Thursday December 02, 2010

There has been a need in our hobby lately for an inexpensive model to scratch-build with. There are of course many chassis choices out there but many of them come with a steep price tag that are out of the range of many on tight budgets. When word arrived here of these new models from JJ Slot, I looked forward in taking a closer look. Who knows? We may have what we have been looking for.

This is a very different review, so please bear with me. IF you are a beginner in our hobby or you are not comfortable in custom building, this article may not appeal to you. In fact, this review is not about the cars really, it is the chassis we are interested in.

Those that are veterans of our hobby will likely see right away what we are dealing with and I am not going to try and insult anyone's intelligence. These are cheap toys that are technically slot cars intended to be raced. The bodies are not very scale accurate nor are they intended to be. Then, again models like this are great for the younger racers who could care less about such things.

The heart of this review is the chassis. There are 2 types of chassis featured in this product line.

First up is what I have nicknamed the tub chassis.

I will let the photos do most of the talking for me, and hopefully they help you get a good idea about the chassis.

Wheels and tires on these models are certainly not the best. Most of you will simply scrap them and replace them with your choice of hardware. We did sand and true them the best we could on one test model but it took a great deal of work. For me that is ok. For what these models are I was not expecting anything less.

It has 2 pockets for a bar magnet that is included but there is plenty of room for more. This also applies to lead placement for those racing non-magnet. The front guide is close in design from another brand and is held in place with a screw. This should make for an easy change if you decide to do so.

The one design about both chassis is the sidewinder configuration of the motor. For many enthusiasts, this is the optimum configuration for best performance. It also uses a standard Mabuchi can motor cradle that will accept a wide variety of motors.

The second is the flat chassis. It is also sidewinder with the 2 magnet pockets. Again this chassis will hold a standard Mabuchi motor so swapping things out should be easier.

Shown with lighting attached. The Aston Martin is the only model with this feature.

The chassis itself has promise. NOTE: You might have to run them under hot water and place a book on them to get them perfectly flat. One of our chassis needed this trick but we have done this before. I do not know if a large amount of these chassis will have this problem.

What about the motors? Well, this is another plus for me. There are 2 different motors identified by the color of the endbell.

The first is the red endbell motor which was tested by the Slot Car News Motor List Team.

It is rated at 14,120 RPM/12v

The second is the yellow endbell.

It is rated at 13,932 RPM/12v

These are nice little motors that could be used for our classic series of racing. We like using lower RPM motors for this series, and it appears we have a low cost alternative. Of course more testing will reveal the durability, but at least we have them to start. They are both geared with an 11 tooth pinion and 36 tooth spur gear. The gears work better than I thought, but being a harder plastic they do have some noise to them.

The Bottom Line - What We Have

2 different chassis - Both sidewinder configuration.

Both accept the standard Mabuchi type motor.

The motors that come with the car could be used for classic type models.

The Aston Martin type model is lighted. This may mean nothing to you, but it does to some. Have you priced an aftermarket light kit?

Now the PRICE: $14.95

This is what I like to see. An inexpensive toy I can hack away at to fit any body I want without fear. What if I make a mistake? So what. I am out a few bucks. I still get the motor and a body to use later on if I want to. In other words I do not feel cheated.

So what is the big deal? Why even bother looking at these? Because there are many enthusiasts who enjoy scratch building different models. Some of them, like myself, are not that good or have the time to custom build a chassis to get started. I am also looking at this from a budget standpoint. If you are going to replace/purchase all the aftermarket running gear for a chassis that costs twice as much, why not save a few bucks and try one of these? They are not perfect but neither was Artin and we built hundreds of models using that chassis.

We are going to try and build 2 models using each chassis. We will record the build as best we can and another article will follow.

These cars are not going to be for everyone. In my mind they serve a single purpose: Scratch Building. And for those that do this type of modeling, I think these are worth a closer look. At this price, you might as well grab one and see if you can make it work?

- Harry

Thanks got to JWL Slot Cars For This Preview

CONTACT JWL ABOUT THESE CHASSIS