June 30, 2009
 NINCO Corvette 1 Series C6R and Corvette 'Panamericana' Review By Shawn Smith  Time for a heads up review of a different sort. Two of NINCO's latest arrived from MRC and while vastly different cars I've decided to pair them up and pit them against each other on the track. We won't spend a ton of time on the all new NINCO 1 Series Corvette C6R as Harry's review covered the highlights very well and this yellow version was 'close' to the same... I'll explain more.  I will admit that I was eager to get my hands on this new 1 Series Corvette. Not because I had any real interest in it as a 'beginner' car, I'm a bigger fan of the highly detailed models and truth be told I really would have liked to have even NINCO traditional shallow tray interior in this car. No, my interest was based more on the Corvette being an all new model for NINCO and for the first time (at least on my track) a NINCO car (read not a truck) arrived with a bar magnet rather than the cylindrical button style magnet most of us are used to in NINCO models. My only problem? Opps... Not having a digital NINCO track a digital equipped Corvette C6R means a car that just sits still when I pull the trigger. The good news is though that the wires simply unplug from the motor so with the added help of some NINCO replacement press on wires I was able to bypass the chip and use the car in the analog configuration I needed.   Operational issue resolved we have the 1 Series C6R back on the track and I'll say that I really do like the looks of the car, darkened windows aside. Unlike some other brands though, and as Harry pointed out, the car does have separate tinted glass rather than having solid painted on windows.  Some of the highlights; the large sturdy rear wing, the flexible rubber side view mirrors and a cool looking BBS-style wheels with brake rotor details behind each.  The paint job really pops on this car and I love the way it looks on the track. Let's be honest for a minute though and get to the point that the one most are likely to wanna see, and perhaps wanna talk about more, is the white Corvette 'Panamericana' model and like others I have some real mixed emotions about this car.   The biggest discussion point? For starters it's a model of a 1956 body wearing the paint job of a 1953 1:1, and debatably a historically significant, race car. For some that's never going to be an issue however for many it seems to have drawn quite a bit of critisism and here again... I'm one of the first to say I didn't like NINCO getting this car, 'wrong'.  NINCO did tap dance around the matter a little though. Early information clearly called the car a 1953 however now here I laughed because the case and 'classic' case card make no mention of this car being any specific year. Rather than saying 1953 the case simply calls this car a 'Corvette soft top 'Panamericana'. A way of getting around a potential issue, a tachnicality if you will, as the purist will still bash the model for not truly being the 1953 body style it should be as ran in the Carrera Panamericana event.  Someone on the forums did point out however that no matter if the paint job is 'fictitional' it will still make for a great looking classic Corvette and to that point I will agree. As wrong as the paint job is for the year of body style modeled the car does look really good and I'm a little less critical of it than I was at mention of its release.  Detail wise its no surprise that its all 56' minus the paint job. The paint job, while primarily solid white, does have well done decorations and some really nice tiny details like the painted on replicated leather hood straps that keep the hood shut.   The coolest feature though has to be the tiny paper map being held by the co-driver. While NINCO is known for using a thin plastic board-like detail in the co-drivers hands this is actually a folded paper looking map with map printing on one side. Just this small feature gave this car the 'raised eyebrow' award for the effort and while trivial to some I happen to think this was going slightly above and beyond.  Like the map I also like the red paint classic spoke rims with the 3-spoke spinners in the center. They are white plastic painted red on the outward facing side but the red it well applied and I found no flaws in the finish of the wheels.  And the top is nice too. NINCO's blue street version of the 56' Corvette came with a white top, the red street version came with at least a red top that I can recall and this version is fitted with a tan top that is heat welded in place through the clear plastic roof support that makes up the back window and front windshield. For those interested in making this topless a little effort should yield a pretty simple result. I'm sure its just a matter of time before someone hacks the roof off... it might be me!  Mechanically speaking the 'Panamericana' car goes back to the internals of of an NC-5, 20,000PRM motor, cylindrical button magnet mounted in a pocket closer to the front axle than the rear, and a pretty straight forward in-line design that can make for a pretty well balanced classic. In fact in our local club we occasionally run these in our classic no mag events and the Corvettes have proven to be very capable cars with a little tweaking.  Comparing the old to the new is sort of like comparing apples to oranges, as you might expect. The 1 Series C6R, while fitted with a much lower RPM NC-11 motor (16,000 RPM @ 14.8v) has the benefit of greater stock downforce, meatier tires that provide pretty nice grip and a generally wider, longer and lower profile stance. The 'classic' has around 4,000 more RPMs from the motor, skinny ribbed tires and a smaller magnet trying to provide traction and the results are night and day.  The car with the arguably 'slower' motor set the fastest track time of the two putting down a fastest lap of 5.657. I'd hardlly consider the car underpowered by any stretch at 14.8 volts and with the added bar magnet traction the car was very smooth and noticably able to take the turns with far greater throttle. The Panamericana Corvette feels painfully overpowered in comparison, twitchy and a bit nervous although in my opinion more fun to try and go fast. With its skittish characteristics in non-modified form the best the classic could muster was a 6.853. Pretty much in line with other stock classics on my track although I will likely 'de-tune' the car with something more along the RPM range of the 1 Series C6R. Unfortunately I can't simply swap the motors as each car's motors are considerably different in size. The Final Thoughts: Totally different era of models, different corporate approaches to intent of use but ultimately a similar effect in that both are fun and capable slot cars with their own focuses and features. The 1 Series being a 'beginner' line is suspect, about as much as NINCO trying to pass off a 1956 bodied replica of what should have been a 1953 body style... yet I do like both all things considered. Thanks to Model Rectifier (MRC) for providing the NINCO Corvette 1 Series C6R and Corvette 'Panamericana' for review. Please stop by the HomeRacingWorld.com Message Board to talk about this and all other models of slot cars. Happy Slotting! Shawn Smith - SJSlots Shawn@HomeRacingWorld.com Thanks Go To MRC For Sponsoring This Review!
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