Tuesday March 13, 2007

If you are in this hobby and are a RAID & Rally fan, then I'll bet you have been waiting for these latest releases from NINCO. Although they are very different from one another, I decided to match them up and enjoy a day of slugging it out to see which one would reign supreme. Would it be a one sided affair or perhaps there was a surprise in store?

To be fair, I really can not expect these 2 models to be a close match. Or could I? With the advances that NINCO has made in both the RAID and Rally series of slot cars, I couldn't help but pit them against each other to find out. I do realize there is a difference in these classes in the 1:1 world, but here in my backyard those differences won't matter. All that will matter is 2 great looking scale models are going to be raced...and raced hard!

First of all let us take a closer look at both of these models before we scuff them up on the track. The VW TOUAREG here is a very attractive model to my eyes. I find it interesting that the beer logos are all in place, right down to the Duvel glass. We do not see that all the time on our model cars do we? Paint work and the Tampo stamping is near perfect as I found no runs or fades throughout the model.

Detail level here is more than enough for my taste. Small items such as the front and rear tow rings and flexible rubber mud flaps just give the model a more scale appearance. The interior is very well done with both driver and navigator present and some visible roll bar detail. I thought the truck was just a great effort but I am not the only one who thinks this way.

*I took both of these models with me to the school where I work. I showed them to a full classroom of soldiers who varied in ages from 18 to 40. The responses and feedback I witnessed told the whole story. They looked in amazement at both models and asked many questions about them and about our hobby. Are they both perfectly to scale with no errors or omissions? Of course not. However, they are close enough for my eyes and apparently for many others. Of course only you can decide if these models suit your individual tastes.*

Wheels and tires appear unchanged since we last looked at the TOUAREG. These tires grip the track better than you might expect and I like the looks of them on the model. It is these large knobby tires that truly make this model unique. The sound they produce as you race it will certainly draw attention.

Moving over to our other model we find the all new Ford Focus WRC. This model finally finds its way into the NINCO WRC line up and for many it is a welcome addition. The box lid indicates it is modeled after the car that raced in Finland in 2006 but the NINCO website indicates Argentina. Either way, I checked what prototype photos I could find and it appears NINCO has done a good job in scale department, at least with paint color and logo placements.

Overall fit and finish is well done although I did see some slight fading around the door areas. Was this major? Not really, it is hardly noticeable but some fine scale fans will spot it right away. The rest of my Focus looked excellent and overall must give a thumbs up to NINCO.

The interior is at a detail level high enough for most enthusiasts. Again we see driver and navigator with plenty of visible roll bar detail. The dash board even has some visible markings that at first you might miss. However, it is small details like this that make a person look even closer and that is part of the fun in this scale, at least for me.

Wheels and tires here are going to please you, or they won't. I thought the wheel design selection could have been better. I have seen various sets of wheels on this car and these are not the ones that were on the car at its unveiling or either Finland or Argentina according to the photos on various Rally sites on the Internet. I have seen cars with them of course, but these O.Z. wheels are not common with this particular car and driver, at least they are not the dominant ones. Tire compound is fine and they are fairly round and true. Of course tire and wheel sanding on this car will help matters a great deal, but out of the box they were just fine with no real issues.

Out Of the Box

Both models were placed on our NINCO track for the initial testing and all went as expected. Power and control were stock NINCO. Each car functioned as intended and provided plenty of fun. Each has 4 Wheel Drive with Pro-Shock suspension. The TOUAREG is equipped with the blue "medium" springs while the Focus has a mixture of the "hard" Yellow for the rear and the red "soft" profiles for the front. We tested indoors on our road course with the VW up first. This beast might look like it would not cut a quick lap time, but don't let looks deceive you. After a 25 lap run the average time was 4.6 seconds. This is impressive as the latest McLaren F1 GTR was in the 4.4 average. This truck has impressive torque and very crisp braking with the knobby tires biting the track better than anyone would expect.

But why the difference in lap times from the last RED BULL model? Almost a full second difference to be exact. The reason was that I was testing on after-market power at only 10 1/2 volts. I had been doing this for quite awhile but decided to make the out of the box test a 12 volt standard soon after this. I brought out RED BULL and sure enough it was right there with this one. Mystery solved!

Now time for the Focus! Of course you would naturally expect this car to post much faster lap times right? Wrong. After the 25 lap test session was completed we had average lap times of 4.5. Yes, it is slightly quicker, but the difference is not nearly what I expected. Again braking and acceleration were both crisp and clean with the 4WD action it has. Out of the box this is a very impressive little Rally car.

Although the performance of the Focus was slightly faster, the fun factor edge has to go to the VW TOUAREG. The sight of this beast leaning into the corners with those tires growling are sights and sounds that just have to be experienced in person. Not to slight the action of the Focus, it too impressed me as the control factor was better than I expected. To sum it up, both these cars functioned as intended and that is the most important factor with this initial test.

The main reason the VW is quicker than you would expect is the magnet they utilize. Instead of the standard button magnet mounted in the mid-chassis position like most all of the NINCO cars, these RAID vehicles use a stronger bar magnet held in a removable pocket near the rear of the truck. On a plastic track, this magnet downforce combined with the soft knobby tires really allow the model to hook up surprisingly well.

Under The Hoods

On the TOUAREG there is only 2 screws up front that secure the chassis to the body. Once removed, you must pull forward on the chassis to get it to release from the mount in the body. This is a very tight fit and you will have to use a little more force than you are used to. I think NINCO could look at this a little closer and make this a little easier to remove. Inside we see this monster is powered by the NC-7 RAIDER motor rated at 19,300 RPMS that is sitting in the inline configuration. It is equipped with a 9 tooth pinion that turns the 27 tooth crown gear. Up front we see the unique spring loaded drop arm guide. This allows the model to keep increased contact with the rails in the event you are using obstacles such as those found on the off-road series of track.

We also see the 4WD pulleys and Pro-Shock system in place. The suspension certainly works on this model and you can change the shocks to different strengths as well. So far the drive systems have held up very well in our home racing and we have really raced them hard.

The Focus has 2 screws, 1 in front and 1 to the rear and were easily removed. Once inside we also see the 4WD system but it only has one set of pulleys and belt. I am not sure why there are differences between this car and ones such as the Lancer. One gets a double system, while the other single. In any event, I think NINCO should try and make them the same when space permits to have a more equally matched series.

The motor here is the venerable NC-5 Speeder motor set in the inline position also equipped with a 9 tooth pinion that turns the 27 tooth crown gear. We also see the standard button magnet that we mentioned earlier mounted in the mid-chassis area. The suspension here is mixed as stated earlier and this is the first car I have seen like this. Other prior models have had all of one set, so I found this interesting. Perhaps advanced testing by NINCO told them this was the ideal set up? In any event, it functions as it should and I will most likely leave it as is.

Roughing Them Up

It was now time to go back outside on our small layout and really put these beauties through some serious racing. We set the track up in a variety of settings that had different elevations as well. I also didn't want guardrails, if you lost it, well...you lost it good! What can I say except these model are extremely fun to drive. We were trading paint rather heavily through the tighter ESSES we created, and when we would push them to far it was s sight seeing them roll over on the ground.

Out here running with the magnets the race still belonged to the Focus, but not by much. Several times when I controlled my driving I could stay right with it and even managed a couple nice passes before I made a mistake and lost all that I had gained. I was impressed at how well both took the punishment with no broken parts (mirrors, wing) yet. I did manage to break loose one side of the rear wing on the Focus, but it snapped back in place. They certainly are not as pretty as they were just a few hours ago.

Final Thoughts

It appears NINCO has yet again produced 2 very nice models in 1/32nd scale. They are not perfect, but still a great amount of fun. If anything is missing here it would be the addition of working head and tail lights. I think it is time NINCO looked very seriously at this feature as more and more models from the competition are including them if the prototype had them. Still, as much as I enjoy working lights there are plenty of enthusiasts who could care less. Keeping the costs of the models down is more important and they do make a plug and play light kit if you really feel they need them.

If you are a Rally or RAID fan you will obviously look very close at each of these models, but if you are just starting out in our hobby they can offer you a driving experience few other models can claim. The name of the game in this hobby is FUN. Each of these models offer plenty of that to be sure...and that makes them both worth a closer look.

- Harry

As always feel free to contact me about this article or just the hobby in general at harry@homeracingworld.com, or better yet drop into our Message Forum and share your thoughts with other enthusiasts!

BONUS - Great Video Of The 1:1 Focus In Action - The Best Of The Ford Focus 2006

Thanks Go To MRC For Providing Us With These Models!