View Full Version : 2 lane with Tomy Super Int'l?


jstudrawa
03-23-2008, 11:40 PM
I've gone thru a few of the 4 lane setups with it so far, and loving it (as is the 8yo.) I've downloaded Slotman, and slowly getting the feel for it and hoping to come up with some 2 lane derivatives soon.

On that topic, are there any 2 lane setups out there archived that use just the track from the Super Int'l that are floating around?

Similar in design to this for example (in HO of course), tho I could never do this in slotman...

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=384445

Thanks in advance, guys!

Crimnick
03-23-2008, 11:59 PM
Greg has a few layouts here:

http://www.hoslotcarracing.com/

Check out the oak creek 36

jstudrawa
03-24-2008, 12:55 AM
Thanks, I totally missed that section!

Looks like buying the 4-way Split package may be a good investment. I'll run some numbers and see if it's better to go track sections or the entire set.

AfxToo
03-24-2008, 07:26 AM
The 4 Way Split is a nice companion for the SI set because it comes with 4 fabulous cars and a lot of 12" radius turns. The 12" turns are very versatile and really pump up the speeds compared to what you'll get with all those 6" turns that come with the SI. The Long Beach set is great if you need to increase your inventory of 15" straights and pick up a few 18" turns. It too has a lot of 6" turns.

Getting track through sets is typically the lower cost way to go. However, the sets have really bumped up in price lately so you should do the math if all you need are a few pieces and aren't in the market for more cars.

Dslot
03-24-2008, 10:53 AM
Here's a design (http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?p=2299306#post2299306) I did for PD2, a while back, fitting most of a Super Int'l set on a 2.5' x 6' table in 2-lane form. Probably good mostly for amusement value, but you might find something in it you could use. --D

jstudrawa
03-24-2008, 11:15 AM
Man, that's nice! Thanks! Greg's site and your tracks are exactly what I am looking for. We're just racing 2-lanes right now, since mom isn't into it. Until I can free up the cash for a full 4-lane 50+ foot setup (have an engine swap to do in my Cougar yet) I'll be playing around with them.

Thanks again!

Edit: Also, is there or can there be a layout section here? It would be amazing to have ALL these designs in one place, archived and easy to get to so you're not all re-answering these questions each time a newb comes here :)

jstudrawa
03-24-2008, 02:08 PM
Would someone mind looking at the Whitefish Bay 33 on http://www.hoslotcarracing.com

I am trying to compile a spreadsheet listing the main Tomy track sets and then the layouts that I can find on his site to cross reference as a guide for folks. So you can easily see size of floor/table needed, lap length, lanes, pieces needed, etc. Mainly for my info, but hoping others can use it.

Anyway, he's showing some 9" and 12" curves that are color-coded incorrectly I think. I may be wrong, can someone verify his list of track pieces?

Dslot
03-24-2008, 03:34 PM
...Also, is there or can there be a layout section here? It would be amazing to have ALL these designs in one place, archived and easy to get to so you're not all re-answering these questions each time a newb comes here :)
You know, that's not a bad idea at all. That might just be worth a separate thread. In fact, I think I'll start one. --D

jstudrawa
03-24-2008, 04:17 PM
Here's a design (http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?p=2299306#post2299306) I did for PD2, a while back, fitting most of a Super Int'l set on a 2.5' x 6' table in 2-lane form. Probably good mostly for amusement value, but you might find something in it you could use. --D

I am going to make this tonight, but I offer another challenge for you...

Using ALL of the Tomy Super Int'l pieces, what is the most compact layout you can come up with?

I'm curious to see what you'd come up with :)

jstudrawa
03-24-2008, 07:57 PM
I joined the two tracks you made, the smaller one to the right of the larger. Basically, took 2 15" straights and extended the top and bottom lanes, and it looks like a crazy g almost (the addition).

I need to upload a pic. Will do in a few.

Again, thanks!

Dslot
03-26-2008, 09:38 AM
...I offer another challenge for you...
Using ALL of the Tomy Super Int'l pieces, what is the most compact layout you can come up with?
I'm curious to see what you'd come up with :)

Okay, I did it, sort of. 4' x 7.5' table.

The alignment is not as good as I like, but I think it's good enough that track flexing will take care of it, including the couple of points where there is a slight overlap.

I didn't feel like putting any more time into it, since the challenge is not to get a good track, but to arrange a specific set of pieces to fit together without a major gap - more of an abstract puzzle (snore) than an exercise in slot track design (whoopee). The course would be better (and more compact) if you donated some of those 9"R-90deg. curves to the waste receptacle and bought a few extra straights and perhaps a hairpin for the right end of the "road course" part (if your cars can handle the Tomy hairpin).

I hope the piece-count is right. Again, I didn't go back and double-check.

How did it go when you built the 2.5" wide layout?
-- D

jstudrawa
03-26-2008, 10:50 AM
Okay, I did it, sort of. 4' x 7.5' table.

The alignment is not as good as I like, but I think it's good enough that track flexing will take care of it, including the couple of points where there is a slight overlap.

I didn't feel like putting any more time into it, since the challenge is not to get a good track, but to arrange a specific set of pieces to fit together without a major gap - more of an abstract puzzle (snore) than an exercise in slot track design (whoopee). The course would be better (and more compact) if you donated some of those 9"R-90deg. curves to the waste receptacle and bought a few extra straights and perhaps a hairpin for the right end of the "road course" part (if your cars can handle the Tomy hairpin).

I hope the piece-count is right. Again, I didn't go back and double-check.

How did it go when you built the 2.5" wide layout?
-- D

Thanks man! And of course this is all up to you, don't mean to sound like I'm expecting anything. If ya got time, cool. If not, no worries at all.

For the 2.5', I basically took the smaller left over track and pasted it to the right side. Worked well but looks goofy and unbalanced.

I'll be at Stillwell's Friday night and buy some more track to make up my deficiencies. I do notice that this track is a fishtail champion track with stock cars ;) Fun tho, since Cordoba's video's cars are just too damn fast for me!

Edit: Here's my craptastic rendition while at work... https://secure.filesanywhere.com/v.asp?v=%89ij%89%5C%5Fm%BCn%AB

So what do you consider a good track? More turns and twists than straights? Sorry to pick your brain, just curious.

Dslot
03-26-2008, 12:10 PM
Thanks man! And of course this is all up to you, don't mean to sound like I'm expecting anything. If ya got time, cool. If not, no worries at all.

:wave:Sure, Jstud, I know. Sorry if I sounded too negative.

It started out as a fun challenge, but as it went on, the need to use all the pieces turned it into a trial and error slugfest, like those sliding-tile puzzles with 15 tiles and 16 spaces that we did when we were kids.:drunk: Some people love 'em, but not my cup of tea.

To put a bit of the fun back, I may do a version where I try to get a more elegant course by adding just a few extra pieces, and tossing a few of the set pieces.

One thing I do like about this new version is that by going to 7.5 feet , each of the original straightaways gained a 15" piece and that makes the original design (which was specified for a cramped 6-ft table) much more satisfactory, giving the cars a chance to stretch their legs.

One thing I don't like is going to a 4' width, which means it's too wide for one guy to reach across without some clumsy grabber device, so it has to be placed end-on to the wall and marshalled by two people. I try to keep a 36" maximum, but with all the wiggle-waggle created by those leftover 90-deg. curves, I was lucky to get away with adding only a foot and a half to the original course width. And a pretty ugly, shapeless, unrhythmical foot and a half it is.

Glad to hear the original 6-ft. design worked. I've never built it except on the computer screen.
Cheers.
-- D

Dslot
03-26-2008, 12:48 PM
I do notice that this track is a fishtail champion track with stock cars ;) Fun tho, since Cordoba's video's cars are just too damn fast for me. (chuckle) I know what you mean. I loved Doba's layout and the sense of fun in that video, and you have to be in awe of the drivers - those guys must have the eyes of hawks, reflexes of spring steel and the mental focus of a zen master. But making a film of a race where the cars are moving so fast that the camera doesn't even show them, except in slo-mo - well, that does seem a bit paradoxical.

I'm an old guy with old eyes and reflexes, and no space for long straights, so I prefer the old Tjets/JLs and early AFXs.

Edit: Here's my craptastic rendition while at work... https://secure.filesanywhere.com/v.asp?v=%89ij%89%5C%5Fm%BCn%AB

Actually, that looks like a better driving track than my compact "All the parts" version. It just spreads out awkwardly into the room.
So what do you consider a good track? More turns and twists than straights?
I think that's a pretty good question for the whole group. Why don't you start it as a new thread, and I'll reply to it there and see what the others think also. I'm afraid that this thread has got so specific, that many readers will have dropped out by now.
--D

jstudrawa
03-26-2008, 01:31 PM
Right, that's why my buddy is trying to get me into 1:32 digital for the slower speeds and strategy. I just don't have the space yet. If I build out the rest of the attic, I'll have another 8x20 area to play in. For now, I'll see what HO holds. May get an older AFX car since it was mentioned in another thread to be slower and looser than the Super G+.

What program are you using to make your tracks. I have Slotman so far but it's not as intuitive as I had hoped, just need more time with it. I heard Slottracker was awesome but it's gone now.

I'll bring my spreadsheet to Stillwell's and look at what set or parts will make the most tracks and then play around some. What's nice about having a lot of open carpet is being able to dump all the track out and come up with the design as I go.

Until I learn exactly how cars deal with specific turns and designs, I'm in the trial and error stage as well.