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London Toyfair
This month, one single event doninates Tuckers Tips
- London Toyfair. It is both news about the latest
cars and tips for what to look out for in the weeks
and months ahead. As such you will find this article
apears as both the News page and the Tips page for
February...
My annual pilgrimage to the London Toyfair confirmed
some of the promised releases but also threw up
some interesting new planned releases especially
from SCX and some very tasty announcements from
Slot-It.
Scalextric
Scalextric had their large well laid out stand with
a great digital layout that incorporated their new
straight lane changers. It also showed off their
latest plastic buildings - the grandstand was particularly
impressive. Anyway on to the cars - there weren't
any further models that haven yet to be announced
but what they did have were the final production
models of the range of Super GT (Japanese Grand
Tourer) that are being marketed under the Scalextric
brand name but are made by Japanese manufacturer
Takara. They all looked really impressive especially
the 350Z and the Honda NSX. In Japan these cars
will be released with a Japanese pit-babe figure
- this won't be the case for the UK which is a shame.
Honda NSX - Raybrig
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Toyota Supra - au Cerumo
Nissan 350Z - Calsonic
Also on show were the final production models of
the stunningly aggressive Nissan Skyline. In my
opinion the Skyline was the pick of the bunch closely
followed by the 350Z.
Nissan Skyline - Xanavi
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The much asked for Ford Escort mkI was on show.
This model did not seem a final production model
as it had decals rather than tampo printing and
the front lights were not up to the usual high standard
we have come to love and expect. However the car
did look good. The driver and co-driver were new
with the navigator in a head down dare not look
at the road pose and the driver seemingly fighting
a huge powerslide with the steering wheel at full
lock - nice touches. The car will feature a smaller
than standard motor although it should put out the
same RPM as the standard motor. This allows a full
cockpit to be included while keeping the configuration
as a rear in-line. It will also have xenon lights
which were previously the exclusivity of Sport models
- it seems that any new model being released will
have these as standard.
Ford Escort mkI - Uniflo
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A final observation surrounds the 2006 works Subaru
- a new chassis awaits this car with the same configuration
as the Scalextric Peugeot 307 - that is a sidewinder
front wheel driven car with a belt system supplying
power to the rear wheels - an excellent move as
this provides a really enjoyable and controllable
car.
Slot-It
Although already releases they have not hit the
UK shores. However I took pics of the second Mercedes
Sauber release and the much wanted Jaguar XJR9 (my
first ever slot car!)
One of the most stunning liveries I have seen was
also on exhibition - the Sauber Mercedes Korous
- highly desirable.
Slot-It also showed a new ready to run HRS chassis
with a boxer motor configuration. A great chassis
and if you are ever looking for a race class then
this chassis is a great leveller which will allow
a wide range of bodies to be added giving a wide
range of cars with competitive parity.
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New models that Slot-It will release to the market
before the end of 2006 are the Porsche 956 Hightail
version with the classic Jagermeister livery proposed
to be the first along with the much anticipated
Lancia LC2 in Malardeau/BP livery - both are due
May/June with the Martini liveries expected at the
end of the year. The big news was the production
of a McLarenF1 GTR Longtail initially to released
in a Fina livery. Ninco have released the short
tail version and you can get the longtail in a resin
kit from Top Slot or a pale imitation by Catronic.
Slot-It with their high class models will sweep
the board with this one. Not quite finished, in
fact the unfinished proto-type was on show that
was still being worked on by skilled Italian craftsmen.
McLaren F1 GTR Longtail
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Now the McLaren Longtail has been given the Slot-It
reference no SICA11, and with the hightail Porsche
956 with a 09 reference that leaves the sad and
lonely number 10 - I wonder!!
Audi R8C 01
Porsche 956 02
Porsche 962 03 Nissan R390 Road Car 04
Nissan R390 GT1 05
Sauber Mercedes C9 06
Jaguar XJR9 07
Lancia LC2 08
Porsche 956 Hightail 09
???? 10
McLaren F1 GTR Longtail 11
Finally for those of you who collect the Slot-It
Le Mans winners series (the 3 Rothmans Porsche 956s
can still be found but the Porsche 956 Newman is
extremely hard to find) we can expect the Silk Cut
Jaguar XJR9 from the 1988 Le Mans to be released
before the end of the year and the #61 Mercedes
Sauber C9 from 1989 Le Mans in early 2007!
SCX
New models we are going to get from SCX this year
include the BMW 320 from the world touring car championship
which will provide a partner for the Alfa 156 already
released.
Hot on the heels of the gregarious initial tuning
model will come the second in the form of an Astra.
A Seat Leon and a Volvo S60 from the WTCC will be
arriving later in the year as will an Aston Martin
DBR9, Corvette C6R from the grand torismo (GT) class.
The Vintage car this year will the McLaren F1 as
driven by Derek Bell in 1969. SCX will use the original
moulds but update the car with tampo printing which
makes these classics come alive. SCX had an original
model on show.
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Continuing their trend of classic rally cars and
following on from the Lancia Delta Integrale and
immanent Fiat 124 Spyder we will be graced by the
Renault 5 Turbo (the third manufacturer in less
than a year)
Later in the year SCX will enter the world of performance
parts and cars - the former is now becoming the
standard of all manufacturers but the cars make
interesting reading. For rally fans SCX will be
releasing a Citroen Xsara with a drop arm guide,
high precision rims and axles, quicker and more
powerful motor and the ability to alter the height
of front and rear axle. For endurance fanatics they
will release an Audi R8 with an internal braking
system (?), high precision rims and axles, quicker
motor, and a floating rear motor/axle pod. Both
car bodies will be lighter than their standard counterparts.
These could be interesting to compare the Spirit
and Slot-It cars.
They will also bring us some new accessories including
the popular ice curve (super slidy surface with
aluminum rails so magnets won't work) but made up
of a 180 degree inner curve hairpin and also an
interesting Rally pack chronometer
Revell
Due in Sept/Oct we can expect an extension of the
Euro mini tourers that have proved popular. The
NSU started the trend and Revell will continue it
with a Simca 1000 Rallye 2 due in September and
a Trabant 601S Racing due in October.
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For those who can remember the halcyon days of the
late 60's slot scene Revell will be reproducing
some classics from that time including the:
" Chaparral due in September
" Porsche 904 due in November
" King Cobra 1964 due in November
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Fly
2006 is the 10th Anniversary for this trend setting
manufacturer and I think it will be the make or
break year for the Madrid company. Fly were not
represented at the London Toyfair and I was told
by a reliable source that they had withdrawn their
stand from the Nuremberg Toyfair - I hope this does
not mean an end to this company. However they have
sent a press release which details some of their
intended cars for 2006 and these include:
To celebrate their 10th year they plan to launch
a 10 car Limited Collection Set of Cars with 1 of
their most celebrated cars to be released each month
between March and December 2006. I expect a couple
of classic cars at least with my money on at least
2 from these: a Gulf Porsche 917K; a Sunoco Lolo
T70 mkIIIB and a Ferrari 512S. What will the others
will be?
Fly have also announced that they will release the
following new models in 2006 including the Porsche
Carrera 6, the BMW M3 E30, Ferrari 250 GTO 1963,
the Audi Quattro Group B and rumour has it a single
seater car which is a type that Fly have never produced. |
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