Ok got most things i need to build my ho tomy 4 lane track the only thing outstanding is lane colour coding what do you guys use, whats the best/easiest. I am considering painting but i figure this will take a long time, any help will be appreciated.

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AfxToo,

You would rather paint them than tape them?

Mike

Testors enamel paint pens/markers, sold in hobby and craft stores, or direct: http://www.testors.com/brand_category.asp?brandNbr=6. (Search for "markers") The standard colors, if you care, are red (outside lane), white, blue, and yellow.

In the UK we use green instead of white as it crops up in color schemes less often. I love for there to be a way to set LEDs in the slot that only came on when a car desloted, that would look neater and more 'real' than paint or tape.

dw

DW- That LED idea is possible. The Professor Motor Controllers do that.

You don't want tape for your lane striping- it will pull up trust me. Striping lanes with a paint pen is easy if you use the rail as a guide. I like the detailed look so I only placed small colored arrows in key spots in the track so you don't see color all over the track.

If you're into detailing you'll want the white track edge also. You can build a chassis jig for doing the edge with your paint pens and it will come out perfect.

-Scott

DW- That LED idea is possible. The Professor Motor Controllers do that.
-Scott

Combined with colored wheel inserts this would make our cars and track look a lot neater!!


dw

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Hey, I brought up the lighted lanes idea a while back. Very doable, and would help lane marshals too.

We just need someone to do it!

* OK threadjack *

So you're talking about LED's in corners inside the slot that would light when a car deslots? Would they have to light when the car deslots or couldn't they be on all the time? Distracting? They do have flexible light tubes that you could somehow place below the slot for more light. As for lighting when a car comes off, that could be done with some fancy diodes and N.O. transistors. Interesting.

:cool:

I was in France many years ago and stumbled upon this amazing place. The cars were (if my recollection is correct, it was 25 years ago) 1/24th scale and seriously quick. The track only had two lanes but there were three cars, maybe the third car was some kind of drone.
Anyway, when the cars desloted a section of track (perhaps 5'long) near the crash lit up either side of the rails and the car had a matching light under the body.
I never got much of a look as my parents wanted to move on but the idea came back to me when I got into HO and saw how much the stickers ruin the cars and the lane markers compromise the look of the track.

dw

I wish I had paint pens when I painted my lanes. I taped and sprayed the entire layout ( 4 lanes x 166 ft). That was by far the hardest part of building my layout.

Jim

You don't *have* to do 4 lane colors. Only 3 lanes need to be marked, the 4th lane is......black.

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How's this for a mood spoiler. I caught this on the OWH BBS: WOW :freak: :p

http://planetofspeed.net/slots/disco_racing.jpg

My eyes!
It burns!

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The ultimate track for a "thingies" and "futurist" car race ! :freak:

Does the megabass affect the T'jet roadhandling ??? :drunk:

I like it. 60's flashback Oh wow man:eek:

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I brought my layout to College. I painted headlights and tail lights with black light paint, put lane dots on the track. It was a lot of fun and actually did not suffer any beer damage!
Jim

Re: The Electric Prunes You have to be the only other person who has heard of them. I had too much to dream last night ....too much to dream. I'm not ready to face the light.... I had tooo much to dream last night.

tooo coool Man!!!!

That track looks awfull totally put me off colour coding, like the idea of using a white paint pen and stenciling lane numbers in certain areas around the circuit. Seen it on a video of a racing club think there was 8 lanes. Lights in the slot great idea but way beyond me!!! :confused: Thanks for the replys suppose everybody has differing opinions on this and it comes down to personal preference in the end.

Sorry t-jetJim , I thank it was in a disco - nightclub ... :rolleyes:

Have fun with your track ! :)

Francois (who loves the new cars with Todd Rundgren...)

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Ditto on the paint pens. It's easy, looks great, works great.

Re: The Electric Prunes You have to be the only other person who has heard of them....
tooo coool Man!!!!

No he's not the only one

The Great Banana Hoax is one of my all time fav tunes

Electric Prunes and ultraviolet psykadelic slot tracks rules :-)

Leave it to Old weard Harold to find this guy,

Last year I went to a friend's place to race and he had just finished his layout. Tomy Fray track, cool layout and great racing.
He marked lanes with paint pens, and filling in all the space between the rails with color.
I literally fell down on the floor after around ten laps from vertigo. No beer was involved in this incident!

I did race later at his place in an enduro, no less. I found that if I wear my glasses, the vertigo goes away, Wow. Who'd have thunk.

Tim

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Hi guys ! With the "electric prunes" you gave me the idea to view some psycho rock on youtube.com : The Nazz , 13th floor elevators , the Strandells... Just look at this video , a surprise for you ! :wave:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1sJ1JTrsM8

Getting back on topic, is there anyone who could make what we need to move away from lane stickers and on to some kind of lighting system?

Wow where was Kanye and MTV then? :freak: :p

There is a slot racing center in the link ! :tongue:

Thanks for the links - cool stuff!

Yeah, cool video HoSlotFrance...

How's this for a mood spoiler. I caught this on the OWH BBS: WOW :freak: :p

http://planetofspeed.net/slots/disco_racing.jpg
That's a friend of mines track - you can view his build details on http://neophytte.mine.nu/forum/

Enjoy!

Richard

Ditto on the paint pens. It's easy, looks great, works great.

what are the best ones to use though, that is the $64,000 question?

Testors has worked very well for me...
And something I tried on my little track was just putting a dot of paint every foot or so...

Got any pictures Noddaz?

I can't buy Testors at the moment due to the flight solvent restrictions. Could not find anywhere here in the UK that retails their stuff online

i use paint markers from craft dept. at wallmart it took me less than two hours to do my 70 foot 4 lane track

Testors has worked very well for me...


Have used these for the last two setups I built and wasn't disappointed. Went down easy. The only other comment I'd offer is that it's basically a one shot use for these pens when you're doing a layout. Especially a large one. The felt tips become so abused that they're only usable, for the most part, to touch up the track afterwards. But IMO it's still one of the best ways to go. :thumbsup: rr

What about automobile pinstriping vinyl?

'doba

What about automobile pinstriping vinyl?

'doba

I bought a red and a blue pin stripe roll from a craft store. Same brand that auto parts stores carry, but I could never find a white or a yellow.

The blue stuck very well to the track, but the red roll was a waste. Maybe it was old adhesive or something, but the tape just pulled up around the corners.

I think the paint pens are the way to go. Michaels (a craft store chain in Calif and elsewhere?) carries lots of colors, and the pens go on sale for 50% off about once a month. I also did not ruin the tips when I did my Tuckaway - just slid the tip over the slot, and it placed a narrow stripe on each side of the slot.

http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/1564/2279942700099980462S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2279942700099980462lmmYBk)

Got any pictures Noddaz?

I can't buy Testors at the moment due to the flight solvent restrictions. Could not find anywhere here in the UK that retails their stuff online

Do stores carry Sharpie products in the UK?
Here is a picture of the business end of a Sharpie paint pen...
(This place does not ship out of the US either...)
But I would think that there has to be something simular in the UK...
http://markingpendepot.com/ProductImages/tip_paint_bold_on.jpg
Scott

Hey Scaf, from the looks of the track seems like the pens worked just fine, I was gonna go with pin stripe but the pens have got to be less inexpensive vs tape.

I used "DecoColor' pens for the Tuckaway. The red one was not a real dark red, so I am going to try these Elmers Painters on next track. At $2.50 a pen when on sale, I think they are more cost effective then rolls of pinstripe tape.

The blue one in the picture is after having done 25' of track - tip still looks like new.

http://inlinethumb60.webshots.com/251/2099704470099980462S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2099704470099980462zQeduq)

http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/2051/2130380530099980462S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2130380530099980462FBygfF)

Don't forget the white border around the track. ;)