Hot Scalextric Part 2

Boring jobs done, house and garden straight and so me and the boys can now start our Scalextric again!! A few months away and I unpack the boxes excited about what we can create then it dawned on me...........putting together a track with the same pieces on a different shape board is a bit like making a puzzle without a picture to follow!!

It took all day but I got there, a track that fills the board and an improvement by splitting the hairpin corners to let the boys drive with some abandonment without a crash at every corner.

Now to spend some time making it look pretty over Christmas, can't wait!!!!!

All Good Things Come To An End

We are moving! We are all really excited but unfortunately it's time to pack away the Hot Scalextric :(

My wife has told me we must get boring things like furniture sorted and moved before I can start building the scalextric again so for now it is boxed safe in the attic.

A few months away with the knowledge of what works and doesn't from my first track and me and the boys will be back in a couple of months with an even bigger and better track I am sure! Until then, keep racing! Hot Scalextric part 2 will follow :)

Don't Leave A Scalextric Unattended

So I have just learned a valuable lesson. NEVER LEAVE YOUR SCALEXTRIC UNATTENDED!

After all the work on the track recently I thought I would send the cars round the track for a bit in pace car mode with a little oil on the track rails just to clean everything up. The door goes so I rush downstairs not thinking, got caught talking to a neighbour for 5 minutes, return to find a mass pile-up. Not so bad until I realised the Audi was still on the track but boxed in but 2 other cars and guess what..............

IT DOESN'T RUN ANYMORE!

Right, I thought, it must be a burnt out motor so I strip it down.

Take apart an old Austin Martin and switch the motors.

Woohoo an upgrade for sure. An Audi with an Austin Martin engine! This is bound to be fast!!!

Everything back together, ready for a test run and.................

Nothing happens. Turns out the old motor still runs but the wiring loom has got so hot it has welded itself together! The Audi can now sit in the pit garage until another day! On the plus side I did rescue a stronger magnet form the Austin Martin so I can upgrade one of the other cars that refuses to stay on the track.

Making A Race Track

Basics done, it's now time to turn a Scalextric into a race track.

Buildings, barriers and curbs in place and it's getting there. Now time to add a little greenery with some trees.

I'm happy with how it will look but as most of the trees and bushes are going to be hand made this is going to take a while!

I am hoping to get a good balance between the scenic green twisty part of the track and the aggressive concrete jungle of the quick start / finish line.

More trees and it's starting to look like a moving fun work of art. Time will tell but I'm very please so far.

Growing Grass And Laying Asphalt

Time to plant the grass seeds (well lay the fake grass!) and put down some asphalt, but first things first, take up all the track!!

Grass down first all glued in place to stop it moving about. Let's hope little fingers don't peal it off like the wallpaper in their room!!!!!

All done and looking good. Now to see how accurate the measurements are when the track is back down. Please, please let it line up right!

I'm really pleased with the result, now to make it look like a race track again.

Early Morning Visitor

The boys love their new Hot Scalextric track but thought Daddy's work could do with some improvement. Early in the morning the Scalextric track has a visitor!!

Now with all the wooden trees and signs that looks much better! Time to start planting the 'real' grass and trees soon because it looks like the boys aren't going to be patient!!

My Barriers Were Up But Now I've Decided To Be More Open

Do I have my barriers up with you? Well I did. I put barriers all around the track but in the end decided it was too enclosed so I have removed some to produce a more open section of the track so I have more space for advertising boards at a later date.

The twisty section at the end is now completely enclosed for driver safety because hopefully this will end up being the forest section of the track.

I had to modify (I mean cut to pieces!) some sections of barrier and border to get them to fit and in some places I just added a tyre wall just to break things up a bit. I'm fairly pleased with the result and can't wait for the grass to be delivered now.