Post by superslab on May 27, 2009 18:33:21 GMT -8
Received my BBR Ferrari F430 from Rick this afternoon and thought I would share my first impressions:
1. Model is relatively straight forward to assemble. Although not essential, it would have been nice to have had some assembly notes/instructions.
2. Body is very well done: good detail, painting and tampo work. I got the rather plain #14, but in spite of the absence of artwork I still think it looks very good.
3. Mechanicals look very good. One peculiarity is the loose fitting axle bushings. I still also have mixed feelings about the two part crown gear: having the ability to adjust the mesh is good, but I am not sure whether this might not be the perfect solution to a non existent problem.
4. A lot of thought has gone into the design of the car. Much is said and written about the "race readiness" of NSR's and Slot.it's, but in some respects this car is better. The suspended pod is great, probably the best execution I have seen. NSR & Slot.it just have movement but no suspension (unless you buy the Slot.it mag suspension). On top of that typically you have to do a bit of fettling on Slot.its to get the pod to float freely. Avant Slot has a suspended pod but I consider the execution to be rather poor: it binds and adjustment is convoluted and somewhat ineffective. Until now Fly Racing has in my opinion been the best of the bunch. BBR improves on the Fly execution in that the adjustment does not impact ride height and it allows "softer" suspension. Fly is still better in that they use screw rather than the circlip arrangement BBR favours.
5. Body float is also of the best that I have seen. No need to sand or trim the chassis: it is designed to have a nice clear gap between the body & chassis. Mounting hardware is also designed such that it allows nice and smooth, clean float without any fiddling.
6. Adjustable front axle ride height is nice to have. I do not consider the execution to be as good as Avant Slot and Fly Racing models for instance (you have to install shims/spacers rather than just adjust hex screws) but at least it is there. My car did not require adjustment as it happens to ride the way I like it with the front wheels just touching the track.
Concerns? The wheels seem to be quite round & good looking, but why still stick to press on wheels? I do not think press on wheels have a place on a modern, decent slot car with some apparent high performance aspirations. The guide also is unusual. But I should withhold judgement on the guide until I have tried it lest I fall into the trap common to people of my age of being suspicious of something just because it does not conform to the norm! I will say that I am convinced the guide rotation is too limited: I am sure I will have to do some Dremeling.
So I am singing the praises of this car and I have not even run it! I will add running comments once I have tested it. I must say that I will be surprised if it is not a smooth, relatively quick runner. But in just saying that I am quite possibly jinxing the poor car!
I like it!
1. Model is relatively straight forward to assemble. Although not essential, it would have been nice to have had some assembly notes/instructions.
2. Body is very well done: good detail, painting and tampo work. I got the rather plain #14, but in spite of the absence of artwork I still think it looks very good.
3. Mechanicals look very good. One peculiarity is the loose fitting axle bushings. I still also have mixed feelings about the two part crown gear: having the ability to adjust the mesh is good, but I am not sure whether this might not be the perfect solution to a non existent problem.
4. A lot of thought has gone into the design of the car. Much is said and written about the "race readiness" of NSR's and Slot.it's, but in some respects this car is better. The suspended pod is great, probably the best execution I have seen. NSR & Slot.it just have movement but no suspension (unless you buy the Slot.it mag suspension). On top of that typically you have to do a bit of fettling on Slot.its to get the pod to float freely. Avant Slot has a suspended pod but I consider the execution to be rather poor: it binds and adjustment is convoluted and somewhat ineffective. Until now Fly Racing has in my opinion been the best of the bunch. BBR improves on the Fly execution in that the adjustment does not impact ride height and it allows "softer" suspension. Fly is still better in that they use screw rather than the circlip arrangement BBR favours.
5. Body float is also of the best that I have seen. No need to sand or trim the chassis: it is designed to have a nice clear gap between the body & chassis. Mounting hardware is also designed such that it allows nice and smooth, clean float without any fiddling.
6. Adjustable front axle ride height is nice to have. I do not consider the execution to be as good as Avant Slot and Fly Racing models for instance (you have to install shims/spacers rather than just adjust hex screws) but at least it is there. My car did not require adjustment as it happens to ride the way I like it with the front wheels just touching the track.
Concerns? The wheels seem to be quite round & good looking, but why still stick to press on wheels? I do not think press on wheels have a place on a modern, decent slot car with some apparent high performance aspirations. The guide also is unusual. But I should withhold judgement on the guide until I have tried it lest I fall into the trap common to people of my age of being suspicious of something just because it does not conform to the norm! I will say that I am convinced the guide rotation is too limited: I am sure I will have to do some Dremeling.
So I am singing the praises of this car and I have not even run it! I will add running comments once I have tested it. I must say that I will be surprised if it is not a smooth, relatively quick runner. But in just saying that I am quite possibly jinxing the poor car!
I like it!
