Finally Under Construction

[slots]

Hi all

 

Because I haven't been on this board too long, I give you a short history.

 

I used to race commercials at Ultimo in Sydney.Track closed for building re-development. Need new way to enjoy hobby. Design own home track. Take 14 months to collect all needed pieces. And that brings us to present day.

 

3 months after I aquired my last piece, I got sick of the wife walking ON, not over, my track. Yesterday, I finally bit the financial bullet and bought the steel to build my fold up and wheel away table. As Kermit would say, YAAAAAAAH. Spent this afternoon cutting up the steel but couldn't start welding as my dad has my welder (bugger ).Getting it back tomorrow to start construction.

 

Will post pics when I get my friends camera some batteries.

 

Cheers

[slotmad]

Congrats. Make sure you do keep us informed of progress.

 

Cheers

 

Andrew

[slots]

Hi guys. Been meaning to do an update so here goes. :(

 

No pics available as the friends camera is on the fritz (dropped at the Easter show by her). Well all the elevations are in place and some of the rock walls are taking shape. Been cheating to get a good result for the rock faces by using a cordless drill with a wire wheel in it. You end up with a rough textured finish that just needs painting when using polystyrene blocks for landscape. Gets messy though so use a vacuum cleaner right next to the work to minimize the mess . I only had to do a light vac of the lounge room afterwards. All the elevated road base is now in place using 3 mm mdf to get a nice transition. Using Bostik No More Nails has been a bonus. It will stick the plastic track to the board well but if you need to take it up, it parts with the board and then it comes off the back of the track fairly easily when pried off with a screw driver with no damage. Started to add plaster where I can without it getting damaged later around the outside of the corners which should make for an interesting tail hang as the boarders are plaster so grip WILL change from the road surface to the boarders . RE-built my power supply into a computer power supply casing using the fan to cool the transformer, not that it is likely to over heat but just making sure and it cost nothing as it was already there . I must say that the good old dunny roll core has made it easy to make the pylons to support the upper section but it has taken a lot of thought to figure out how to make the cross members out of plaster. Finally I have it! Route a slot of the appropriate size into a piece of scrap wood. Then line it with Glad Wrap and pour in the plaster. When set, remove from the mould and remove the plastic. Why is it the simplest things are the hardest to think of???

 

So that is where I'm at so far. Upper track sections are going into place as soon as the cross beams are made which should be by the weekend.

 

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that the stand works perfectly.The board tips from the horizontal to the vertical with one edge about 100 mm off the floor. It then locks in place with a throw bolt and wheels away into the spare room. Even the wife can do it and it takes no more than 2 minutes to get it out of the spare room and erect it ready for racing.

 

Cheers

[slots]

Evening all. I've finally got those pics I've been promising so here we go.

 

This is initial layout to make sure it all fit

 

Next, we have the elevations in place with most of the bridging supports in place.

 

The next two show how easy it is for the wife to fold it out of the way when not home.

 

 

Now we have the task of moulding the concrete barriers that go around the bridged bends as it is a road course so fences just won't do.

 

 

And for the sceptics who think that a cat can't kill a car, this is the monster that dropped a bookend on TWO of my cars(DAMMIT). I'm not sure which is bigger, the cat or the vac.

 

Cheers

[Eno the Wonderdog]

Excellent foldy uppy stuff buddy..

 

MY missus on the other hand had a dad that ran the local slot car club in his garage when she was little and spent all the time I was talking to Slider in the car this arvo giving us both advice..

[Rene]

Heyo,

 

That looks great, top idea. the styrofoam and plaster will look smik when finished. Your wife doesn't mind you making a huge mess in the lounge room? I'd get a boot up my butt if i did somehting like that in the lounge room.

 

The track looks really wide, it that carrera? And i see you have a bottle of Jim Beam handy for when things get a bit too stressful...

 

keep us posted.

 

Rene.

[slots]

Thanks guy's.

 

Eno, I made it abundantly clear to the missus that if she married me, she married slot cars. Either that or go find a bore to marry.

 

Rene, the real mess is confined to the garage where I cut the foam. All mess is confined to the table inside. As to the plaster, since it is a road course, the plaster comes out in a good colour for concrete barriers and all concrete constructs like the pillons and support beams. The foam keeps everything nice and light. However, the main reason for the wheel away table is that the garage is chock full of tools and when your renting you can't attach anything to the structure. I'll get a pic of the garage up shortly so you can see the problem. The track itself is Ninco, not Carrera. The tell tale is that there are no centre lines marked on the road but I might mark it up just for the hell of it.

 

Cheers