1March 2007

EditorEditorEditorEditorEditorBrian Rogers

27 Paige CloseWatlington

King’s LynnNorfolk

PE33 0TQTel/Fax:- 01553 813090

e-mail:- editor@nscc.co.uk

TTTTTrade Advertisingrade Advertisingrade Advertisingrade Advertisingrade AdvertisingAdrian Leggett

RosevilleWestwood Lane

NormandyGuildford

SurreyGU3 2JG

Tel:- 07773 967333between 09:00 - 18:00

01483 810102 eveningse-mail:- sales@nscc.co.uk

ContentsContentsContentsContentsContentsEvents.........................................2Election Results..........................4Diary Dates................................5Messages From Margate............7Shipment From Spain...............9NincoNews..............................13H:O World...............................16Fly On The Wall......................19Racer News..............................22Bugatti Type 59........................24Kits ‘N’ Bobs............................37Ebay Watch..............................40Elva MK7................................42Earlybirds 2007........................43Milton Keynes Swapmeet.......47Special Competition................48Adverts.....................................49

NNNNNOOOOO. 300 M. 300 M. 300 M. 300 M. 300 MARCHARCHARCHARCHARCH 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007

300 Not Out300 Not Out300 Not Out300 Not Out300 Not Out

Here we go then - issue #300 of the magazine in gloriousTechnicolor throughout. Bob Bott, our treasurer, will probably

have apoplexy when he gets the printing bill, but a milestone issuedeserves some special treatment I think. No, we definitely can’t affordto do it again in the near future!

If you are interested in the Scalextric Bugatti then you shouldfind much to read this month - what started as an idea for a six pagearticle got totally out of hand thanks to some prompting by ‘BloodyDaft Idea Animal’! I started asking far too many questions about thethings and ended up by filling thirteen pages! I still had to cut somebits out and Jonathan Hewitt has already threatened to write afollow-up article.

During the course of my research I decided to take a centre pagephoto of as many varieties of Bugatti as it was possible to gathertogether in one place - not a simple undertaking! This was finallyachieved at the Milton Keynes swapmeet where several bemusedtable holders were encouraged to lend me some of their stock. Theguy who let me walk off with a genuine C70 Bugatti worth the bestpart of three grand was indeed very trusting! Yes, I did return itintact.

Having put the collection together we needed somewhere tophotograph it - the main hall itself did not have sufficiently brightlighting for the purpose and we could hardly spread umpty thousandpounds worth of precious models over the bonnet of my car.Fortunately the staff at the Leisure Centre let us borrow the first aidroom to take the pictures, but a lifeguard in the adjoining swimmingpool was seriously confused when he came to collect some plasters,only to be confronted by a treatment table completely covered by toyplastic cars!

And Finally - my appeal for more contributions has borne fruit andI have a few articles held over for April. My thanks to the people whoresponded - always room for more though!

Till next monthBrian

2

The new 2007 releases have begun toarrive starting with one of the best ever.

C2558A Formula One 1976C2558A Formula One 1976C2558A Formula One 1976C2558A Formula One 1976C2558A Formula One 1976C2747W Ferrari 312T2 / LaudaC2747W Ferrari 312T2 / LaudaC2747W Ferrari 312T2 / LaudaC2747W Ferrari 312T2 / LaudaC2747W Ferrari 312T2 / Lauda

C2748W McLaren Ford M23 /HuntC2748W McLaren Ford M23 /HuntC2748W McLaren Ford M23 /HuntC2748W McLaren Ford M23 /HuntC2748W McLaren Ford M23 /HuntThis has to be Hornby’s best Scalextric releaseever with just amazing details in the Ferrari andMcLaren. To get around the tobacco advertisingproblems the cars are depicted from the 1976German Grand Prix, unfortunately the onewhere Lauda suffered horrific burns after adreadful accident.

The cars are absolutely superb with anunsurpassed amount of detail especially in theMcLaren rear suspension. I wonder how manyof these cars will be actually raced as they aresure to be fast but very fragile. The front wheelsare mounted on independent stub axles whichhas allowed for even more front suspensiondetail without the problem of a large axle tosupport.

This release is a limited edition of 8000pieces worldwide. A further McLaren will bereleased later this year as the subscriptionpresent of the Spanish MiniAuto Slot magazine.

C2798 Ford Escort RS 1600C2798 Ford Escort RS 1600C2798 Ford Escort RS 1600C2798 Ford Escort RS 1600C2798 Ford Escort RS 1600Last year’s Escort release has proved verypopular and Hornby are quick to respond witha third version. With hundreds of liveriesavailable to them, not to mention track cars, theEscort is bound to remain in the catalogues forsome time to come. This version is finished inwhite with blue side panels.

C2788 PC2788 PC2788 PC2788 PC2788 Peugeot 307 WRC Pirelli-eugeot 307 WRC Pirelli-eugeot 307 WRC Pirelli-eugeot 307 WRC Pirelli-eugeot 307 WRC Pirelli-BozianBozianBozianBozianBozian

This striking yellow version of the 307 makes apleasant change from red versions. The frontwheel direct drive and belt driven rear drive isvery effective giving realistic rally car handlingon twisty circuits. ➳

3March 2007

C2784 Maserati MC12 Racing BoC2784 Maserati MC12 Racing BoC2784 Maserati MC12 Racing BoC2784 Maserati MC12 Racing BoC2784 Maserati MC12 Racing BoxxxxxNo 1No 1No 1No 1No 1

The championship winner from last year isreproduced this year in the red & white RacingBox Maserati MC12

C2753 MercedesC2753 MercedesC2753 MercedesC2753 MercedesC2753 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren-Benz SLR McLaren-Benz SLR McLaren-Benz SLR McLaren-Benz SLR McLarenRRRRRoad Caroad Caroad Caroad Caroad Car

Not really a new release as this car was in theArgos only set last year. Still, it is a superbversion in flawless black paint.

Crystal Ball GazingCrystal Ball GazingCrystal Ball GazingCrystal Ball GazingCrystal Ball GazingHornby have released preliminary informationabout some additions to the range that are notincluded in the 2007 catalogue. Remember thatthis data is only provisional and is subject tochange for a wide variety of reasons.

This makes the full list of forthcomingreleases announced to date as follows. Highlightsinclude a McLaren M23 for subscribers of theSpanish Mini Auto Slot magazine and aCollector’s Centre Seat Leon.C2762 Seat Leon T. CoronelC2773 Mini Cooper S G. DawsonC2774 Ford Mustang FR 500CC2782A 50th Anniversary CommemorativePack FerrariC2783A 50th Anniversary CommemorativePack MercedesC2785 Jaguar XKRS RedlineC2786 Porsche 911 GT3RC2787 Ferrari 330 P4C2789 Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 Scalextric50th AnniversaryC2790 Aston Martin DBR9

C2791 Ford Fusion K. SchraderC2792 Ford Fusion G. BiffleC2793 Chevrolet D. HamlinC2794 Chevrolet K. BuschC2795 Dodge ViperC2796 Chevrolet CamaroC2797 Ford MustangC2799 Ferrari 312 T2 C. RegazzoniC2800 McLaren M23 G. VilleneuveC2801 Nissan Skyline PennzoilC2802 Ford Focus RS WRC M. GrönholmC2803 Ferrari 375 1951 F. GonzalezC2804 Ferrari F430 GT2C2805 Mini CooperC2806 McLaren 2007 F. AlonsoC2806D McLaren 2007 F. AlonsoC2807 Morris Mini Cooper Winner 1967Monte Carlo Rally R. AaltonenC2808 Range Rover Police CarC2809 Audi R10C2810 Lamborghini GallardoC2811 Chaparral 2FC2812 Porsche RS SpyderC2813 McLaren 2006 P. De La RosaC2814 Mercedes 300 SLR J. M. Fangio MilleMigliaC2815B NSCC Weekend 2007C2816 Ford GT Scalextric ClubC2817 Honda F1 2007 J. ButtonC2819 Range RoverC2820 Mini Cooper from C1197 Digital DriverC2821 Mini Cooper from C1197 Digital DriverC2822 Ferrari F430C2823 Ford GTC2824 Mini Cooper Red Spiderweb roof fromC1194 Inner City Speed setC2825 Seat Leon James Thompson CollectorsCentres Only L.E. 1200C2833 Police Range Rover from C1199 StreetPursuit setC2834 Lamborghini Gallardo from C1199H2836A McLaren M23 E. Villota Mini AutoSlotC2837 McLaren Lewis Hamilton

As ever there will be more information onthese releases nearer to their release date. Pleaselet me know if you find, or hear of, anything noton this list. ■

4

Tecnitoys decided not to exhibit at thisyear’s London Toy Fair andconcentrated their efforts on the

German event which, in my opinion, is basicallyThe European Toy Fair. I was unable to attendin person, but conversations with my contacts inSpain, with AEC in the UK plus various emailsand web surfing has enabled me to compile thisreport.

Lots of rumours and guess work prior to theshow and to be honest most, if not all, of itaccurate! An impressive display of all currentproduct, SCX, Digital and off road was ondisplay with all the accessories and track sectionsavailable plus two new Track systems, new cars,new sets and new accessories. Lots of toys! Let’skick off with the new track systems:

SCX CompactSCX CompactSCX CompactSCX CompactSCX CompactMuch talked about prior to the show, this newsystem is aimed at 4 - 6 year olds. It’s approx-imately 1:43rd scale and is still in the very earlystages of development. Don’t expect to see it inthe UK any time soon. This range is going to bedeveloped for the big retail outlets, (Toys ‘R’ Us,Argos etc). Two sets were on display - F1 andTuning. No actual track sections, cars orcontrollers on display, just a printed graphic.

My First SCXMy First SCXMy First SCXMy First SCXMy First SCXThis is another track/car system in earlydevelopment, but looked further on thanCompact. Aimed at 2-4 year olds, this is a simplesystem with jigsaw like track sections, simple

non-descript cars and a steering wheel typestop/go controller. The whole system is brightlycoloured and simple. If it does come to the UKmy daughter will be getting one!

Off ROff ROff ROff ROff Road or Duneoad or Duneoad or Duneoad or Duneoad or DuneThis system has only recently been released.The current range was on display with boxartwork for a new Off Road extension track setgraduating the off road into SCX tarmac. 180°loop of off road, several straights and two mergetrack sections. No other new track sections orcars announced, but look out for a re livery ofthe Mitsubishi Pajero around June/July.

SSSSSCX analogue carsCX analogue carsCX analogue carsCX analogue carsCX analogue carsClassics - several new models and several reliveries.Ref 62590 Renault Alpine A110 # 18 inFrench Blue (TBC) representing the car whichwon the 1971 Monte Carlo Rally as driven byO. Anderson. New model, photos on display ofthe real car only. Expected September.Ref 62530 Fiat Spyder 124 #7 in Olio Fiatblack and yellow livery (new livery) Due AprilRef 62470 Ford Sierra Cosworth in white/blue #27 Derek Ringer/Colin McRae LombardRAC livery. Stunning in my opinion. We knewthis was on the way based on the Altayacollection, but the actual car looks great.Expected in March.Ref 62580 Ford Escort RS Cosworth inwhite/blue #6 works livery, T.Makinen ’94 1000Lakes. Brand new model expected in June.

➳

SCX at The German TSCX at The German TSCX at The German TSCX at The German TSCX at The German Toy Fair 2007 Nurembergoy Fair 2007 Nurembergoy Fair 2007 Nurembergoy Fair 2007 Nurembergoy Fair 2007 Nuremberg

5March 2007

Ref 62400 Renault 5 Maxi Turbo in blue/red #3 Tour De Course. This is technically anew SCX model, but it has already beenreleased (in Spain) with a different livery and inthe Altaya collection. Great rally car, performswell on the track. Already in the shops!

RallyRallyRallyRallyRallyIf the above isn’t enough for you;Ref 62560 Citroën C4 WRC New model, nosurprise really, Loeb already looks dominant thisyear after three events so expect lots of liveriesof this car in the future.Ref 62230 Subaru Impreza 2006 Newmodel? New livery, traditional blue and goldlivery. Expected in April.

GGGGGTTTTTNew cars, new liveries;Ref 62370 Seat Leon SCX Livery SpanishTouring Championship. Last year Tecnitoyssponsored a car with a Scalextric livery, forobvious reasons they released this car in Spainonly, this year it’s our turn! Out now.Ref 62510 Audi R10 TDI 1st LM 2006 Newmodel, expected JulyRef 62640 Honda Accord WTCC, Againreleased in Spain, this is a new livery. Expectedin April.

Ref 62480 Ferrari 360, New livery ‘ScuderiaEcosse’ TBC, expected in JuneRef 62500 Aston Martin DBR9, New livery‘Team Modena’, expected AprilRef 62520 Chevrolet Corvette C6R LMSeries, German team, expected in April

6

F1F1F1F1F1Three reliveries and a potential new model(TBC)Ref 62440 Ferrari 2006 Schumacher 248 F1Ref 62450 Williams 2006 Nico RosbergRef 62570 McLaren 2006 Kimi RaikkonenAll these cars appear to be new liveries on theexisting moulds. Rumours, but not confirmed,of a 2007 McLaren to follow in FernandoAlonso livery.

VintageThis year’s vintage car will be a reliveried ExinBRM (C37) Ref 6250. The car will be in BritishRacing Green and feature a fully paintedGraham Hill, race number 3. Now what thismodel is actually representing is unclear. It’sdescribed as a BRM P261. That said, the boxart looks to be a different car. My knowledge ofhistoric GP cars is limited but, following variousemails from Brian and others, it would appearthat the model most closely represents either theP83 or the P115. I’ll leave it to more experiencedhistorians to argue the exact type but I havealready forwarded this information on toTecnitoys. Whatever the rights and wrongs, itlooks like a great addition to the Vintage range.

DTMDTMDTMDTMDTMThree new liveriesRef 62610 Mercedes C-KlasseRef 62620 Audi A4Ref 62630 Audi A4 Red BullAll due in May.

NASCARNASCARNASCARNASCARNASCARFour new liveries including a special edition onthe current range of bodies.

Other stuffNew track sections announced include aChicane section with tyre wall and new trackpieces and Bank curve (from the NASCARSets). Also look out for the Set cars in the GT C4set as these come with Pro Turbo Plus motors!

Last, but not least, on the analogue front isthe long awaited SCX Pro range. This has beenin development for over a year and this was thefirst opportunity to see the new range in theflesh. Two cars will be released initially - aCitroën Xsara Rally car and an Audi R8. Boththese cars feature lightweight chassis and bodies,adjustable axle/motor set ups with a motor podaccessory to take a Mabuchi motor. Turnedalloy wheels, straight axles, different gears etc, ➳

7March 2007

etc (think Slot.it). A novel feature on the Audi isa dynamic braking system. Drop arm guide onthe Rally car. A full and extensive range ofaccessories and tune up parts is available. A fullreview will follow on these cars shortly. Expectedvery soon, if not already.

SCX DigitalSCX DigitalSCX DigitalSCX DigitalSCX DigitalAt last SCX Digital F1 cars. Been a while in themaking, but three new cars, including Ferrari,McLaren and Williams. These feature a newdigital chip/guide system that fits snugly aroundthe driver figure and into the nose cone with along actuator. A new digital conversion pack wasalso on display including, chip, guide, wheels,tyres guide flags etc, stub axles, everything youneed to convert road and rally cars to digital.

Lots of new toys to play with in 2007, expectseveral new unannounced releases during theyear, special editions and livery changes. Asalways release dates are subject to change sodon’t hold your breath. In line with othermanufacturers SCX RRP prices have gone upapprox £2.00 across the range.

We will review in detail all new models thatcome out during the year - SCX Pro, Nascar arefirst up. If you have a specific desire to review aparticular model get in touch with Brian and getyourself on the review list.

My thanks to AEC, Tecnitoys and DougTeggin from Slotforum for info and picturesused in this article.

Just a note worth thinking about, thereappears to be a trend of not re-releasing modelsfrom last year, thinking C2, Fiesta, Fiat Abarth,Alfa 156 etc. Some of these models were onlyreleased in one livery, so best get them while youcan. ■

8

First of all, Ninco offer theircongratulations to the NSCC onreaching this milestone 300th edition of

the Club Journal. This special edition is perfectlytimed to showcase some of the exciting newproducts unveiled by Ninco at the recentInternational Toy Fair. So here is what we canexpect in the coming months.

Right here, right nowRight here, right nowRight here, right nowRight here, right nowRight here, right now...............As we go to press, the first of the totally newFord Focus WRC cars are being delivered. By

the time you read this, the second edition of thisfantastic rally car will be due for release, thistime in the livery of the No.3 car piloted byMarcus Grönholm during the 2006 Rally ofWales (50439). To compete with the highlyrespected rally cars already produced by Ninco,it is also fitted with the all-round interchangeableProShock 2 suspension system and has NC5powered 4WD.

To challenge this Ford on the slot track, anew Subaru is due for simultaneous release. Theinstantly recognisable metallic-blue and ➳

9March 2007

yellow livery of this WRC car is also based onthe same 2006 rally event and carries the #5 ofSubaru driver Petter Solberg (50440). Both carswill also be available in the figure-of-eight “RallyStage” set (20134).

More TMore TMore TMore TMore TrophiesrophiesrophiesrophiesrophiesNinco’s Renault Mégane Trophy has becomeone of the most popular series produced. Theangle-winder chassis housing an NC5 motorgives a well balanced slot car that can be easilymastered by a beginner and truly enjoyed by theseasoned racer. A growing variety of liveriesgives a wide appeal and is proving an excellentone-make series for clubs. This year will see anoval starter set entitled “Trophy Series” and willinclude two Méganes with new liveries – thescrumptious orange ‘Frutta’ and the strikingmetallic blue and yellow ‘Tepac’ sponsored cars.Both cars are due for individual release -numbers 50437 and 50438 respectively.

Coming soonComing soonComing soonComing soonComing soonThe first of four brand new designs announcedat the Nuremberg Toy Fair is scheduled forrelease in April. This totally new model looksstunning in either show car or race livery. It willalso be the fourth in a series of special editionNinco Club cars. The name itself is pureracing... It is... Ascari.

Established in the UK in 1995, this relativelynew British supercar manufacturer takes itsname from the first double world F1 champion,Alberto Ascari. The beautiful lines of the A10will match that of the Ferrari 360 and the angle-

winder chassis and NC5 motor will no doubt,match performance on the track too. Twoversions are set for release; a bright yellow“Show Car” (50458) sporting an offset, twinblack stripe, and a silver GT3 model (50444).The new Ninco driver figure with moveablearms will be introduced for the first time in thesemodels.

Not to be outdone, the Ferrari 360 is set forrelease in the ProDriver Kit (50455) form. Thiswill include an array of ProRace parts to racetune this model as well as having a plainbodyshell for custom decoration or street racing.

Changing coloursChanging coloursChanging coloursChanging coloursChanging coloursBefore I tell you about more new models fromNinco, there are a number of new liveries forexisting models shown in Issue 14 of the Nincocatalogue. These include the Lancer, Focus,Mégane, Mosler and Ferrari. The latter, againbeing in standard self-assembly kit form. TheLancer (50436) and Mosler (50442) may be seenat your local stockist as soon as April.

Surprisingly, the popular JGTC seriesdoesn’t appear in the catalogue. However, I havereceived notice that a new Toyota Supra in thefamiliar white, green and red “Castrol” (50459)livery may also appear within the next couple ofmonths.

Who’s the Daddy?Who’s the Daddy?Who’s the Daddy?Who’s the Daddy?Who’s the Daddy?The growing popularity of the Raid categoryhas given birth to a couple of totally new andtotally awesome off-road beasts... First up is “thedaddy” of all off-road vehicles... the Hummer!

10

Unlikely to appear until the end of this year,development is under way, as can be seen by thefirst mould of this SUV. The catalogue showsthis as a far from inconspicuous “yellow” (50457)and black with white doors “Police” (50456)version stating ‘County Sheriff ’ and ‘Dial 911’along the side. In place of the 6 litre V8 foundin the full-size H2, an NC7 Raider motor willbring power to the permanent 4WD of the 1/32nd scale Hummer.

All three versions (H1, H2 and H3) havecompeted in racing with the H2 and H3 alreadysecuring class wins in this year’s SCORELaughlin Desert Challenge. The H2 not onlywon its FullStock class but also finished 3rd

overall beating all but two of the highly modifiedClass 7SX trucks in that grouping.

Never mind the race trim, in my opinion thismodel is crying out for some custom versions...lots of chrome, tinted windows, a jazzy paintscheme and a set of spinners are all it takes toconvert this to a “Tuning” version. For the moreadventurous modellers, what about a stretchedHummer?

The other great new vehicle for the Raidcategory is the Schlesser. These buggies havebeen competing for fifteen years and are usuallydriven by the man responsible for buildingthem... former F1 driver, Jean-Louis Schlesser.In fact, he won the Dakar Rally in 1999 and2000 piloting his own buggy. Development ofthis Ninco model is almost complete and whenreleased, the finished article is sure to bring awhole lot of fun to racing on Raid circuits.

From RFrom RFrom RFrom RFrom Road to Racetrackoad to Racetrackoad to Racetrackoad to Racetrackoad to RacetrackThe next style of Porsche to be replicated byNinco is the 997. This follows a long standingrelationship with the German supercar and aswith earlier Porsches, this will also be availableas a road car. Shown for the first time at the ToyFair, the 997 has the potential to be released ina number of attractive race liveries. However,one of the first versions will be a brilliant white“Road Car” (50446).

TTTTTrack Newsrack Newsrack Newsrack Newsrack NewsIn addition to the sets mentioned above, a figure-of-eight track will also be offered with twoMosler race cars in the “Gulf ” (50428) and“Daytona” (50442) liveries. The “MT900R”(20133) set will include almost six metres oftrack, a bridge, 55ohm ‘Plus’ controllers,transformer, banking supports and barriers.

To enable tracks to run one above another,the “Track Elevator Set” (10221) has beenintroduced. This set consists of eight tracksupports; two ‘low’ and two ‘medium’ togradually raise or drop the track and a furtherfour ‘high’ supports to hold the track directlyabove another. These support pieces werepreviously only available as part of the Pro-Amor MasterTrack systems.

Expansion of the N-Digital range continueswith the introduction of a double lane changer(40207) allowing both lanes to be changedwithin a single track piece.

Finally, a new version of Ninco’s own circuitdesign software will soon be available.“TrackMap Plus” (10312) will include all thenew N-Digital track sections as well as 100 pre-designed layouts. ■

11March 2007

Slot car Innovations continue to impress meand this month I received from them apicture of their latest F1 car, a Ferrari F1-

2000. Even though the wing has not beenfinished I felt that it deserved to be seen incolour. Like the previous F1 car from SCI, the1981 version of the Brabham BT50, the Ferrariis made from styrene and features a chassisextender so that the wheelbase can be muchmore accurate than would otherwise be the case.Whilst the inclusion of the Bridgestone be-decked sidepod flip-ups has not been possible,the thinness of the styrene has at least allowedthe body to stay looking relatively proportionalto the real thing.

Maybe some day a chassis will be designedthat allows fully accurate open wheel H:O cars

to be made but that is going to need a new motordesign that is very small but still has sufficientpower.

In the meantime people like Richard Picardfrom SCI need to be applauded for their efforts.I would also like to thank them for sending methe lovely overhead shot of one of their BT50swhich I have included here. The latest news onthat project is that they are attempting to sourcean accurate set of decals to make the 1982 car

12

with which Nelson Piquet took one win and onepole position. This is obviously in their bestinterest but also shows good customer care, keepup the good work guys! SCI continue to work inresin too, and the third image is a March 741that has wound up in France. This particularversion is the Hans Stuck car and is mounted onan Aurora chassis. SCI are working on a versionfor the Tomy Turbo/SRT platform without thebumps atop the sidepod so maybe we will seeone in action at an EAHORC race.

I recently became aware of two new carswhich further cloud exactly what the deal is withthe Tomy AFX line. The assumption has beenthat US company Racemasters continued theline when Tomy lost interest and it is they thathave released the Chaparral 2D mentioned in aprevious column as well as four CobraDaytonas, some generic Nascars, police cars andPT cruisers. Whether this company bought outthe slot car line from Tomy or have some lessdrastic solution that still enables them to use the

name has never been clear, but two more Cobrashave appeared to further muddy the waters.-These are not sold by Racemasters althoughclearly they are the same mould, merely being(admittedly very nice) gold and silver repaints. Itseems that this company covers Australia andthe Orient whilst Racemasters sell to continentalAmerica (Europeans and the rest of the worldhave to use ebay!) which would suggest thatTomy has some interest in the overall picturedespite evidence to the contrary (such as most ➳

13March 2007

Tomy executives I speak to are unaware theyeven made/make slot cars). This would seem tobe borne out by a recent announcement fromRacemasters, launching a tie-in betweenthemselves and Champcar racing, in which aBusiness Analyst from Tomy was quoted.Release is set for July 2007.

Since I last mentioned EAHORC in acolumn, things have continued to slowly butsurely improve. I’m proud to say that it isextremely likely that more people know thatthere are H:O clubs in the UK than at any timein the past. This is translating into hard numbersof both more racers at the meetings and settingup H:O tracks at home. It has been a lot of hardwork getting to this stage, and I’m eternallygrateful to people like (but not limited to) JohnOvens, Jim Kelly, John Kelly, Chris Frost and theNSCC committee. If you read these columns

but have yet to come to a race or make yourselfknown to EAHORC, then maybe this is the yearthat you do so and I can assure you we will helpyou get more from H:O if we can. ■

The larThe larThe larThe larThe largest EAHORgest EAHORgest EAHORgest EAHORgest EAHORC trC trC trC trC track to date, at 200’ack to date, at 200’ack to date, at 200’ack to date, at 200’ack to date, at 200’

lap length, set up in Canvlap length, set up in Canvlap length, set up in Canvlap length, set up in Canvlap length, set up in Canveyeyeyeyey, Essex in 2004, Essex in 2004, Essex in 2004, Essex in 2004, Essex in 2004

14

A bit of a mixed bag this month, withplenty of new models to report on,ToyFair news, announcements, more

special editions and a unique competition witha very special prize, which Fly have set upthemselves.

RRRRRecent Recent Recent Recent Recent ReleaseseleaseseleaseseleaseseleasesBMW M1 “Marlboro” #5 (88240)This Niki Lauda edition is modelled on the carthat took the Procar Championship in 1979. Itis decorated in luminous orange and white andcomes complete with a set of decals in a blue

packet taped to the underside of the base for youto apply the cigarette advertising.Porsche 911R ‘Martini’ #139 (88242)Tour de France Auto 1970, driven by GerardLarousse and Maurice Gelin. A very attractivelivery in yellow with red swirly stripes, verysimilar to the Porsche 917K (C84) previouslyreleased.Ford GT40 Mk.II, white #98 (88247)1966 Daytona 24hr winning car, driven by KenMiles and Lloyd Ruby. The model is white witha black bonnet and day-glo orange flashes onthe front and surrounding the race number. ➳

15March 2007

Alfa Romeo 156 GTA, red (88243)Evo3 racer with the sprung motor mount,lightweight Lexan interior, racing motor,adjustable front axle etc.Alfa Romeo 156 GTA ‘Bosch’ #19 (88244)As above in white with grey/red “Bosch”sponsored graphics.

Special EditionsSpecial EditionsSpecial EditionsSpecial EditionsSpecial EditionsFollowing the recent trend of unannouncedlimited editions, four more have come to light:

BMW M3 E30 “7 Up” #5 (E1702, 96101)Rally Villa de Teror 2006. Limited to 1000 unitsand marketed for the “Boutique Toñi Ponce” inthe Canary Islands only, around Dec/Jan. Thecar is decorated in a very attractive green/silver“7 Up” livery and is driven by Jose Maria Poncewith co-driver Carlos Larrode. The “PonceMotorsport Colleccion” logo is mounted as anenamel badge onto the left front corner of the

plinth and is also printed onto the white backingcard. The backing card is also numbered andhas a boutique symbol printed. Many thanks toJordi Batlle Ortiz for your knowledge andassistance on this model.Renault 5 Turbo “Poly” (E1203)To celebrate Poly’s 31st anniversary there hasbeen a new limited edition model producedwhich is limited to 400 units. It is decorated inthe easily recognisable “Marlboro” colourscheme, but has no reference to the cigarettebrand at all. Where you would expect to see thecigarette brand name has been replaced with“Poly” and #31.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult thesedays to keep track of all the special editions thatFly produce but, thanks to Gareth Jex andAdrian Leggett, two more have been brought tomy attention. As usual with these speciallycommissioned models information on them is alittle sketchy. Firstly, there is a Renault 5, which

16

is unpainted in white with off-white unpaintedbumpers. It is limited to 70 units and producedfor the XIII Campionat Intercomarcal Gironide Ral-Li Slot. The aforementioned is tampoedonto its roof and has a colourful backing card,which includes a picture of the car with ‘RenaultSport’ and the certificate number printed.

Finally, a Porsche 911 GT1 98 has beenproduced for “DHL” to give to their valuedcustomers (or at least I think that’s how the storygoes). The car is mainly white with the DHLlogo printed within a yellow box down both sidesand roof. It also has race #39 and some minimalred graphics. Although it is limited to 1500 units,the example I saw on eBay sold for €201,50Ouch!

AnnouncementsAnnouncementsAnnouncementsAnnouncementsAnnouncementsFly has announced seven models they will beproducing in March. They are as follows: -88241 – Marcos 600LM – Zolder 24hrs 200688250 – Ferrari 250 GTO – Targa Florio 196488252 – Alfa Romeo GTAm – Zandvoort 197088253 – Porsche 911 GT1 98 – Xbox 360 – Evo3 Racing88254 – BMW 320 Drift99035 – BMW M1 – limited edition - ClayRegazzoni in memoriam08049 – Sisu Truck – Xbox 360 - Racing

Nuremberg 2007Nuremberg 2007Nuremberg 2007Nuremberg 2007Nuremberg 2007After last year’s conspicuous absence, whichfuelled many rumours about their demise, Flywere back for the 2007 event. Only threeprototypes were on display, two of these being avariation of the same car. These were Fly’s firstever single seater car, a March 761 and aPorsche 935. The March is a clever move by Flyas it can be produced in several liveries. Also,there will be two different versions, one with anair intake box behind the drivers’ head, theother with just a fairing. Both of these variantswere on show. This model will boast steering,camber movement and working suspension.The Porsche on the other hand was still in itsearly stages and didn’t show much detail.Disappointingly, there was no news of Fly’sother planned new models for 2007. Rumour

has it that there could be two classic Ferraris inthe pipeline, but we will have to wait to see if theforthcoming catalogue reveals all.

The only other news of note was concerningthe 5-Car/DVD series, which I mentioned lastmonth. The first in the series ‘Speed Merchants’will feature a Porsche 911S, which will have afront and rear camera mounted. Next, “Livefast, Die young” will feature a Porsche 908.Third, “Las Temporadas Argentinas” willfeature (although not confirmed) a Porsche917K. Fourth, “Cobra, Ferrari Wars” will havea Ferrari 250 GTO. The only way you will beable to obtain the fifth set is to return thecoupons that come with each package directly toFly. They in turn will send you the finalinstalment (once you’ve paid them of course).The final film being “The making of Le Mans”,but this is pending permission from WarnerBros. At the time of writing it is unclear what carwill go with this film. All of the above sets willalso include a detailed info booklet.

Design YDesign YDesign YDesign YDesign Your Car Contestour Car Contestour Car Contestour Car Contestour Car ContestFly has set up a very interesting competitionopen to anybody in the world who possesses anartistic hand and free mind. All you have to dois design a colour scheme for a Corvette C5R.This car will then be produced as a numberedlimited edition and the winner will get #1. Notonly will the winner receive this as a prize, butalso a unique solid silver Corvette! Details are onFly’s website. Alternatively, there are variousimporters and dealers that you can downloadfrom too. Gaugemaster Controls in the UK forexample has the pdf file available to downloadon www.gaugemaster.co.uk. Fly Car Model,Revistas Profesionales and Monster Design willdo the judging. Closing date for entries must bereceived by post to Fly by 15th March. Theaddress is Fly Car Model S.L, Montealto 24,28223 Pozuelo de Alarcon, Madrid, Spain.Unfortunately, taking into account that theJournal is not published until the second week ofeach month, it will probably mean that by thetime you read this it will be too late to post yourentries! ■

17March 2007

Since my last report in December, Racerhave managed to catch up with theirproduction schedule and release the

“Jagermeister” Porsche 935 K3 (RCR29) and“Vestey” Ferrari 250LM (RCR30). Although the935 was available in certain countries prior tomy last report, production was hampered due tofaulty decals. Despite this setback, quality hasnot been overlooked and speaking from firsthand I can say both these models are first class!

Nuremberg 2007Nuremberg 2007Nuremberg 2007Nuremberg 2007Nuremberg 2007There was plenty more to drool over from Racerthis year, with two early prototypes on displayand two final versions of the soon to be releasedFerrari 312P. Other finished models on displaywere the Porsche 935 K3 ‘Apple Computers’

and Ferrari 250LM ‘Mecom’, which isdecorated in a vibrant metallic blue.

The Ferrari 312P will see another step up inquality and technology. It will feature etching onthe side windows to represent vents etc, ratherthan photo-etched plates, which have been usedon previous models. The two NART versions ondisplay were literally only finished a few hoursbefore leaving for Germany and in my non-biased opinion stole the show. A spyder versionof this car is planned for the future.

Other early prototypes on show were aChaparral 2E and Ferrari 350P CanAm.Although Racer foresees the release of theChaparral for the end of June they anticipate itcould be a little later. The reason being is thatthey are almost satisfied with the rear end of the

18

car, but need to do more work on the front andcockpit. The Ferrari 350P, which is based on the330 P4, will feature the brand new plastic P4chassis. The first livery, planned for the end ofMay is the “Gunston” car, which raced atKyalami in 1967.

Despite the three new models mentionedabove, there are two others scheduled for releaseduring 2007, these being a Ferrari 250P andAlfa Romeo 33/3. There were no prototypes ofeither model on display at Nuremberg, but oneof each model is scheduled for the end of Julyand November respectively. The Alfa will bemodelled on the car that raced during the 1969/70 season and will be different from the Slot.itversion (also announced at Nuremberg).

Forthcoming RForthcoming RForthcoming RForthcoming RForthcoming ReleaseseleaseseleaseseleaseseleasesThe following cars are scheduled for releasebetween the end of February/early March tothe end of April/early May: -RCR31 – Ferrari 312P – NART #22 – Sebring12hrs 1970 – Parkes/ParsonsRCR32 – Ferrari 312P – NART #23 – Daytona

24hrs 1970 – Piper/TadamowiczRCR33 – Porsche 935 K3 – Dick BarbourRacing – Le Mans 24hrs 1980 – Rahal/Garretson/MoffatRCR34 – Ferrari 250 LM – Mecom Racing –Sebring 12hrs 1965 – Hangsen/Donohue

2007 Program2007 Program2007 Program2007 Program2007 ProgramTo summarise, the rest of the 2007 program islisted below: -Porsche 935 K3 racing kitFerrari 330 P4 racing kitFerrari 350P CanAm – Gunston – Kyalami 9hrs1967Ferrari 330P – Maranello – Le Mans 24hrs1964Chaparral 2E – TBAFerrari 250P – Factory – Le Mans 24hrs 1963Porsche 935 K3 – Coca Cola – Sebring 12hrs1980Ferrari 312P – Factory – Le Mans 24hrs 1969Alfa Romeo 33/3 – Factory – TBAPorsche 935 K3 – Sachs – Le Mans 24hrs 1980

■

19March 2007

During one of my occasional trawls through

back issues of the Newsletter/Journal I

came across several articles relating to

the Scalextric Bugatti type 59. They all date

from the early/mid 90s so I thought it may be

time for a reprint and update.

The following piece has been cobbled together

from various contributions and attempts to put

the diverse strands of the story into one

cohesive whole. It draws on the work of the

following people: Roger Petri, Phil Etgart, Phil

Smith, Chris Gregory and Arthur Saunders.

Additional material has been provided by Peter

Morley, Mark Scale, Derek Cooper, Jonathan

Hewitt, Andy Carmichael, Rob Smith and Steve

de Havilland.

Roger Gillham has kindly given permission

to use some of his original photos while other

pictures have been provided by members who

wish to remain anonymous for security reasons.

Very few people will admit to actually owning the

real thing which makes estimating the number

of Scalextric Bugattis in captivity very difficult!

Brian

In The BeginningIn The BeginningIn The BeginningIn The BeginningIn The BeginningOver the years there have been many storiesabout the Scalextric model of the 1934 BugattiType 59 Grand Prix car. The Bugatti (referencenumber C70) together with the C71 Auto

Union C-type were introduced in 1964 tocomplement the successful vintage Bentley andAlfa Romeo Le Mans cars, which had beenintroduced in 1962. The Bugatti is withoutdoubt the most sought after of all Scalextriccars; not just by a few collectors, but by all ofthem. There are other rare Scalextric cars, butnone are as desirable as the Bugatti. WHY? Thisstory makes that clear and lists many versions ofthe Bugattis (from Scalextric and copyists). Onething is certain - a Bugatti is the jewel in everylucky owner’s collection.

Prototype?Prototype?Prototype?Prototype?Prototype?A photo has survived of an early pre-productionBugatti - it seems to have used some modifiedC65 Alfa bits as it has the same axle mounting,spoked wheels and pin guide. It was reputed tobe white in colour but, as only a b/w pictureexists, this is not certain.

The BugattiThe BugattiThe BugattiThe BugattiThe BugattiTTTTType 59ype 59ype 59ype 59ype 59

20

The Facts?The Facts?The Facts?The Facts?The Facts?The main reason so few Bugattis have beenfound is simply that their production was verylimited. The original run is unknown - theaccepted estimate is that only 600 C70 Bugattiswere made and around 50 of the later C95 RaceTuned version. The differences between the twoare the shade of blue, the motor and the steeringassembly. It first featured in catalogue #4 anddidn’t disappear till #10 - why Scalextriccontinued to include it in the list of availablecars for all this time is a bit of a mystery.

The number of surviving Bugattis is,obviously, not certain but my enquiries suggestapproximately 75 of the C70 and about a dozenof the later C95 still in existence. They still turnup even now - one shop in Margate has had atleast six in recent years including a Race Tunedexample. The obvious question is why were sofew Bugattis produced? There were severalreasons - such as:● Poor performance.● The body was so small that heat from themotor warped the body.● The body is very thin in places andtherefore weak and fragile.● Assembly was complicated and thusexpensive.● By the time the Bugatti was released,interest in the Vintage cars had dropped off, sodemand was low and it never entered massproduction.

Many Bugattis were returned to the factoryby customers for repair (both warping andbreakage), or they were simply thrown away.When the Race Tuned cars were introduced,Scalextric also updated the C70 Bugatti, givingit the reference C95. This type had better(stronger) front suspension but it still performedbadly and rather than risk damaging theirreputation Scalextric did not release it. ➳

The rThe rThe rThe rThe real thing - genuine C70 Bugattieal thing - genuine C70 Bugattieal thing - genuine C70 Bugattieal thing - genuine C70 Bugattieal thing - genuine C70 Bugatti

21March 2007

Colour VColour VColour VColour VColour VariationsariationsariationsariationsariationsThe colour of the Bugatti was, of course, blue!The C95 being produced in a darker shade thanthe earlier C70 version. The only other originalcolour known to exist is a single car in red. In1983 an ex-toolmaker from Havant was incontact with Roger Gillham and sold him a redBugatti. This was a mould test that pre-dated the

original production Bugatti. Three of themwere allegedly manufactured but only this onesurvived. It was in the same bright red as thetype 3 Lotus 16, late D type Jaguars, mediumhead Listers and Aston DBRs. It is also possiblethat the base was incorrectly stamped C71which might explain Roger referring to theBugatti as a C71 in an edition of his book.

(Abov(Abov(Abov(Abov(Above) C70 and C95 originals showing differe) C70 and C95 originals showing differe) C70 and C95 originals showing differe) C70 and C95 originals showing differe) C70 and C95 originals showing different shades of blueent shades of blueent shades of blueent shades of blueent shades of blue

The only original issue rThe only original issue rThe only original issue rThe only original issue rThe only original issue red Bugatti known to existed Bugatti known to existed Bugatti known to existed Bugatti known to existed Bugatti known to exist

(Opposite) Mor(Opposite) Mor(Opposite) Mor(Opposite) Mor(Opposite) More Bugattis than you can shake a stick at!e Bugattis than you can shake a stick at!e Bugattis than you can shake a stick at!e Bugattis than you can shake a stick at!e Bugattis than you can shake a stick at!

Can you identify all the differCan you identify all the differCan you identify all the differCan you identify all the differCan you identify all the different vent vent vent vent varieties?arieties?arieties?arieties?arieties?

22

23March 2007

AvailabilityAvailabilityAvailabilityAvailabilityAvailabilityThe C70 Bugatti was only sold by the majorEnglish Scalextric dealers such as Hamleys andupon written request from the factory. The laterC95 Bugatti was never sold in shops, onlydirectly by the factory. The C95 Bugattis wereassembled in batches of six by the prototypedepartment, after they had received enough

orders. Outside the UK both types were mainlyonly available direct from the factory.

It was possible to obtain one as late as 1969as can be seen from the following letter. ArthurSaunders was the buyer and this particularBugatti cost £1 6s. A bargain even then! The1967 retail price was £2 6s. 4d.

24

PPPPPackackackackackagingagingagingagingagingThe Bugatti was never supplied in a ‘proper’box. An unlabelled light brown cardboard box(like the Hong Kong ‘export’ box) was used fortransport. The only Bugatti box known is aFormula Junior one labelled ‘C70 Bugatti(1934)’, which belonged to Triang’s Scalextricrepresentative.

DetailsDetailsDetailsDetailsDetailsC70 TC70 TC70 TC70 TC70 Triang Scaleriang Scaleriang Scaleriang Scaleriang Scalextric (England)xtric (England)xtric (England)xtric (England)xtric (England)Original TOriginal TOriginal TOriginal TOriginal Triang Scaleriang Scaleriang Scaleriang Scaleriang Scalextric Bugattixtric Bugattixtric Bugattixtric Bugattixtric Bugatti

made around 1964made around 1964made around 1964made around 1964made around 1964Motor: E2.Guide: G10 (Twin pin).With steering mechanism.Tyres: Dunlop (small letters) the same as C64Bentley, C65 Alfa Romeo and on the front of theC71 Auto Union.Body material: injection moulded plastic.Data on underpan: C70 Bugatti Type 59,Triang Scalextric Regd., Made in England,British Pat. No 874.315, Foreign PatentsPending.Colours:Blue.Production total (estimate): 600. Survivorsknown: 60/75 (dealers’ estimate).White painted driver.

Red (pre-production mould flush/test).Production total: Possible three but only oneknown survivor.White painted driver.

White (1962 prototype).Production total: one, photograph exists, carbelieved destroyed at the time. Note: it has thesame front axle mounting, red wheels andround pin guide (G3) as the C65 Alfa Romeo,thus no steering.

C95 TC95 TC95 TC95 TC95 Triang Scaleriang Scaleriang Scaleriang Scaleriang Scalextric (England)xtric (England)xtric (England)xtric (England)xtric (England)Original TOriginal TOriginal TOriginal TOriginal Triang Scaleriang Scaleriang Scaleriang Scaleriang Scalextric Bugattixtric Bugattixtric Bugattixtric Bugattixtric Bugatti

introduced in 1966introduced in 1966introduced in 1966introduced in 1966introduced in 1966Motor: E6.Guide: G12 (blade) with steering mechanism.Tyres: as C70.

Wheels: production differences to C70. Thespigots on the king pins on the ordinary car arethinner, and have a split at the end like earlyFormula Junior king pins have. The C95 spigotshave a round “ball” at the end which has to beforcibly pushed through the wheel to make it fit.The spigots on the C95 king pins are moresubstantial than the C70 ones. This mirrors thechanges made to the Race Tuned version of theAuto Union, which also has more substantialspigots and retooled front wheels.Body material: injection moulded plastic.Data on underpan: as C70 - note cataloguenumber not changed.

Colour: Blue (darker than C70).Production total: less than 50 (estimate).Survivors known: about 12. White painteddriver. Note: these cars never had Race Tunedstickers as pictured in the catalogue.

The end?The end?The end?The end?The end?In theory the C70 and C95 Bugatti story endshere. However, many Bugattis have since beenmade, both by Scalextric and copyists. ➳

FFFFFront view of original issue C95ront view of original issue C95ront view of original issue C95ront view of original issue C95ront view of original issue C95

25March 2007

Hornby RHornby RHornby RHornby RHornby Reeeee-issue 1983-issue 1983-issue 1983-issue 1983-issue 1983In 1982 Scalextric considered re-introducing thecomplete “Vintage” range (ie. C64 Bentley, C65Alfa Romeo, C96 Auto Union and the C95Bugatti). They tested most of the moulds,making a quantity of white Bugatti bodytopsand black bases, together with black drivers’arms and mirrors (since these were on thechassis sprue). The quality of the one exampleseen at the time was considered as acceptable fora repeat re-run of the body top and underpanin red to be requested.White Auto Union bodies were also made, aswere complete white C71 Auto Union steeringunits (but in a much softer material than theoriginals) and black Race Tuned C95/C96steering units (without stub axles, since theycould not find the moulds). Following thesetrials, Scalextric did not re-introduce either theBugatti or the Auto Union - the reason givenbeing that the moulds were not good enough, itis also likely that all the original problems werestill there.

Martin O’Reilly has usually been creditedwith discovering the existence of this test run butthe true facts are slightly different. One Saturdayduring 1982 Hornby had arranged for a teamfrom Barbados to race against a British team.The majority of the home team came from theMolesey club and included Roger Gillham,Martin O’Reilly, Brian George, Chris Gregoryand others. The race track was situated verynear the shop floor of the factory and, due toChris Gregory’s lack of speed (no change therethen!), he didn’t make the team. While otherspractised he wandered round the shop floor; inthe middle was a raised office/observation pointwith four glass sides. On a shelf along one sidehe spied the ‘white Bugatti’. He informed theothers of this but was told he must be mistaken.After the racing there was an ‘official’ tour of thefactory; Chris guided Martin past the find andthe rest is history. Incidentally, the race was wonby the British team and Chris is still waiting forthe return event in Barbados - especially asBritish Airways sponsored the flights!

By virtue of the mould test’s existence therewas definite proof that Hornby still had thetooling for the Bugatti. After nine monthspersuasion and pressure Hornby agreed toproduce a commissioned run of Bugattis forSteve de Havilland’s company, ‘Traffic’. Whilstcommissioned by ‘Traffic’, the cars wereproduced by Hornby and should therefore beregarded as re-issues.

Hornby accepted an order for a quantity ofyellow, green and red Bugattis. The initialproduction run was: yellow 60, green 60, red100. A second batch later surfaced in thefollowing quantities: yellow 25. green 26, red 60.Subsequently a third batch was found includingan additional quantity of approximately 100 redbody tops, thus total production quantities arered 160 cars + 100 tops. green 110 cars, yellow110 cars. These were initially offered to NSCCmembers and produced some controversy at thetime.

The white Bugattis eventually surfaced in1987. 25 body tops were produced, but only 23of them were good enough mouldings to beconsidered worth making into complete cars.The remaining two were riddled with rust,caused by a damp body top tool. It is believed273 black bases were produced, and it isassumed that, having produced the bases, therun of tops was prematurely halted when themould damage (corrosion resulting in excessflashing) became apparent.

100 of the black bases were matched to theextra red tops and a number of these were thensprayed blue by John Jude.

At the time of this production run, the 2ndseries white Auto Union with clear rather thanchromed parts was produced. At the same timethe factory also ‘found’ a quantity of 1/24figures moulded in orange plastic and a batch ofblue C48 Tyrrells which had been sent to thefactory at the time it was due to be introducedinto the UK range.

The Hornby re-issued Bugattis, whichshould not be referred to as ‘de HavillandBugattis’ since de Havilland is a registeredtrademark, were assembled using a variety ofcomponents.

26

Initially Colin Penn manufactured parts inwhite metal including a front axle which tookthe then current guide. Around this time Colinalso produced complete white metal Bugattis.Subsequently Barry Smith produced a fibreglasstype front axle assembly with metal pins thatpushed through to locate the wheels.

Barry then produced resin parts for theBugatti including the front steering assembly.Around this time John Jude also had resin partsproduced for his sprayed cars.

In the early 1990s approximately 50 of thesurplus black bases were built up by DavidLyttelton using a black body top moulded in amaterial called Colorthene (half resin. halfplastic which can he cold moulded and is not as

brittle as resin). These were supplied as a bodytop only and then built up using BTS parts and,later on, Pink-Kar parts. Incidentally, anybodyneeding spare parts for this version should get intouch with Roger Barker as he bought theremaining bits from Dave and still has a few left.

DetailsDetailsDetailsDetailsDetailsOriginal ScaleOriginal ScaleOriginal ScaleOriginal ScaleOriginal Scalextric Bugatti madextric Bugatti madextric Bugatti madextric Bugatti madextric Bugatti madefor Steve de Havilland in 1983for Steve de Havilland in 1983for Steve de Havilland in 1983for Steve de Havilland in 1983for Steve de Havilland in 1983

manufactured by Hornby Hobbies,base says tri-ang

Motor: E6.Guide: G12.First ones with steering mechanism, most laterones without.Body material: injection moulded plastic.Ancillary parts in white metal by Colin Penn orresin by BTS.Colours:Red (160) plus 100 bodytops only- see John Jude.Black 1982 (273 underpans only- see John Judeand David Lyttleton).Yellow (110).Green (110).White 1982 (23 bodytops only). Supplied withblack underpan and white C71 steering unit(G10 Guide) or black C95 steering unit (G12Guide) without stub axles. ➳

1982 test run white Bugatti1982 test run white Bugatti1982 test run white Bugatti1982 test run white Bugatti1982 test run white Bugatti

27March 2007

The red Bugatti top and base “kit” initiallysold for twelve pounds, and the yellow and greenkits were sold for fifteen pounds. Hornby’s‘trade’ price for the second (yellow and green)order was higher than for the first (red) order.

John Jude (England)John Jude (England)John Jude (England)John Jude (England)John Jude (England)Original ScaleOriginal ScaleOriginal ScaleOriginal ScaleOriginal Scalextric Bugattixtric Bugattixtric Bugattixtric Bugattixtric Bugatti

19871987198719871987Motor: E6.Guide: G12.With steering mechanism.Tyres: as C70 or tyres from M&N.Data on underpan: as C70.Body material: injection moulded plastic.Parts from BTS or Pink-Kar or self made.Colour:Light blue and dark blue (original red top andblack underpan sprayed). 60 made in total.

C95 David LC95 David LC95 David LC95 David LC95 David Lyttleton (England)yttleton (England)yttleton (England)yttleton (England)yttleton (England)RRRRRepro Scaleepro Scaleepro Scaleepro Scaleepro Scalextric Bugatti top onxtric Bugatti top onxtric Bugatti top onxtric Bugatti top onxtric Bugatti top on

original original original original original (1982 “tri-ang”)(1982 “tri-ang”)(1982 “tri-ang”)(1982 “tri-ang”)(1982 “tri-ang”)black underpan made in 1993black underpan made in 1993black underpan made in 1993black underpan made in 1993black underpan made in 1993

Motor: E6.Guide: G12.With steering mechanism.Tyres: from M&N.

Data on underpan: as C70.Body material: ColortheneUnderpan material: injection moulded plastic.All parts from BTS.Colour:Black (approximately 50 made).

RRRRReplicas/Replicas/Replicas/Replicas/Replicas/ReproductionseproductionseproductionseproductionseproductionsGraham PGraham PGraham PGraham PGraham Perris - 1990erris - 1990erris - 1990erris - 1990erris - 1990

Several people have since copied the ScalextricBugatti. The first was Graham Perris who hadpermission from Hornby (allegedly!) for his resinreplicas. The advert in the August 1990 issue ofthe (then) NSCC Newsletter announced that200 would be available. Standard colour wasblue with red available to special order. As bothof these were painted after manufacture thecolour was largely irrelevant. The cost was £95- purchasers were required to send £25 depositand an RX motor to Mr Perris with a deliverypromise some six months in the future.

Unfortunately for would-be purchasersnothing like the full quantity of 200 were madeand many members were still waiting for theircars several years after sending off their deposit.

The thrThe thrThe thrThe thrThe three colours of the 1983 ree colours of the 1983 ree colours of the 1983 ree colours of the 1983 ree colours of the 1983 re-issuese-issuese-issuese-issuese-issues

28

YYYYYou can fool some of theou can fool some of theou can fool some of theou can fool some of theou can fool some of thepeople.....people.....people.....people.....people.....

The Perris Bugatti was, by all accounts, not verygood and many were sent back for a refund.They do appear to be fetching silly money oneBay at the moment though and one evenmanaged to fool Bonhams & Brooks, a majorauction house, in 2000 as Phil Smith recountedat the time:

“A while ago at the London InternationalToy Fair one of my customers, Andy Wakeford,asked me if I had seen the original Bugatti thatwas coming up for auction at the following week.I hadn’t, but when I got home I checked outtheir web site. They had the Bugatti listed with

a price guide of £1000 to £1500, as he had said,but something didn’t seem quite right. It waslisted as a C70 with a repro C95 box andinstructions. Knowing that this was how the‘Perris’ bugs were done, I thought that perhapsthis may be one of them. Looking at the pictureit did seem a little shiny, like it had been painted,but it was not a very good picture. So I e-mailedAndy to warn him that he should check it outcarefully! He said that if he thought it was arepro car he would let Bonhams know andadvise them to withdraw it from the sale.

There was some other items in the cataloguethat were interesting and I made a couple ofbids on these. On the day of the auction I ➳

29March 2007

checked out their site; the Bugatti had sold for£1250 so I thought it must have been ok andwished I had made a bid!

I was the high bidder on one of my items. Afew days later, at the NEC, another of mycustomers, Neil Dunham, said that he had beenthe high bidder on the Bugatti. I told him mythoughts on it and what to look for when hewent to pick it up. He called me that eveningand said he had not paid for it because he wassure it was a Perris car! He knew I was going topick up my lot the next day and asked me if Icould look at it and give a second opinion. Assoon as I saw the car in the flesh I knew it wasnot a real one. You could see straight away thatit was painted and, with permission, I scrapedsome paint away on the inside to reveal resin!

The guy in charge of toys at Bonhamsadmitted to me that he had some misgivingsabout the car and had asked a NSCC memberhe knew, of his opinion. The member (who hedid not want to name) said yes, it was ok. I thinkthat they were lucky that the car did not sell fora lot more money and go to someone abroadwho would not have had the opportunity toinspect the car before paying. Needless to sayNeil is very pleased he came to the NEC onSunday!”

DetailsDetailsDetailsDetailsDetailsGraham PGraham PGraham PGraham PGraham Perris (England)erris (England)erris (England)erris (England)erris (England)

RRRRRepro Scaleepro Scaleepro Scaleepro Scaleepro Scalextric Bugatti xtric Bugatti xtric Bugatti xtric Bugatti xtric Bugatti 19901990199019901990Motor: E6.Guide: G12.With steering mechanism.Tyres: self made, without Dunlop lettering.Data on underpan: as C70.Material: Acrylic and Resin.Parts from BTSColours:Blue painted (standard).Red painted (option).200 should have been made. Total production isuncertain. Perris also made a box (a flimsy copyof the C64 Bentley box) and fictitious C95instructions, based on those from the C96 AutoUnion.

PinkPinkPinkPinkPink-Kar-Kar-Kar-Kar-KarNowadays every collector can have a replicaBugatti (an impossible situation with real ones).The injection moulded type 59 Bugatti fromPink-Kar in blue, black (limited edition), white,green, red and yellow is the cheapest and mostaccurate one. You can even have a chrome oneif you like as they produced a special anniversaryset which also contained a chromed replicaScalextric Auto Union. Some colours are stillreadily available from your usual dealer.

With the 1983 re-issues and Perris replicasfetching healthy three figure sums these days aPink-Kar version for £25 to £50 is somethingof a bargain! Used models are even cheapenough to play with and prove that Scalextricwere right to make so few of them all those yearsago - they are absolute garbage on the track!

Occasionally an interesting fake ‘Scalextric’black Bugatti turns up - constructed from a1983re-issue base and a Pink-Kar top, thus producinga black plastic car (as opposed to the ‘Lyttelton’resin version) complete with genuine Scalextricbranding on the base.

It is still not known whether Pink-Karsomehow acquired the original Scalextricmoulds or worked from an existing car. Theirversion was certainly cleaned up a good deal ashardly any of the imperfections of the 1983 re-issues can be found on them.

DetailsDetailsDetailsDetailsDetailsC70 PinkC70 PinkC70 PinkC70 PinkC70 Pink-Kar (Spain)-Kar (Spain)-Kar (Spain)-Kar (Spain)-Kar (Spain)

RRRRRepro Tepro Tepro Tepro Tepro Triang Scaleriang Scaleriang Scaleriang Scaleriang Scalextric Bugattixtric Bugattixtric Bugattixtric Bugattixtric Bugattimade made made made made from 1994from 1994from 1994from 1994from 1994

Motor: RX-4.Guide: copy of G10.With steering mechanism.Tyres: Self made, without Dunlop lettering.Wheels: copy of C70.Body material: injection moulded plastic.Colours:Light blue.Production total: 1500. Data on underpan:nothing. Data inside underpan: Pink-Kar, Madein Spain, CV001.Box: Pink-Kar box with No. CV001 (silveroverprint).

30

Black.Production total: 300. Data on underpan:Edicion 300 Limitada. Data inside underpan:Pink-Kar, Made in Spain, CV002.Box: Pink-Kar box with No. CV002 (goldenoverprint).Chrome plated on brown plinth.Base colour: light blue. Production total: 40.Data on underpan: Edicion 300 Limitada (asblack one, very clever!). Data inside underpan:as light blue one.Box: Pink-Kar box as CV002 but withoutnumber. Note: Given to Pink-Kar dealers in1995.Yellow.Production total: maximum 200.Data on underpan: Mini Classics InternationalClub logo. Made for MCIC-members (Spain) in1996.White, green, red and yellow (different shade toMini Classics car). Production total: unknown.

RRRRReplica Replica Replica Replica Replica Reeeee-issues!-issues!-issues!-issues!-issues!As if the above were not enough to confuseeverybody, there are even some replica re-issuesabout! An unknown maker from Spain createdresin copies of the 1983 re-issues (you can telltheir origins by the same faults in the rear body)they have been found in blue, black, red, andyellow but other colours may exist.

DetailsDetailsDetailsDetailsDetailsC70 MakC70 MakC70 MakC70 MakC70 Maker unknown (Spain)er unknown (Spain)er unknown (Spain)er unknown (Spain)er unknown (Spain)

RRRRRepro 1983 reepro 1983 reepro 1983 reepro 1983 reepro 1983 re-issues made in 1995-issues made in 1995-issues made in 1995-issues made in 1995-issues made in 1995Motor: E2.Guide: G10.With steering mechanism.Body material: Resin.All parts are from Pink-Kar.Colours:Blue.Black.Red.Yellow.Production numbers of the above cars are notknown and other colours may exist.

PPPPPowersledge Bugatti(s)owersledge Bugatti(s)owersledge Bugatti(s)owersledge Bugatti(s)owersledge Bugatti(s)It is known that Scalextric used various existingbodies to test the new Power Sledge motor (E8)in 1968. The Bugatti shown below is reputed tobe such an experiment.The front (body top)screw pillar was ground down underneath thebonnet to allow the drop arm/front of thesledge to fit into the car, and thus to workproperly. The chassis was cut up and only therearmost third of it was used, the part under thedriver forwards was removed.

The fact that a C95 race tuned body hasbeen used lends credence to this story but it isentirely possible that the car was just modifiedby a club racer in the 60s; nobody knew how ➳

A PA PA PA PA Powersledge Bugatti.............owersledge Bugatti.............owersledge Bugatti.............owersledge Bugatti.............owersledge Bugatti.............

31March 2007

valuable these cars would become at the timeand several are known to have been altered tomake them more competitive.This particular car was in Peter Morley’scollection for several years and eventually endedup in Australia where it came to a sticky end. Itsowner ran a furniture manufacturing businessand converted one floor of the building to househis extensive collection. About five years ago afire destroyed both the building and collectionwhich included many other unique or prototypeitems including the ‘Articulated Gravel Truck’,the Lancia Delta prototype and the Lego styletruck.

There could possibly be another in existenceas I also came across this b/w photo of anunderside which has several detail differences.

And FinallyAnd FinallyAnd FinallyAnd FinallyAnd FinallyMark Scale has seen two white re-issue versionswith proper white bases instead of the usualblack.

On the replica front there are a few Pink-Kar versions with full Scalextric branding on thebase as opposed to the plain production versionsso you need to be wary if offered a ‘genuine’Bugatti with Pink-Kar parts!

Such a valuable car is always going to spawnoutright fakes so “buyer beware”.

The end - unless, of course, you knowdifferent! ■

PPPPPowersledge Bugatti complete with cooling(?) holes in bodyowersledge Bugatti complete with cooling(?) holes in bodyowersledge Bugatti complete with cooling(?) holes in bodyowersledge Bugatti complete with cooling(?) holes in bodyowersledge Bugatti complete with cooling(?) holes in body

................and another one.........possibly................and another one.........possibly................and another one.........possibly................and another one.........possibly................and another one.........possibly

32

Kits ‘N’ BobsKits ‘N’ BobsKits ‘N’ BobsKits ‘N’ BobsKits ‘N’ BobsA round up of recent kit and resin releasesA round up of recent kit and resin releasesA round up of recent kit and resin releasesA round up of recent kit and resin releasesA round up of recent kit and resin releases

By Phil Insull

First thing to do this month is confirm thatthe MMK 1966 Serenissima Le Mans carand the new Gordini Coupé will both be

available in the U.K. through importers WorldClassics Limited. In fact here is a picture of thenew Serenissima. Further news from WorldClassics is the release this month of three newOCAR kits, these being the Lola Mk3 BOAC500 Brands Hatch, Mercedes 300SL open topPan-American, and Pegaso Z102 BerlinettaMonaco GP.

Last month I told you about my new homemade diorama setting, however while it was nota bad effort I decided to trawl eBay to see ifanyone did proper dioramas and I have found agentleman in Spain called Juanma who doessome excellent ones. They are so good I couldn’tresist a picture of one I purchased with my

World Classics Russell Brookes Opel Manta 400on display. I also mentioned some new kits froma very nice Spanish chap, including a RenaultSchlesser Dakar buggy, a 1970 Lancia Stratos ➳

MMK’MMK’MMK’MMK’MMK’s new Sers new Sers new Sers new Sers new Serenissima LM66enissima LM66enissima LM66enissima LM66enissima LM66

Juanma’ Juanma’ Juanma’ Juanma’ Juanma’s Monte Carlo Diors Monte Carlo Diors Monte Carlo Diors Monte Carlo Diors Monte Carlo Diorama with Wama with Wama with Wama with Wama with World Classic’orld Classic’orld Classic’orld Classic’orld Classic’s Opel Manta 400s Opel Manta 400s Opel Manta 400s Opel Manta 400s Opel Manta 400

33March 2007

Bertone show car, Citroën DS23 Dakar, Renault4 Dakar, Ferrari 750 Monza, Abarth 030 Pinin-farina, and a Mercedes Benz 300 Modsaloon. Itturns out that these sell under the brands SlotIberica and Hispania Slot. These are qualitybody kits needing a few Ninco parts and a paintjob to get them up and running. Sadly I’ve beentied up with the Earlybird Grand Prix thismonth but here is at least one I managed tobuild up, the Renault Mégane based SchlesserBuggy.

Earlybird proved both an exciting meetingand a chance to buy some more stuff, PenelopePitlane were present and seemed to be doingsome decent trade, with lots of kit and scratchbuilders interested in their bodies, chassis andwheels. Other notables were RS Slot Racingwho had on display some fabulous 1/24th scalekits from Ortmann, which will be availableexclusively through RS Slot Racing. These arethe 1965 Lotus 38 in both Clark and Gurneyversions, a 1964/65 F1 512 in Generic 64Surtees, Mexico 64, and Rodriguez/Bondurantversions and two BRMs: the 1963 P57 and the

1965 P261. The made up ones on display werefabulous and come as either complete resin bodykit with decals and detailing parts and you canbuy a complete rolling Scholer Chassis withAlloy wheels and Ortmann tyres or, if you buythe complete body and chassis, you also get aFox motor included as well. I will be orderingone to do a full review in the next couple ofmonths. It was also a pleasure to meet ChasKeeling for the first time at Earlybirds and heshowed me the new motor/rear axle bracket hehas developed for the Scalextric Moto GPmotor, most useful for builders and should beavailable through Chas’s SCD site.

On now to one of the biggest events in thetoy and, of course, slot car year - the NurembergFair. As ever, slot manufacturers didn’t announceall their releases for 2007 at the London showbut left some big stuff for Nuremberg. First,perhaps one of slot’s most welcome additions isthe announcement by Maurizio Ferrari ofSlot.it that they will be releasing an Alfa T33/3as a running mate to their recent Ferrari 312PBsin 2007. A prototype was displayed by Slot.italong with their new Electronic controller, thelimited edition #2 Silk Cut Jaguar XJR9 LeMans winner from 1988, the imminent LanciaLC2 in Martini colours, the McLaren F1GTR,a second high tail Porsche 956 in Brun Schlesserlivery, and pictures of the proposed Ferrari F40in To-tip colours. Spirit were showing what looklike production versions of the 406 coupé andsilhouette car as well as the BMW 2002 and hadon hand a prototype Porsche 936 as well asconfirming that the planned Courage LMP isstill going to be made. Cartrix seem to havefound their market with the classic grand Prixseries and had what appeared to be finishedversions of the Lotus 16 and Gordini T32 ondisplay. MRRC had a big surprise with aprototype Ford MK IV, due out this year, whileSloter plan to add a Renault Alpine A110, Fiat131 Abarth and a Zytek LM prototype to theirexpanding liveries of 312PBs and Lola T280/290s. To round out Nuremberg a couple of newnames, Avant Slot a new Spanish make, brain-child of a former Fly and Spirit designer, hadprototypes of their new 1/32 Audi R10 TDI

OrOrOrOrOrtmann’tmann’tmann’tmann’tmann’s new 1/24s new 1/24s new 1/24s new 1/24s new 1/24ththththth scale Lotus 38 exclusiv scale Lotus 38 exclusiv scale Lotus 38 exclusiv scale Lotus 38 exclusiv scale Lotus 38 exclusiveeeee

to RS Slot Racingto RS Slot Racingto RS Slot Racingto RS Slot Racingto RS Slot Racing

Iberia Slot’Iberia Slot’Iberia Slot’Iberia Slot’Iberia Slot’s Schlesser Buggy on Juanma’s Schlesser Buggy on Juanma’s Schlesser Buggy on Juanma’s Schlesser Buggy on Juanma’s Schlesser Buggy on Juanma’sssss

deserdeserdeserdeserdesert diort diort diort diort dioramaamaamaamaama

34

and 1/24th Peugeot 307 both with verysophisticated looking chassis and running gear.An Italian company called BRM had somestunning ready to race 1/24th Porsche 956s andfinally MB Slot, who are renowned for theirrange of slot tuning parts, are following rivalsNSR in becoming a manufacturer of ready torace cars with plans of their proposed newPagani Zonda on display.

Away from Nuremberg the general releasenews brings details of a new metal chassis fromProto Slot to go with the upcoming Alpine A220and Spyker LM I mentioned in last month’sarticle. Auto Art are set to add a 1/24 BugattiVeyron and Chiron to go with their 1/32Bugatti Veyron as well as a 1/24 Dodge ViperCompetition Coupé and Porsche 911 (996) in

both road and GT2 versions. Here in the UKMaxi Models have now released their pre-painted Super Sport lightweight body kits for theMcLaren M6 to go with their MXC FlexiChassis made from spring steel. This chassisrequires no soldering and can be purchased asa fold and use chassis or as a complete runningkit with Professor Motor 26,000 rpm motor withsilicon cables, ground steel axles, varitractionmagnet, Sakatsu flag and soft copper braids, sidewinder gear set, appropriate wheel set andinserts, and “Indy Grips” tyres. Needless to sayone of the bodies and the complete chassis is onorder and I’ll hopefully be reviewing it soon.

Last month I promised some pictures ofsome new releases, namely the AA bodiesCooper Norton, Cooper Bristol, Ferrari TestaRossa and Costin bodied Lister, and ResilientResins new Lotus 25 and Cunningham C4R.Well here they all are thanks in no small part toPenelope Pitlane chassis and wheels. Also Ipromised photos of the new Acura Integra andHonda Civic “Tuning” cars from Revell USA,they’re not really my cup of tea but for youngerslot racers who want to “Bling their rides” I’msure they’ll go down a storm. ■

AA Bodies Cooper NorAA Bodies Cooper NorAA Bodies Cooper NorAA Bodies Cooper NorAA Bodies Cooper Norton, Cooper Bristol,ton, Cooper Bristol,ton, Cooper Bristol,ton, Cooper Bristol,ton, Cooper Bristol,

TTTTTesta Rossa, and Costin Listeresta Rossa, and Costin Listeresta Rossa, and Costin Listeresta Rossa, and Costin Listeresta Rossa, and Costin Lister

Resilient Resins new Lotus 25 and parResilient Resins new Lotus 25 and parResilient Resins new Lotus 25 and parResilient Resins new Lotus 25 and parResilient Resins new Lotus 25 and parttttt

complete Cunningham C4Rcomplete Cunningham C4Rcomplete Cunningham C4Rcomplete Cunningham C4Rcomplete Cunningham C4R

RevRevRevRevRevell USAell USAell USAell USAell USA’’’’’s Integrs Integrs Integrs Integrs Integra and Civic “Ta and Civic “Ta and Civic “Ta and Civic “Ta and Civic “Tuning” carsuning” carsuning” carsuning” carsuning” cars

35March 2007

Numbers of listings continue to remainbuoyant on eBay this month at aroundthe 5000 mark in the UK generally and

some 2000 extra listings appeared, with a halfprice listing day, on the only incentive day thismonth. I note, however the increasing presenceof foreign sellers on UK eBay and if youactually tick the box to include European listingsthe total jumps to 10,000 and to over 12,000when worldwide listings are ticked. Personally Ihave had no problems when buying fromabroad though you have to be patient withsellers and delivery times. Buying like this doesbring its rewards like a Carrera Batmobile forunder £35 including £5 p&p from Germanybeing a good buy this month.

Having attended the MK swapmeet as astall holder for the first time, I think bothswapmeets and eBay are painting similarpictures of the current state of the market.There appears to be plenty of stock about,including some very collectable items, but buyersare on the look out for bargains, mostly at thelower end of the market. I can certainly countmyself in that category as well, as many of youreading this know!

As to the collectable end of the scale, someitems are becoming difficult to find and, whenthey do appear, are fetching good, if not silly,money on the right selling day. However whymore items are ending up on eBay now I guessis that you will actually sell the item if you havea reasonable starting price and no reservewhereas at the swapmeet it just sits on the table,as I found with a lot of cars that I had pricedlower than usually seen on eBay. So, to sum up,in my opinion it is really the middle market thatseems to have become rather unpredictable onprices so the advice would be to look carefully ifyou are buying there, and, expect less but hopefor more when selling.

NSCCNSCCNSCCNSCCNSCCThis being the 300th edition of the NSCCJournal I decided it would be good to see whatNSCC related items I could find on my surfingtravels.

The recent Ninco Mégane appears quiteregularly on eBay and is still commandingamazing money when you consider that peoplecould, until recently, join the club and buy thecar for a third of the price they fetch on eBay.Personally I think it is a bit of a shame that themarket price for such a recent release has beendriven so high for these cars and I am sure PeterSolari will have had similar thoughts. It justserves as a reminder that you need to do yourhomework when bidding on the rarer stuff as itcould also be available much cheaper elsewhere.As I write there is a BIN (Buy It Now) auctionof £130 for the Mégane. I wonder how longthat will last? I will check at the end of thereport. Following the Ninco thread then, theprevious Ninco car - the yellow Clio has turnedup during the month selling for £156.05. Oneat €500 remained unsold but also there were 2ongoing auctions as well as another in the shoplistings for a BIN price of £250. Also noticedwere white, red and green Clios with allegedNSCC limited edition stickers for £40 BIN inthe shops section that I can not recall seeingbefore.

Other ‘NSCC’ live auctions highlighted theLight Blue Escort XR3 (probably in the wrongbox), a Jaguar XJ220 and a 1999 NSCCGoodwood Marshal’s baseball cap and badge.Completed listings showed an incredible, well tome anyway, £102 for a green Scalextric C561Rover with the silver one to be listed at a laterdate or sold privately - I would guess to the samebuyer if the seller was half sharp after gettingthat price. Also seldom seen was a ScalextricC380 Grey Datsun with chrome bumpers thatfetched £113 on a Monday night.

36

Bugs!Bugs!Bugs!Bugs!Bugs!Having been asked to get some photos and,continuing the NSCC link, there was a greenBugatti 1983 re-issue that went for £551. Ayellow one from the same seller stands at £400currently. For those of you with lighter walletsthough there are several Pink-Kar examples tofall back on, particularly if you are prepared todeal with Spanish sellers, with prices from €25upwards. No original blue Scalextric ones at anyprice this month though. A rare one that didappear was a Pink Kar Type 59 GP ChromeTrophy but at €499 no buyers snapped up thisone from a Spanish seller. Speaking of ChromeTrophy models, a Scalextric Ford Escort Mexicoracing competition prize car fetched £62 duringthe month.

A Bond set sold for only £1017 this month,but the top price paid on UK eBay was £1551for a massive 80 foot 6 lane Scalextric Sportsetup with trailer and marquee sold as a readymade business opportunity. Now I have done afew fund-raising events with mates from our cluband, believe me, it is hard work to earn themoney mentioned in the listing if you are doingit purely as a business. Another large auction ofnote was a near complete set of catalogues from#1 to 43 mainly in excellent condition or mintwith only 14 and 17 missing that fetched £305- something of a bargain bearing in mind whatindividual ones usually fetch.

This monthThis monthThis monthThis monthThis month’s prices’s prices’s prices’s prices’s pricesPrices as listed and spelt on UK eBay unlessstated, with the time and auction ending day:Scalextric Box for Bugatti Type 59, C70!RARE! $6.50 (Seemed a bit cheap. Thursnight.)Autoart/Scalextric Bugatti EB 16.4 VeyronFANTASTIC CAR £34.25 (Sunday night)RARE Scalextric Original Printers Block VGC£29.50 (Tuesday night. Similar to those, if notthe same as I reported on last year)SCALEXTRIC Vintage A229 GRANDEBRIDGE SET MINT BOXED £240 (Sundaynight and it looked MB apart from a few minorwear marks on box.)

SCALEXTRIC Vintage V33 BENTLEY SET– BOX £127 (No cars but nice box and contentsSunday night)Rare! Scalextric motorcycle, 2 riders, boxed£53.95 (A good condition C282 combination ingreen on a Thursday afternoon with £4.50p&p!)Rare! Scalextric motorcycle, 2 riders, boxed£53.95 (A good condition C282 combination ingreen on a Thursday afternoon with £4.50p&p!)12 OIL DRUMS FOR SCALEXTRICSCENERY AND CHICANES £12 (All thedrums had their fixing lugs and I should thinkso at that price and not in a bag. Tuesday night)Scalextric FORD GT40 “50th Anniversary”C2816 MIB £41 (The Racer magazine car justissued. Seller did well there or did the buyerthink they had got a Range Presentation modelfor a song! Friday morning)Scalextric Catalogue UK Twenty sixth 26Edition 1985 £28.51 (Monday night for a mintcopy and price list)Scalextric Catalogue Fifth Edition , 1964 £3.80(excellent condition but with prices writteninside on Friday night)Scalextric Catalogue Second Edition 1961 £82(same seller and time as 5th edition above )Scalextric catalogue 1960 1st ever NOT APHOTO COPY £103 (Good clean versionSaturday night)SCALEXTRIC 500 SET VERY RAREBANNED ROTHMANS SET £36 (Mondaynight)Scalextric C2629 (S) - Porsche 911 GT3-R‘Schmidbauer’ £225.07 (Plain white modeltampoed up with “Schmidbauer Modellauto”but not an official Hornby produced item I havebeen informed, though Adrian was mentionedin the listing. Maybe that was why this went sohigh?)SCALEXTRIC W121 VINTAGE FJCONTRATE GEARS (12) M/B £62.01(Someone likes FJ stuff there! Saturday night)

Well I was proved wrong. The NSCCMégane had not been snapped up at the time offinishing this report. ■

37March 2007

The creator of this successful little sportscar was Frank Nichols. It was originallydesigned for the under 1100cc class to

take on the Lotus 23. However, with a greatchassis and good handling,the works cars ranwith an enlarged 1800cc BMW engine. TonyLanfranchi as works driver had a great amountof success with this combination and evenagainst more powerful opposition he won the1964 Autosport Championship.

A lot of MK7 Elvas were sold to privateentrants, mainly in the States. There was alsosuccess at home, notably Trevor Taylor in theAurora Gears racing car and Keith St John inthe Radio London sponsored car.

The chassis was made up as a space frameusing small diameter steel tubing making it veryrigid. Fully independent front and rearsuspension units were mounted using coil springdampers. Elva cast their own magnesium wheelswhich also had disc brakes all round. Manyoptions were available for the rear mountedengine , from a Lotus –Ford-Cosworth throughto a Nerus tuned BMW 2 litre giving around180 bhp. With either option Hewland had achoice of two gear boxes available: the cheaper4 speed or the 5 speed crash box with quickchange final drive gears. The car was most

noticeable for its distinctive front air intakes.This was not for styling purposes alone as it fedthe two front mounted radiators either side ofthe spare wheel. The works cars were alwaysimmaculately turned out for racing in a deepgreen paint work. With a BMW engine fitted,the car would carry a BMW badge under theElva one on the front bonnet.

Elva also supplied a number of cars fittedwith a Porsche 2 litre flat 8 engines. In this guisein 1964, Herbert Muller would go on to takesecond place in the European Hill ClimbingChampionship.

In early 1964 Elva was taken over by theLambretta-Trojan Group and an ill-fatedattempt to produce the GT 160 coupé wasdoomed by the heavy body and the fact it wasuneconomical to build. Elva then commencedmanufacture of the McLaren Group 7 sportsracing cars. This lasted until 1971 whenMcLaren withdrew from this form of racing.The final cars made by Elva were the BMWpowered Mk 8 of 1965 and the Mk 8s of 1966.

This is a small car so I have fitted a NincoPorsche 356 chassis with narrow wheels andtyres from an MRRC Ford 3 litre. Painted in adark green it would make a nice addition to thepre 1966 sports car class. ■

1964 Elva BMW MK VII1964 Elva BMW MK VII1964 Elva BMW MK VII1964 Elva BMW MK VII1964 Elva BMW MK VIIBy Dave Yerbury

38

The Wolverhampton Classic meetingsare hugely popular events and the 2007Earlybirds 50 Grand Prix proved to be

as fantastic as ever. With forty-four entrants andprobably twenty or thirty visitors, the Wolvesclub rooms were buzzing with activity from theword go. Saturday gave a chance for some lastminute testing and practice with entrantsdropping in almost as soon as the doors opened.

Among the early arrivals were David Lawsonand Dave Jones who brought with them theirsuperb Brooklands cars the Napier Railton andthe Birkin Bentley. These cars are magnificentand while not eligible for the Grand Prix itselfthe two Davids gave a display of these twoelegant hand built cars.

On to race day and again plenty of peoplewere already in before I arrived at 8:45am. Asidefrom the registration, scrutineering by Mac andDave Jones, and general “gawping” at all thegreat slot cars on display there was a fine centraldisplay by Wolverhampton’s own Colin Pugh ➳

WWWWWolverhampton 2007olverhampton 2007olverhampton 2007olverhampton 2007olverhampton 2007Earlybirds Grand PrixEarlybirds Grand PrixEarlybirds Grand PrixEarlybirds Grand PrixEarlybirds Grand Prix

by Phil Insull

Raring to go as the entrRaring to go as the entrRaring to go as the entrRaring to go as the entrRaring to go as the entrants gather round forants gather round forants gather round forants gather round forants gather round for

the prthe prthe prthe prthe pre-meeting briefinge-meeting briefinge-meeting briefinge-meeting briefinge-meeting briefing

DDDDDavid Jones’ Brooklands Birkin Bentleyavid Jones’ Brooklands Birkin Bentleyavid Jones’ Brooklands Birkin Bentleyavid Jones’ Brooklands Birkin Bentleyavid Jones’ Brooklands Birkin Bentley

DDDDDavid Lawson’avid Lawson’avid Lawson’avid Lawson’avid Lawson’s Brooklands Napier Railtons Brooklands Napier Railtons Brooklands Napier Railtons Brooklands Napier Railtons Brooklands Napier Railton

39March 2007

who shared part of his “Woody” car collectionalong with photos of his full size V8 powered“Woody” showing how he took it from a rustyold heap of bits to the gleaming star of therecent House of Commons charity run.

Colin also provided some much neededsustenance throughout the day with the nowlegendary Wolverhampton bacon butties goingdown a treat with a cuppa. Other interestingitems included Ralph Parker’s Mormon Wasp,Tony Condon’s Carbon Fibre chassis Earlybird,and John Prince’s stable of lovely cars displayedon his own track diorama.

There was plenty to spend your money ontoo with Bob and Colin from RS Slot Racingdisplaying and selling a huge range of Ortmanntyres and having examples of their new 1/24th

scale kits on display as well as finding time totake part in the meeting. I particularly liked the

Lotus 38 Indianapolis car and hopefully will bebuying, building and reviewing one soon. Onhand were our friends from Penelope Pitlane,with chassis, wheels and body kits available tobuy and order, their wares produced a lot ofinterest particularly as Rob and Lewis wereracing their Aston Martins and Rob and Steve(via Lewis) had entered their Bugatti and Astonin the Concours d’Élégance. Also busy were

Ralph PRalph PRalph PRalph PRalph Parker’arker’arker’arker’arker’s Mormon Ws Mormon Ws Mormon Ws Mormon Ws Mormon Waspaspaspaspasp

TTTTTony Condon’ony Condon’ony Condon’ony Condon’ony Condon’s Carbon Fibrs Carbon Fibrs Carbon Fibrs Carbon Fibrs Carbon Fibre chassis Masere chassis Masere chassis Masere chassis Masere chassis Maseratiatiatiatiati

John P John P John P John P John Prince’rince’rince’rince’rince’s trs trs trs trs track diorack diorack diorack diorack diorama and carsama and carsama and carsama and carsama and cars

DDDDDavid Lawson’avid Lawson’avid Lawson’avid Lawson’avid Lawson’s Early Vs Early Vs Early Vs Early Vs Early Vanwall Special caranwall Special caranwall Special caranwall Special caranwall Special carvvvvved from wooded from wooded from wooded from wooded from wood

40

Tony Condon with his range of fibreglass shells,as were the Fitzpatrick family, with threegenerations selling their huge range of bodyshells and parts as well as competing, with Lizziebeing the youngest competitor and Margaretadding a touch of class to the trophypresentations. Other renowned faces from theslot world were Chas Keeling of Slot CarDevelopments, Andy Brown-Searle of AB SlotSports and the NSCC’s very own “Mr Ninco”Peter Solari.

ConcoursConcoursConcoursConcoursConcoursOn to the day’s events then and first off was thedisplay and people’s voting for the ConcoursD’Élégance. With so many quality cars tochoose from it was hard to pick just three butthat’s just what everyone had to do (they can’tvote for their own). With such a choice thevoting was close but winner was the PenelopePitlane Aston Martin DBR4/250 built by SteveWard and entered and raced by his son Lewis.Second and third were Dave Jones’ Maserati250F “low line” and John Prince’s Scarab F1,both of which were gorgeous and finished justone point behind the winner, with Dave gettingthe nod for second by dint of more first placevotes. Equally excellent and just a whiskerbehind in the voting were David Lawson’s

My own humble efforMy own humble efforMy own humble efforMy own humble efforMy own humble effortststststs

fabulous balsa wood early Vanwall Special (yesreally balsa) and Bill Charters Alfa RomeoBimotore. Sadly yours truly, despite having myown large stable to choose from, could onlyfinish halfway down the Concours field with myAlfa Romeo 159. ➳

The Concours 1-2-3 with Lewis WThe Concours 1-2-3 with Lewis WThe Concours 1-2-3 with Lewis WThe Concours 1-2-3 with Lewis WThe Concours 1-2-3 with Lewis Wararararard’d’d’d’d’s Ps Ps Ps Ps Penelopeenelopeenelopeenelopeenelope

Pitlane Aston winning the Spirit of thePitlane Aston winning the Spirit of thePitlane Aston winning the Spirit of thePitlane Aston winning the Spirit of thePitlane Aston winning the Spirit of the

Meeting TMeeting TMeeting TMeeting TMeeting Trophyrophyrophyrophyrophy

41March 2007

The RacingThe RacingThe RacingThe RacingThe RacingAs normal each competitor ran four threeminute qualifying heats with the total distanceat the end determining where they went in theladder finals. Some excellent qualifying racessaw Dick Smith and Ian Fitzpatrick qualifyautomatically as the top two for the fifty lapGrand Final, while some notable names seemedbeset with car or controller problems amongthem Pete Emery and Mick Kerr who wasforced to borrow a controller when his ownpacked up before his first heat. The ready to runqualifiers saw Wolverhampton regulars IanJames and Owen Cooper as top qualifiers withRace Controller for the day, Ian, being nearlyfour laps up from the heats. The ladder finalswere split with yours truly salvaging a modicumof pride by winning the C Final of the ready toruns before a combination of my overheatingCartrix Mercedes and my own inept driving sawme last in the B Final. Rob Davies of Wrexhamwon the B final with Phil Field coming in secondto earn places with Ian and Owen in the 25 lapready to run final. Here came something of anupset as Ian’s car had been accidentally knockedoff the race control area breaking a rear axlemount and forcing Ian to try and hastily repairhis Mercedes, however to no avail as he trailedhome last with the Merc doing a good imitationof a kangaroo. The Victor’s spoils went to Owenwith his Cartrix Mercedes who fought off aspirited challenge from Rob and Phil, with Robadding the fastest ready to run lap of the day tohis second place trophy.

On to the scratch built ladders with againsome excellent racing from the likes of DavidLawson, Graham Windle, Chris Adams, EddieGrice, Tony Condon, John Prince and BillCharters. However, it was Mick Kerr and MacPinches who battled through from the B final toearn places in the 50 Lap Grand Final.

The 50 lapper was mesmerising with Mickinto a quick lead with his Maserati 250F on anunfancied outside lane with an almost faultlessdrive. He was chased all the way to the flag byDick with his Mercedes W196 who finished justfour seconds behind after seven and a halfminutes racing, Mac’s Mercedes W125 held

Mar Mar Mar Mar Margargargargargaret Fitzpatrick pret Fitzpatrick pret Fitzpatrick pret Fitzpatrick pret Fitzpatrick presents the 50 lapesents the 50 lapesents the 50 lapesents the 50 lapesents the 50 lap

GrGrGrGrGrand Final Winner Mick Kerr with his trophyand Final Winner Mick Kerr with his trophyand Final Winner Mick Kerr with his trophyand Final Winner Mick Kerr with his trophyand Final Winner Mick Kerr with his trophy

onto the lead lap to finish third while, despite arapid drive with his Alfa Bimotore, Ian Fitz-patrick must have been amazed to find Micklapping him just before the flag.

The day’s action concluded with our charityraffle with the help of prizes from sponsorsPendle Slot Racing helping to raise over £100for the Acorns Children’s Hospice. MargaretFitzpatrick helped Mac in handing out thetrophies and prizes from Pendle Slot Racing tothe winners, with yours truly bullying them intolining up for some photos. As we were allpacking up, Charlie Fitzpatrick produced a blastfrom the past with a fascinating video CD takenfrom some old cine camera footage of rail racingfrom ARRA in 1959. The whole event wasrecorded by a professional documentary makeron DVD and includes interviews with some ofthe entrants as well as some great action footage.It will be available to order at WolverhamptonSlot Car Club. Perhaps the last words should goto my friend Robert Davies from Wrexham asthey sum up what these meetings are about toMac, myself and the rest of the team, Wolvesand all the entrants and sponsors without whosegreat support we could not stage such popularevents. “It’s not just about the racing, it’s thewhole package, Wolves’ hospitality, fellowcompetitor’s camaraderie - need to borrow aspare? No problem, your nearest racing rivalwill, if they have one, lend it to you. Need adviceon improving your cars performance on track?It’s freely given.” ■

42

On a planet, in a universe, far, far, away,it’s a Swapmeet Jim....... Swaptrekkerslog, star date Sunday 18th February

2007, destination, planet Milton Keynes, alocation only known as “Woughton Campus”.This place is only revealed to “Slot Trekkies”, itis an oasis that fills with all things Scalextric, justtwice a year.

The winter gathering here is traditionallyknown amongst travelling “Trekkies” as the“Holy Grail” of like minded inter planetarybeings, who converge to swap, sell or exchangetheir wares to other like minded species for justa few short daylight hours. It is a time when thegreat and the good from the galaxies gather todiscuss all matters concerning their race. Myjourney began in the early hours, a Star shipknown as Vectra collected me from my lonelysatellite station in the outer reaches of the slotcar galaxy.

Vectra was already laden with ancientgoods from far off times and places. I loaded mywares on board, strapped myself into the Cargohold, and having set my Phaser to stun, set offtowards that mythical land far away across theuniverse, known as “Woughton Campus”. Mypilot is a fellow Trekky, who can only be knownas Steve. Steve’s craft, Vectra, is modern, sleekand fast, unlike my old ageing freighter, that haspossibly seen its last slot journey across thegalaxy. Steve’s craft is fitted with all kinds ofcosmic gadgetry to avoid detection by thedreaded Klingons, who manifest themselves onthe thoroughfares of the galaxy as small metalobjects, known to seasoned travellers as “GatsoCameras”. Our journey is largely untroubled, asVectra’s deflector shields warn us of impendingKlingon traps, we safely negotiate through thesemetal tax collectors, and find ourselves on thelanding approach to the Woughton Campus.On our approach, Vectra’s sensors warn us thatall is not as it should be - the known landing areais strangely empty of Trekkies, with just

tumbleweed blowing across its once fertile slotland. Our sensors tell us of a gathering of lifeforms just a short distance away. Acting in aninstant, my pilot Steve, takes manual control ofVectra to land us within the confines of the newslot Oasis, a short distance away. Several otherTrekkies were less fortunate, and had difficultlandings in the terrain that surrounded theOasis. I definitely saw Rear Admiral Cooperand his crew crash their craft into boggymarshland nearby, and Captain Blows from thesouth of the universe managed to bring hisheavily laden craft in close to the docking area,despite too falling foul of this land’s treacheroussurface. Happily there were no reports of anyinjuries, and all managed to disgorge theirconsiderable wares into the rarified atmosphereof the slot Oasis. Steve and I unloaded Vectraand found our trading place in the Oasis. Weproceeded to display our goods, ready to tradewith our fellow Trekkies. Today was to be amomentous day as the Trekkies were to discoverif they were to have a new leader and Chief oftheir race. Many gathered from far off places inthe galaxy; some from the planets of Holland,Spain, France and even Maidenhead hadgathered to witness the event. Having set up mypost, I began to wander around the Oasis to seewhat had been brought to trade, and it wascosmic ! Most notably the afore mentioned RearAdmiral Cooper ( known to friends as Derek),and his fellow intergalactic traveller Phil (Smith),had obviously travelled far and wide to bring astellar array of collectables to the Oasis, the likeof which had not been witnessed in one place formany years. Bugattis, Auto Unions, all mannerof rare and esoteric cars of most denominationswere on display, just too many to mention. It ismy belief that many fellow travellers went homewith cars that they never believed they wouldsee, let alone own. Just to see these rare jewels inthe flesh was proof enough that Swapmeets aregreat places to attend. Around the hall there ➳

Milton Keynes 2007Milton Keynes 2007Milton Keynes 2007Milton Keynes 2007Milton Keynes 2007By Roger Barker

43March 2007

were lots of good buys to be had. I know thatstalwart Trekkie Adrian added at least threepieces to his collection, not least of which was ayellow C68 Aston DB4. My pilot Steve tookhome a beautiful blue swivel guide Vanwall. Asfor the Oasis itself, it has to be said that it is a vastimprovement on the previous site. There havebeen criticisms in the past of the facilities, butthe new location is a quantum leap forward,there is now much to help the weary traveller,not least a bar and rest room, along with a cashmachine, (still the most desirable form ofcurrency in the slot world), which is very usefulfor those Trekkies who blow their budget on theday! The event was, as ever, well attended andsuperbly marshalled by our host Nigel, whoappeared happy with the day’s proceedings,albeit after a few teething troubles with the stickyparking situation. All attendees seemed to enjoythe day. I know I did!

During the course of the day, news fromStar Command was that a new Chief of the SlotTrekkies faith been elected. As you now knowPeter Zivanovic has been elected. I wish himwell in his new role and thank Richard for histime as Chair. As the day drew to a close and thetravellers began to empty the slot Oasis andreturn to their respective places in the slotgalaxy, I had time to reflect on what had yetagain been a fantastic advert for Swapmeets.This had been yet again another superb event.This place does have a unique feel and flavourto it, maybe Spock’s superior alien intelligencecould explain why these events are so enjoyableto so many, after all... “It’s a Swapmeet Jim, it’show we like them, and hope they will alwaysbe.” ■

Issue #300 CompetitionIssue #300 CompetitionIssue #300 CompetitionIssue #300 CompetitionIssue #300 CompetitionThis “pre-production final livery approval sample of the Hornby/NSCC Ramsgate weekend 2006Pace car” is up for grabs in a special competition. The model is missing two tyres, windscreen wipers,plinth, case, motor and guide but will come with a Hornby certificate of authenticity. I also have acopy of the 50th anniversary book available for the runner up.

Questions:1) Which part of the original Scalextric Bugatti was used again in a later issue?

2) In which model(s) was it used?No, the answer is not in this month’s Bugatti article!

Answers to the Editor at the usual address - post or email only - closing date Friday 20th April.In the event of several correct entries Archie, the editorial cat, will perform his usual duties.

Brian