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Slotcar
reviews - Fly, Scalextric, SCX, Ninco, Slot It, TeamSlot,
Spirit, Proteus and many more
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The Audi R10 has
undoubtedly earned its place in the history books as the first
diesel powered car to win at Le Mans. To commemorate the fact,
it seems just about every slotcar manufacturer is producing at
least one version of the R10. Scalextric are the latest of the
major manufacturers to release an R10, so let's see how it fares.
The Audi looks
very neat and tidy, but we expect high standards of finish and
detail from modern slot cars. Scalextric cars are usually some
of the best finished cars around, and the Audi is no exception.
Paintwork and tampo-printing are as near perfect as we could
reasonably expect. I couldn't find a single flaw and even the
tiniest logos are clear and legible. The bodywork is beautifully
sculpted and detailed, everything looks crisp and sharp and
right. Despite such high levels of finish and detail, some
compromises are necessary because this is a working model. The
rear bodywork has a distinct 'hump' over the gears and I can't
help thinking that a little 'artistic license' could have been
employed to disguise this better. The front end has a cut out
above the guide but it's neatly done and almost looks
prototypical.
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The
cockpit isn't quite as detailed. The driver looks convincing in
black overalls and red safety harness but his crash helmet has a
noticeable mould line across it, which looks quite odd next to
the near perfect bodywork of the car. The cockpit itself has a
detailed moulded but unpainted steering wheel and a couple of
silver painted parts but is otherwise plain.
As
with most of Scalextric's recent models, the Audi has a flexible
aerial and mirrors. The rear wing is also fairly flexible and
mine wasn't glued to the car, so hopefully these measures will
help it survive. But if the wing flexes the bottom edges of the
end plates rub against the sides of the car and there's a risk
of scratching the tampo-printing. I sanded the end plate where
it touches the car to reduce the contact.
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Six
screws hold the body and chassis together, which
seems like overkill. Two are fitted just behind
the front wheels, two ahead of the rear wheels
and single screws in the nose and tail. I left
the front and rear screws and removed the other
four. With the two remaining screws loosened a
little you can actually get a little body rock
which should theoretically help the handling.
The
chassis is fairly typical Scalextric - wires
everywhere!! Like most new Scalextric models the
Audi is set up for quick conversion to digital.
A blank module just behind the front axle can be
replaced with a digital module. The wires
running from the guide to the module are much
more flexible on this car than on previous
models.
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The
guide is the usual Scalextric type with the quick change braid
plate. The guide mount seems to have changed on recent models,
it now seems bulkier but at the cost of slightly reduced guide
travel. The front axle is solid and runs directly in the
chassis. The holes in the chassis are oversized, allowing some
vertical movement which can help the car deal with bumps or
uneven pieces of track. Unfortunately the axle also moves
backwards and forwards which is less ideal.
The
motor is a standard Mabuchi type, driving the rear axle through
nylon 9:27 gearing. The axle bushes are also nylon, a good fit
in the chassis but slightly loose on the axle because of the
need to fit them over the knurled ends of the axle. Lights are
fitted front and rear. The wheels are plastic but appear round
and true. The tyres are fairly soft but the rears needed quite a
lot of sanding to get them true. A large bar magnet if fitted
between the motor and rear axle, and the cockpit is glued to the
chassis just ahead of the motor.
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On my little
Scalextric track the Audi performed as expected - faultlessly!
Straight from the box it's quiet, smooth and quick. The big
magnet gives it lots of grip, but it still has enough power to
go round at very satisfactory speeds. It's a fairly long car, so
it feels quite stable and if the tail comes unstuck you get some
warning. Any de-slots were usually caused by over-enthusiastic
use of the throttle, spinning the car going into or out of
corners.
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tyres needed some attention before trying the
R10 on my larger routed track. The centres of
the tyres were noticeably concave and they
needed some sanding to get them true. But it was
worth the effort because the big Audi is fun to
drive on this track.
With
the tyres sorted the R10 puts its power down
well and can be pushed quite hard through the
corners, even on a cold track. The tail will
swing wide at higher speeds but it's easily
controlled with a momentary lift. It's a car I
felt comfortable with - smooth, predictable and
reasonably quick.
As
an aside - I also have an Avant Slot R10. The
same car but the differences in appearance
between the two cars is surprising. Length,
width and wheelbase are almost identical but
lots of subtle detail differences.
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The R10 is a
very nice car. It looks really good, probably the best scale
model out of the three versions I've seen (Scalextric, Avant
Slot and Carrera). Performance is more than adequate,
especially on Scalextric track. If you fancy an R10 and
haven't already been tempted by one of the other offerings on
the market the Scalextric version is well worth considering.
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