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20/9/2023

Major track upgrade

I've replaced one of the Ninco loops with Policar track. The Ninco rally loops are made up from the inner lane of a R2 45 deg curve followed by 6 R1 45 deg outer lanes and another R2 inner lane but when I had tried this in my track planer it didn't appear to work. The has been some decision on building Policar return loops on Slot Forum but most of the designs used bits of straight track and would have been to large to fit in with my layout. I decided to give it a go anyway and ordered 2 packs of R1 45s, which gives me 8 pieces, nd if it works I can just order another pack. I already have some spare R2 curves so didn't need to order any of them. The track planer was correct, with 6 R1 curves connecting the R2 inner lanes just doesn't work but if you connect the outer lanes up it does work.

The main reason for changing the loops to Policar track is so that I can run all my cars. The slot on the Ninco track tends to be a bit tight in places and this causes problems with long guides, such as the black Carrera guides, and thicker guides, this prevents my older Airfix cars with the double pin guide from getting around the loop. The Airfix and Carrera cars just come to a stand still stuck in the slot, as can be seen in the following video. The Carrera cars can have the guide cut shorter but I really didn't want to start filing down the pins on the Airfix cars. Even the Policar track's slot can be a bit narrow at times, the short straights seem to be the worst for some reason, and I did have to file the slot a bit on the outer lane of the curve before the new loop.

21/9/2023

I've been thinking about what to do with the new Policar loop. The question is do I really want to cut up all this new track?. As shown above berfore I printed the 3D borders for the Ninco loops I had thought about using foamboard andf was thinking about painting the border area and making the centre a scenic area and that gave me an idea.
The track is supposed to represent a mid to late sixties circuit and I have been torn between making it either fully scenic and a fairly standard vintage home layout. A fairly standard feature of a lot of sixties circuits is that there is no modern style kerbing or run off areas around the track and quite often the track is recessed in to the surrounding landscape.
I've made a start by cutting up 3 R2 outer borders to fill the entry to the loop and as for the unused inner lane? now you see it..

and now you don't.

The only thing I've done to the track pieces is to remove two rails, which I can replace if needed. Rather than cut the track I've removed part of the border edges so the fit over the track jointing tabs but the track rail tabs were too high which is why I've removed them, the little plastic support tab fits under the borders like the tabs.
The infill consists of of a piece that fits in the opening with some larger pieces glued on top so that it sits firmly in place and covers the rails.

The idea is to add some more layers of foamboard to build up the height then plaster and texture and add some spectators and maybe some trees or bushes.

One thing I did need to do was check that there was enough clearance for my 1/24th scale cars and it all seems ok.

It gets close if driven slowly but that won't be the normal speed around the loop.

The following video shows a couple of 1/24th scale cars running around the loop. Sorry it's a bit shaky, one handed phone whilst driving.

24/9/2023

Borders, borders, borders and more borders. I've been printing borders for the new loop since the last post and finished today.
They're not a 100% perfect fit but good enough and at just over 15gms each I can print 60 odd from a roll of filament so that's under £4 per loop.

A few other bits also done. I've decided to use Ninco barriers around this loop but I will need to fix the borders down to hold everything in place. It will also help keep things flat as the boards under this area aren't that level.nder this area aren't that level. I've trimmed the feet of the first two barriers so that they are a tight press fit into the slot of the R2 curve leading into the loop. I've also painted the rails with black acrylic to help hide them and I can also remove it if needed later.

On the exit of the loop I've decided that a wall would provide more protection to anyone in the middle area. Its a piece of plasticard cut to fit in the R2 slot with the rails again painted black. I will add another layer or two to the rear of this piece to thicken it up and make it look more realistic as a wall. I've also added a bit more height to the loop centre, not sure if I'll go much higher, and a couple of cut down early Scalextric green borders to the entrance of the loop. Thought it might be a good idea to protect this part and give a softish impact area if a car goes straight on.

Looks like word's getting around as the crowds starting to arrive and I need to get the paints out.