remove it. The wiring for the lighting and motor are neatly tucked in the chassis which helps ease re-assembly for people like me who worry about pinching or breaking the delicate wires. Tuning this car for no magnets might seem difficult due to the amount of room inside the chassis, but using sheet lead such as Slick 7 or Pro-Track will fit under the chassis on bottom.

Performance of this model should please most of you as I found both acceleration and braking to be clean and crisp. Stock Scalextric controllers do not really let you get the most out of this model, yet were not as bad as I thought they would be. However many of you have upgraded to higher end controllers and this really helps "wake" this car up. Using my Professor Motor controller was a world of difference as was the Parma 45 ohm. We tested on Carrera, Artin and Scalextric Sport track systems and all yielded good results, with lap time averages from our DS Timer at 3.2 seconds with a best lap of 3.16.

Once I found my rhythm with this model, the fun factor was turned up a notch. Although the heavy magnet is present, I still found a decent window for correcting a spin and managed to stay in the slot more than I expected. I found that this model can get tail happy rather easily, but that's fine by me because that is the way I like them!

To wrap things up I think Scalextric has brought us another fine slot car. It is getting difficult nowadays for me to find much fault in these models when the quality of them is at this level. The other day a rather new enthusiast called to speak with me about his new Scalextric layout. He said over and over again how much he liked the cars because they were quiet, smooth and ran well out of the box. This release is no different and I am pretty sure most of you will be happy. Regardless whether you are a newcomer or a veteran enthusiast, I would grab at least one for your collection because in the end they are FUN like slot cars should be. You can be sure that when the other painted releases arrive, both of them will find a home here.

-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. Make sure you check their website for all the latest information regarding these models and the rest of the Scalextric line.