Hi guys
After the Nissan project was completed for the race in Eindhoven, and with six months or so to go until Henley for the 24hours, and other teammates working on developing the chassis, I thought for a few weeks, I'd change direction a little, and finish some projects which I've been meaning to finish for many years.
While searching through my boxes, I found the unfinished Arrows A2 slot car kit which I'd started way back in 2013. This was asked for regularly, to be made in kit form, through my small company Stryker Racing. Unusual when you think that this car took part in just 8 Grand Prix's in 1979, driven by Riccardo Patrese and Jochen Mass, retired from most races and never scored a podium, win or pole!
The real car took full advantage of the ground effect, pioneered by Chapman and Lotus, with the whole car effectively being a massive venturi! This made the car produce monumental amounts of downforce. However because of a limited budget and technology still in its infancy, the car produced so much grip that the steering was extremely heavy, and the car porpoised down straights, rocking forward and backward to the extent of some drivers feeling 'sea-sick'.
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The car was canned, and replaced with a much more conventional design, the A3, which scored a handful of podiums and a pole position the 1980 and 1981.
So the slot car! I started work on the master back in early 2013, before sending it to Martin Field to finish the final details. We had some pretty cool ideas in mind, firstly selling each car with a custom resin chassis. This lesson was learned after our first release, the Ferrari 126C2 being very tight to fit the running car, and we wanted to see as many of our cars running. Secondly, the very thin side skirts were replicated by photo-etching, which meant they would be strong and lightweight, be nearly scale thickness, and easy to produce. Along with these parts, the car would come with its own photo-etch detail pack, and numerous other detail parts cast in resin.
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The master was sent to Steve Francis who produced a prototype in resin, to make sure it would release correctly from the mould, which it did.
However, at this time, I started going out with my now-wife. Due to just being so busy and also a few obstacles with regards to production, which at the time I couldn't fix, meant this project ended up in a box with many other bodyshells and unfinished projects.
However with the Wolverhampton race for Grand Prix cars coming up, which features classes of cars from the 1.5ltr era, right upto 1982, and everything in between, I decided one of my cars had to be the Arrows.
These photos show the master sitting on its wheels, to get some idea of its stance. I am currently dremelling out the resin prototype to get it down to a race-worthy weight! Obviously certain key body parts aren't fitted.
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The resin chassis has also been ditched, in favour of a circuit board chassis, which I am currently designing in AutoCAD, and will be milled by a local CNC company. This will hopefully make it more competitive than its 1-1 cousin!
I've also designed the decals, which I just need to scale, and send to the printers in Germany.
The car will be available in kit form by the end of the year I hope, with decals, photo-etch parts, resin detailing, and the resin chassis. If competitive, the chassis I am designing, or an evolved version, will be available as an add on part. If you would like one, comment below or PM me and I can add you to the list.
So that's it really, I will update this thread as work progresses. Hope you've enjoyed the read!
Regards
Jon
After the Nissan project was completed for the race in Eindhoven, and with six months or so to go until Henley for the 24hours, and other teammates working on developing the chassis, I thought for a few weeks, I'd change direction a little, and finish some projects which I've been meaning to finish for many years.
While searching through my boxes, I found the unfinished Arrows A2 slot car kit which I'd started way back in 2013. This was asked for regularly, to be made in kit form, through my small company Stryker Racing. Unusual when you think that this car took part in just 8 Grand Prix's in 1979, driven by Riccardo Patrese and Jochen Mass, retired from most races and never scored a podium, win or pole!
The real car took full advantage of the ground effect, pioneered by Chapman and Lotus, with the whole car effectively being a massive venturi! This made the car produce monumental amounts of downforce. However because of a limited budget and technology still in its infancy, the car produced so much grip that the steering was extremely heavy, and the car porpoised down straights, rocking forward and backward to the extent of some drivers feeling 'sea-sick'.
The car was canned, and replaced with a much more conventional design, the A3, which scored a handful of podiums and a pole position the 1980 and 1981.
So the slot car! I started work on the master back in early 2013, before sending it to Martin Field to finish the final details. We had some pretty cool ideas in mind, firstly selling each car with a custom resin chassis. This lesson was learned after our first release, the Ferrari 126C2 being very tight to fit the running car, and we wanted to see as many of our cars running. Secondly, the very thin side skirts were replicated by photo-etching, which meant they would be strong and lightweight, be nearly scale thickness, and easy to produce. Along with these parts, the car would come with its own photo-etch detail pack, and numerous other detail parts cast in resin.
The master was sent to Steve Francis who produced a prototype in resin, to make sure it would release correctly from the mould, which it did.
However, at this time, I started going out with my now-wife. Due to just being so busy and also a few obstacles with regards to production, which at the time I couldn't fix, meant this project ended up in a box with many other bodyshells and unfinished projects.
However with the Wolverhampton race for Grand Prix cars coming up, which features classes of cars from the 1.5ltr era, right upto 1982, and everything in between, I decided one of my cars had to be the Arrows.
These photos show the master sitting on its wheels, to get some idea of its stance. I am currently dremelling out the resin prototype to get it down to a race-worthy weight! Obviously certain key body parts aren't fitted.
The resin chassis has also been ditched, in favour of a circuit board chassis, which I am currently designing in AutoCAD, and will be milled by a local CNC company. This will hopefully make it more competitive than its 1-1 cousin!
I've also designed the decals, which I just need to scale, and send to the printers in Germany.
The car will be available in kit form by the end of the year I hope, with decals, photo-etch parts, resin detailing, and the resin chassis. If competitive, the chassis I am designing, or an evolved version, will be available as an add on part. If you would like one, comment below or PM me and I can add you to the list.
So that's it really, I will update this thread as work progresses. Hope you've enjoyed the read!
Regards
Jon