Special occasion was the inauguration of new member Julian into the hallowed halls of the sacred edifice known affectionately as ‘The Garage’ where the Red Team practice their time honoured slotcar rituals.
Proof I do occasionally win
As part and parcel new members are presented with their ‘badge of office’ in this case a flame red shirt emblazoned with the Red Team logo, carefully depicted as Scalextric track in the shape of a hand controller…..Very fitting.
After the induction it was time to do battle. The words F40 were heard to trip off someone’s tongue and no sooner said than there were a couple of classics on the tracks. The Scaley F40’s were a product of the fridge magnet era but it is surprising how well they drive on board with some well prepared tyres. The SCX F40’s too are a non magnet joy to drive in competition with their siblings.
To follow up it was time for a bit of Classic Touring car, this came in the shape of the SCX Volvo 850 and the Peugeot 406. Both good models which work well on a sweeping track. Both have an early version of a steel traction magnet, which, while better than the Scaley fridge magnets of the day, are not up to the strength of modern magnets. The SRS 2 chassis work well and the active steering contributes greatly to their stability.
Another popular class is the Scaley BTCC models. Once again, well behaved when driven inside their limitations. The best models probably being the Vectra and the Laguna ‘out of the box’
The Scaley F1 series from the 90’s is also a Red Team favourite and on this occasion Alan Jones was able to race himself!! A win – win situation!
As the evening progresses things become a little more avant guarde, to the point where certain members attempt to race without putting a car in their lane, still, it was a long night and there was a designated driver!!