Saturday January 07, 2006

Revell BMW 320

Revell/Monogram have really impacted our hobby since their first release of the Daytona Cobra back in 2003. Not everyone liked the way the models performed and in fairness, they did have some issues to address. Later model releases seen these changes vastly improve the performance and now more and more racers are enjoying them. This latest effort from Revell just might be the best yet, and it is not because it looks good.

The livery chosen for this model is a popular one to say the least. Not everyone in the hobby likes it as much as I do, but history in our hobby has shown that cars adorned with the Jagermeister livery are collected quite aggressively. This latest version is yet another that looks stunning to my eye, and other enthusiasts have already echoed these same feelings.

Overall fit and finish on my sample was near perfect. All the Tampo stampings were clean and crisp and a dust-free and even clear-coat seals everything with no signs of runs or orange peel effect. The markings are not only clean, but very accurate as well. As with most any slot car, there is always going to be a few issues here and there that enthusiasts will find, but this car should please most of you in the scale department.

Detail level here is also more than acceptable for me. The half-tray interior gives more than enough added realism for most, but some may wish there was more. I am sure a few enthusiasts will compare this model to the later Fly version in this regard, however I still think Revell has done a well enough job.

The wheels and tires on our model were very attractive and appear close to the prototype. However, it was the tires that first caught my eye. It was clearly evident that the tires had a low center and that tire sanding would be mandatory if I wanted maximum performance from them. Tire truing is not a real issue as this must be done on almost every model we see, yet I felt Revell could have done a little better in this department.

Looking underneath we see this model is a front-motor configured chassis along with the standard Revell/Monogram magnet pocket assembly. 4 screws are easily located and removed to allow us to get a closer look inside. Here we see that although it is a front motor configuration, Revell has managed to use a solid front axle that should please many who dislike stub-axle designed fronts.

I was pleased to find the rear axle bushings along with the drive-shaft bushing very secure in the chassis. I tested the car under 12 volts, and then again at 14 volts and could not see any evidence of the bushings spinning or moving. The drive-shaft is equipped with a 9 tooth pinion and the rear axle has the now standard 27 tooth crown gear. I found it odd that some of the models from Revell/Monogram come with color-coded gears that are marked indicating tooth size, while others come plain white and unmarked. In any event, the gear mesh seemed very smooth so I was eager to hit the road with this model.

I was glad that I had 2 other racers on hand ("LocoRacer Tom" & Mark "Chaparral Nut") to help me test this car because it truly is a screamer. Very quiet gearing and silky smooth response plus speeds that all of us were very surprised to see. Right out of the box the model was making lap time averages of 3.5 seconds. This is a very quick model indeed considering we had not performed any tuning.

We immediately noticed that the rear tires needed sanding badly. After a good sanding treatment and tire cleaning it was back to the track. Mark began his run: 3.4...3.3...3.2...3.0...2.9!! This rocket was indeed becoming a car both Tom and Mark wanted to own. Tom took the controls and repeated these times easily. The tires still needed a little more sanding, and after this second treatment 2.9 seconds was the average.

Mark decided it was time to remove the magnet and add a little lead in the magnet pocket. Right away this car impressed us as being very smooth, although it could be a handful on my smaller layout. The front tires need attention too as they also had low centers. I used my Dremel on the lowest speed and sanded the outer edges while they were still on the car. I got them much better than they were and this allowed the front guide to rest almost flush in the slot plus smoothed out the overall ride. In the end we were all very impressed with this slot car. Mark ordered both models before the weekend was over and I am certainly going to add another for our stable.

With fun being the whole point of this hobby, this BMW certainly provided that and more for us. I can only advise that you take a good look at these models and consider adding at least one to your current collection.

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!

Thanks go to Slot Car World For Providing Us With This Model!