Wednesday August 06, 2003

Vanquish MG McLaren M8B

For many enthusiasts this release from Vanquish MG is the one they have been waiting for. I admit that aside from the recent Shadow, this McLaren has been at the top of my list. Our current CAN-AM field offered by VMG would not be complete without this addition and we were eager to get it to the track to see how it compared with our other models.

I chose the Denny Hulme #5 model with the other half of the "Bruce and Denny Show" #4 coming right behind it. To say 1969 was a dominant year for these McLaren cars is almost an understatement considering between the 2 of them they won every race that year with Bruce taking the championship and Denny 2nd overall. These models are some of the most recognized from those great CAN-AM years and fit right into our current collection.

And every time a new VMG release arrives, the same subjects over scale...or rather lack of it...seem to come with it. So as with many aspects of our hobby, personal preference will dictate if these issues are enough to warrant not having them or not.

Regardless of these scale issues, VMG has still managed a decent effort in the paint and Tampo departments. The clear-coat was even and dust free with all the markings being surprisingly crisp and opaque. It still seems that some of the markings might have been applied after the clear-coat, however it didn't seem as noticeable on this model compared to others. I did notice some fading of the Denny Hulme signature on the "D" but this wasn't a major issue really for me. Obviously the famous high rear wing certainly gets your attention, and perhaps arises concern over durability. After all these are slot cars built for racing...right?

Lets face it, sooner or later you will most likely break this wing or its mounts after too many trips out of the slot. This can be said for the rear view mirrors as well. I have had several hard tumbles and the wing mounts have managed to have enough flex to survive without damage, but this won't last long I am sure. The best thing about this wing is that the wing itself is easily snapped out of its mount. I race ours with it attached because even on the slightest tumble, it will break free. Some of you will want to remove it before racing, and I was happy to see VMG did not glue it in place for those that will. One thing you might find after increased racing is that this wing will sometimes pop off the mount under hard acceleration! So basically it is your preference as to racing with it or to remove it. If you want the wing to stay in place a little better, use a small drop of clear silicone adhesive on the center post of the wing and then re-attach it to the mount. The silicone is very flexible and will still allow the wing to give way in a crash, yet keeps it snugly in place if you manage to keep it in the slot:)

Of course this model hasn't deviated much from any prior releases when it comes to the running gear, aside from brass bushings on the front axle, so I knew the performance would be very close. These bushings are very small and help prevent excess side-to-side free-play more than they act as any type of ballast. It does however show that you could use larger ones to allow you to tune the front with weight. According to our DS Timer, this McLaren posted times of 3.4 on average which is consistent with other releases. I like the way these cars handle as although it does come with a button magnet, you still have some decent sliding action to it and recovery time in a spin is more than enough for most enthusiasts to get used to. Adding Indy Grips #IG2301 helps a great deal in the traction department as time fell to an average of 3.2.

In the end I was still happy to add this model to our current collection of VMG Can-Am machines. This model just seems to be an icon of not only the team, but of the series itself and without this release it would almost feel as if the collection was incomplete.

To learn more about the chassis and the rest of the inner workings of these models try reading our previous reviews on the VMG line.

- Harry

As always feel free to contact me about this article or just the hobby in general, 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!

We also want to thank Eagle Distributing for their support of this website.