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Triumph Spitfire by Mark Gussin Having recently found Aurora's static kit in part build condition I wanted to convert it into a slot car and still maintain the scale look. The SCX Seat 850 is a cheap donor car, it has the same wheelbase and can be used for a number of other conversions in particular the Austin Healy Sprite recently reissued by Airfix. The conversions I have seen on the Sprite were often
let down by the interior and the wheels so I was determined to avoid this.
The body was put together using super glue, some filing down was necessary
to get a good fit as some 1964 kits didn't exactly fit together well.
The rear shelf back was cut down and a piece of flat plastic card Now to the wheels. To get them to tuck properly under
the wheel arches I took 1/8th inch off the back of each hub, I changed
the tyre to a narrower type, reduced the length of the axles so that the
wheels rotated but there was only the minimum of sideways play. The Seat
850 wheels are fully chromed, I left the hub caps chrome but painted the
surround in the body colour, this transforms the look of the wheel and
looks great. Enamels are easiest to use here. As for performance; a bit like the Seat 850 but better because of the lower body weight. It doesn't perform nearly as well as the Fly Viper but then nor does the real car when compared to the 1:1 scale Viper! 21st October 1997 |
used for the interior. Seat tops were cut from the kit seats and a Revell
driver with Airfix military figure's head added. The chassis itself required
little work. The Seat 850 body was discarded and then the headlamps and
front corners were removed from the chassis with an X-acto saw. The back
of the chassis was shortened 3/8th inch in the same way. Holes for fixing
the chassis to the body posts were drilled underneath the front of the
guide flag and at the rear of the chassis behind the gear. Body posts
were made of plastic stock tubing and were superglued to the body. I cut
the posts to length, screw them to the chassis and check their fit to
the body, modifying as necessary, then marking their position through
the chassis holes and gluing in place. Once they are fixed remove the
chassis and add more glue around the post to body joint to make a really
strong bond. 
The
body was painted using acrylic car paints. Primer first, then colour,
then bare metal foil the chrome bits then laquer the whole lot. I used
bare metal foil to mask the screen when painting the surrounds and to
mask the body when painting the interior. I really recommend spending
time detailing all the little bits and the driver, it is well worth it.