TTAC reader and contributor John Kit isn’t a big commenter, but for good reason. When he’s not driving his 1993 Miata, John likes to race slot cars. His own home boasts a track modeled after the Spa circuit and has live timing equipment available for use – and now John and his daughter Emma have launched a slot car line of their own.
John’s first creation is a 1/32 scale Jaguar XK120, hand built by John and Emma, with a resin body and a brass chassis. Most of the work was done by Emma, who learned how to make molds, pour resin, paint and solder. The cars you see here are the result of her handiwork.
Without a proper frame of reference, it’s hard to judge the performance of John’s cars, though multiple laps on John’s track with the initial prototype have revealed neutral handling and fairly strong acceleration – just don’t take Eau Rouge flat. The look on John’s face has discouraged me from ever doing that again. Good thing Emma wasn’t around…
Congratulations to Emma and John. They’re clearly having more fun than humans should be allowed to have. This is awesome on every level!
+1
Incredible work. The fact that a father and daughter are doing it together just makes it all that much better.
Agreed! +100
VERY nice ! .
-Nate
I was already enjoying a good start to the day; this brightens it up even more.
And hooray for bright colors! Outstanding craft there.
Yep, I started my day with slot cars and coffee. Absolutely wonderful piece. What, no look under the hood? :)
DEAR TTAC,
I NOTICE THAT THE MODEL DETAIL LEVEL WAS DRIVER FIGURE-ORIENTED. I DEVELOPED THIS TRAIT AS A RESULT OF ‘GLUE SNIFFERS’ RUINING MY HOBBY.
THE RESIN MOLDING WAS RELATED TO ROPED BOLO ‘CLACKERS’ (SOMETHING LIKE NUNCHUCKS AROUND HERE IN THE LATE SIXTIES).
Very cool. As an 80’s kid one of my favorite things to do on a rainy day (because on sunny days kids used to actually go outside) was race slotcars. Most of us had the tyco ones that were a smaller scale. But you used to be able to buy motors/chassis and a body kit you could paint and make your own. Not as cool as what these folks are doing, but still cooler than just using the ones out of the box.
Bringing back memories of fifty years ago – and making me wonder if I should start playing with them again.
Awesome kinetic artwork! Now, how much are they making from selling zero emission vehicle credits? :^)
+1
Great story, and yes you should be playing with Slot Cars, a great Hobby, fantastic toy, wonderful collectible. Also a wonderful way for children ( of all ages ) to get out from behind the Computer screen and learn about gears, electric motors, gearing, painting, and how to interact with others.
Or like Emma how to create a Business of your own. Way to go Emma, to read more about Studio-65 check out Emma’s Forum on the Slot Car Site http://www.slotcarillustrated.com
Visit here Forum by clicking here : http://www.slotcarillustrated.com/portal/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=240
See you at the Races!!!!
Anki drive. Slot cars without the slots.
PS. beautiful job on these BTW
Very nice, I could never do this. One suggestion: British Racing Green.
Perhaps SLOT holds the automotive future (not the slot) a standard EV platform with bespoke 3 D print bodies?
1971ish I had Matchbox Motorways. Crumby Leyland Matchbox like the AD016 with a plastic, adhesive peg underneath. You stuck the peg into the spring that ran round the slot in the track. I think the whole thing ran on batteries. Carrera and this high-end resin are heaven.
Beautfiul models now can we get a lamborghini miura? The bright green color and the general shape of the XK120s made me feel the miuras are a good match.
On another note, the beautiful work is another thing all together. It’s amazing work and a nice father-daughter hobby.
Albeit on a small (for now!) scale, who says American ingenuity and creativity is dead? I’d love to see them take this further, and would like to plug this on several “Made in America” outlets I participate in. Way to go! Made my morning!
Seems there’s a lot of interest in slot cars here at TTAC.
If you’ve not seen it, might be worthwhile to check out the forum Slotblog.net, which is devoted to all kinds of slot cars and slot car racing.
Awesome work! And an excellent way to further strengthen the father / daughter bond. It’s refreshing to see a young person share their parents’ interest in something, at a time when many youngsters practically want to disown their folks. Kudos to both of you!
Now… how about building a replica of either Steve McQueen’s #20 Porsche 917 from “LeMans” or the Heinz & Johnson L88 Corvette? Maybe both?
No fair! I wanna play tooooooo!
There, got the “jealous little brother” out of me. Excellent craftsmanship (or should I say craft-girl-ship). I want to become John Kitt’s new neighbor. It looks like he’s going need a lot of help using that track of his.