HiString

While I have to agree that these developments aren't ideal, I have doubts about the "common sense" of the FIA. FFS, if the major manufacturers are able to sit around a table and reach agreement, knowing full well that they'll be competing against each other on the track, then surely, the FIA should be capable of coming to some "over the table" agreement............unless Bernie and Max are so far up their own rectums to be oblivious to the real world

Cleveland seems to have the "story" at the end of this thread........... http://www.auslot.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9211 :aussie:

Phil, Would you care to elaborate? ChrisO

Generally, the requirements for thermoplastics dictate the need for "complex" moulds (heating, cooling, pressure, etc.), hence the high costs. With the product I'm working with (a thermoset) we don't have those requirements (although we do use low pressure to "feed" the mould) consequently, our moulds can be f/glass or plastic (HDPE, etc). It would be interesting to know whether anyone could make the necessary moulds from HDPE and what cost would be involved.

Rick, Do you have a breakdown of those costs........ie: design/mould/etc., etc,? As others obviously know, a good mould for thermoplastic injection is a serious bit of gear, we've recently been given an old one to "play" with.......it was to make door handles, is a bit under 300x300x300mm, interlocking steel sections hydraulically operated and weighs in at 196Kg and I believe original cost was way above what you're considering. I work for a small liquid composite research (and production) company, what we've developed is ideal for situations where thermoplastic costs are prohibitive..........if suitable moulds could be made out of polyethylene (HDPE, etc), then this idea may not be out of the question. ChrisO :(

Westy, Contact A Touch Of Glass in Broadmeadow Rd, they carry stained glass supplies and should be able to help with copper foil.

Ozquad, The adhesive copper foil is actually made for the stained glass "industry", it's available in various widths and either plain or black backed. The black back is only to stop the copper colour being visible through the glass............the fact that it's conductive is a bonus for slotters. Having said all that, you should be able to purchase rolls of copper tape from any respectable stained glass supplier.

Yngwie, PM sent.

Have you seen this http://www.auslot.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8048 or this http://www.auslot.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8048

Thank God, I thought it was just me...........................I was sitting watching TGA thinking I was being overly critical, mainly because from the time I originally heard of the plans for the show, I expected a lame, pathetic clone of the stunningly brilliant UK show. A quick search would indicate the opinions here at Auslot are pretty much the norm........... read here from "post" #25 onwards http://www.bhatt.id.au/blog/top-gear-austr...ite-and-review/

And why not both LC and LJ XU-1s? As someone who owned an LC XU-1 and worked within the GMH "arena" back then, who's circle of friends also also owned (and in at least one or two cases, still own) LJ XU-1s, HK GTS (327), HG GTS (350) and Ford GTHO, I'm afraid to admit I find the "I'd like, I want" wanna be attitude of some people, at least somewhat amusing.

I don't really know. I don't understand how it wouldn't be 100% conductive, isn't the only differance is so you can't see the copper thru glass when soldering lead light together, the black back will only show black? I'm only new so im only asking. Nitro, That is exactly the reason for the black backing, the fact that some people have found it to be more conductive is just coincidental.

Tis me . The seller had already told me postage would be approx., $35US and as I happened to be home around the auction's finish time I threw a bid (max $85US) in at the very last minute not really expecting to win and bugger me, look what happens........I now look like having 3 more GT40's although I may consider selling the #9 as I already have one. I guess I'll have to start taking pics sometime in the future.

Well, as someone who isn't interested in collecting and who only want's to have fun "racing" with family and friends, I find the situation somewhat frustrating. Even before we purchased our Scalie set earlier this year I knew that I wanted two or three each of certain "types" of cars..........apart from the V8s that came with the set, on my "to buy" list are F1s, GT40s, Euro style "endurance" cars and Caterhams. The F1s and Euro cars aren't a problem and I recently acquired my first Scalie GT40 (Gulf #9) at a sensible price (Ebay from an Auslot member) but similar "vintage" cars are few and far between and Caterhams are becoming a rarity. It is far easier to find and buy a full size Caterham/Clubman type car (something I've been considering) than the slot version . :nice:

'feathers is your typical internet troll, albiet one who appears to be smarter than most I've seen. He knows EXACTLY what buttons to push to elicit the responses he wants/needs to see from people here, all the while maintaining a degree of (self)"control" that in other circumstances could be considered as admirable. From Wikipedia.........................."An Internet troll, or simply troll in Internet slang, is someone who posts controversial and irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the intention of provoking other users into an emotional response[1] or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion." :nice:

Hmmmmmm................one acoustic visible and two empty guitar stands and you need slot cars to relax ? I must admit there is something nice about playing with slots...........my problem is the music and studio take top priority .

He had some cars on Ebay recently and I "won" one of his auctions but email communications (apparently with his better half) seem to have dried up since I deposited funds, then I find out this morning that he's no longer registered with Ebay and the listing for the auction has been removed. Seems a tad strange, especially considering the "buying cars off ebay" advice on his site.

Just wondering if anyone has heard from Manic35 in recent times? ChrisO

Lav, The store in question is not in a Westfield complex, just nearby. What probably got up my nose more than anything else was the manner in which he attempted to justify the price with what could only be described as a load of b/s#!t...................anyways, it's now past history, I've learnt a thing or two and any future slot purchases will be done through retailers outside of N'cle.

While I didn't specifically say it was in stock, I thought I'd made it obvious that it was...............sorry, my bad. Any retailer worth their salt allows for numerous factors in their pricing, one being the cost of holding items in stock, any decision to reduce prices to move older stock is purely a business decision on their part.........they have the choice whether or not they can afford to hold items indefinitely. To ask whether I or anyone else would offer to pay the original selling price is just ludicrous and irrelevant. I absolutely agree. What I expected was some consistency in pricing on the exact same item I enquired about a few months earlier, not to be told he had decided to increase the price by approx., 23% after he realised he didn't (as he originally thought) have additional stock in the storeroom and after he had for some unknown reason called Armchair. I suggest you go back and re-read my second post and also take notice of Blackbilly's comments regarding this particular retailer.

Badbilly, Yes mate, that's the shop :(. I'm torn between 1) dropping in to tell him why he's lost any future business from me and 2) just leaving him alone to wallow in his ignorance. I drop into FLH when I'm in town occasionally but between the way half the cars are just dumped on top of each other in the display case and the apparent lack of product knowledge from the guys there (if you're not asking about RC cars they seem disinterested), I've limited my purchases to track sections. In the last couple of days I've spoken to retailers in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne and the advice and friendly manner of these guys has left the local people for dead. DM, Thanks for the tip about Slotcity, I'll look them up and I am watching the auctions .

I have no problem with a retailer making a (fair) profit, but when you consider that 2 years ago, these sets were listed on AR's site at $169 (and even if that was a "special" price they definitely wouldn't have been selling at a loss), one has to wonder at what point making a (fair) profit becomes blatant profiteering (ie: price gouging). I had been quite prepared to pay in the low $200's but having in the past heard this retailer's attempts to justify his overall higher prices, his decision to up the price to $300 and the (ill-informed) drivel he spouted as justification was the last straw. At the end of the day, I want cars to "race", consequently I've decided not to pursue the Le Mans GT40 set, I'll leave them for those who have more money to burn than me.

Price gouging (kind of)......but it's not illegal After the settling in period with our Scalie V8 set, I decided that over time as spare dollars allowed, I would purchase 2 or 3 cars from certain “categoriesâ€. One of these is the GT40 and whilst I could buy 3 individual cars cheaper, the Scalie ’66 Le mans 3 car set had caught my eye as there is a set at the store where I purchased our Mountain Mayhem. A few months ago I made a tentative enquiry and was quoted approx., $230……....at this time, one or two other retailers still had them listed (online) at approx., $210……….but knowing the pricing habits of both local Scalie retailers the difference wasn’t surprising. Last week, with dollars now available, I returned to the store with the intention of buying the GT40 set. Without thinking of mentioning his previous “quote†I asked for a price and casually mentioned having seen the sets on the www listed in the low(ish) $200 range…..after some mumblings about how they were virtually unobtainable and having gone out the back and apparently called Armchair, the guy returned and said that he would have to ask at least $300 for the set . I attempted to politely leave the store before I said something I may have regretted . Subsequent inquiries revealed that the importers don’t attempt to regulate the retail prices, leaving that up to the stores themselves. There are no Gov’t requirements saying that importer/distributors have to suggest either a RRP or a maximum retail price, it is totally arbitory………..so, while the local guy may be legally entitled to ask whatever he wants, it was suggested by one Gov’t dept., that his actions are ethically and/or morally questionable. One thing I do know is, that the only time I’m likely to walk through his doors in the future will be to tell him that I purchased the set elsewhere………for $210……….a couple of phone calls today confirmed price and availability. Apologies for the waffle but I've been somewhat pissed orf about this.

Vinno, You're not wanting to dispose of any of the Parmas are you?

It's a shame this forum shows this level of tolerance to trolls, most forums I either participate in or moderate on would have dealt with the situation by now.