I got new Toyz today........

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I now have a complete collection of the current JGR COT (Car of Today) NASCAR Camerys from Life Like. Before I get to ramblin and posting pictures I like to give a shout out to "Hobby Linc Hobbies"...for not only the great service but for the best price I've seen anywhere for the new LL's...($16.12)..

Hey they look great and my Home Depot will stay on the card because Tony leaves at the end of the season and it becomes a mini collectors item and I don't want his name scatched off by accident

Since I don't run LL's I will be switching the chassis to G3 mounts so I can either do a G-Jet or a Polystock....



Yo!

JLM-- have you compared the weight? How much do they weigh?

How do you mount them to a G3 chassis? Is there a special clip or is there something else you do to them?

Thanks!

JLM-- have you compared the weight? How much do they weigh?

Neo, someone stole my diamond scale, but they feel about the same as last seasons cars...I wll barrow a friends scale to get a accurate reading..

Yo!

How do you mount them to a G3 chassis? Is there a special clip or is there something else you do to them?

Thanks!

I start with a "Buddy Clip" and work it up on my bench....

Yo!

In looking at these at Lucky Bob's (he had all of them loose on the front counter) I was happy to see that they all share exactly the same body dimensions. The hoods, roof height, trunk and rear bumper locations, along with overall width seem to be carried from car to car regardless of which 'make' they represent.

The grill slits are slightly different for the Fords, Dodges, Chevies and Toyotas, but the bumper and nose height are all the same.

I did notice that the front splitter on the Ford was marginally shorter -- maybe a 1/16" or less. Otherwise these bods are all pretty much identical.

I snap a pic or two in a little while.

I start with a "Buddy Clip" and work it up on my bench....

Yo!

Not sure I know what that means.... is there a clip specifically made for a G3 to mount the LL cars, or are you fashioning your own? A little more detail would be great.

Thanks

Not sure I know what that means.... is there a clip specifically made for a G3 to mount the LL cars, or are you fashioning your own? A little more detail would be great.

Thanks

I'm bascally taking a custom clip and reworking it to allow me to use any G series chassis under the body. You can inquire about buddy clips from the following manufactures:

http://www.budshocars.com/Sec03Jun08.mht

Or from my guy OZ in Australlia mate:

http://www.ozhoslotcars.com/softbodiesbodymounts.htm

Yo!

I got mine and I have to say, these things rock. I can't believe how much better the quality of the Life-Like slot cars has improved under Walthers management. I don't know what started this trend in HO, but the modeling accuracy of all of the HO brands has really shot up over the last coupe of years. It's a great time to be in the hobby.

I got mine and I have to say, these things rock. I can't believe how much better the quality of the Life-Like slot cars has improved under Walthers management. I don't know what started this trend in HO, but the modeling accuracy of all of the HO brands has really shot up over the last coupe of years. It's a great time to be in the hobby.

I agree especially if you're a Hardbody Racer.....

Yo!

Here's the weigh in, COT vs previous generation LL, where applicable:

COT Chevy: 4.77g [Previous Gen: 5.95g]
COT Ford: 4.70g [Previous Gen: 6.48g]
COT Toyota: 4.57g [n/a]
COT Dodge: 4.57g [Previous Gen: 5.21g]

They have all gotten a lot lighter, especially the Ford.
Should make for some lively racing.

If I am a soft, Jabba the Hutt type of body can I still race hardbodies? :freak:

Come out and play.........It's so much fun.........

Yo!

JLM,
Nice little conversion! :thumbsup::thumbsup: rr

The car looks great!

Best regards,
Brian

Nice, thanks for the pics!

Thanks for the compliments...she runs well also....the new bodies have pretty good balance. And the rear wing can take a few hits also.....

Yo!

Before you cats say something ...my G-Jet has T2 Motor magnets...

Yo!

The latest round of 2009 NASCARs are starting to trickle out of Life-Like. The currently shipping cars include a totally new #24 paint scheme (black, orange, and yellow) and some subtly tweaked versions of the #48 and the two #88 cars. If you liked the 2008 COTs you will like these too. They run good right out of the package (dial-in lots of choke and low sensitivity on a Tomy track) and look great. The #14 Tony Baloney and Newman cars are coming later in the summer along with the #5 Martin and a couple of Fusions, #17 and #99. Overall, pretty nice looking cars for NASCAR fans to enjoy. Would be nice to see something from outside the NASCAR Mega Teams, but I'll take whatever I can get my hands on these days.

:dude: We've just wrapped up our 2009 LifeLike season here at North Coast H.O. We split the LifeLikes into two groups, The COT body cars with the T-Chassis & the Wide body cars with the M-Chassis. The COT body cars held up to all of the abuse with NO broken wings or any other broken body parts!.....Even the earlier wide body cars would end up with some broken spoilers, so in addition to looking good they are durable too!.......All of the various name plates were used too, unlike the wide body cars where the Taurus usually fills most of the field.
:thumbsup:

The Life-Like COTs are quite nice and are significantly lighter than their predecessors. Put the right sized slip-ons on them and they are monsters.

[QUOTE=eastside johnny;2839158All of the various name plates were used too, unlike the wide body cars where the Taurus usually fills most of the field.
[/QUOTE]

Onthis topic, what are the Lifelike bodies which are best for racing? Which are the worst?

Thanks...Joe

The Datsun and Porsche bodies that came over from Rokar are by far the best closed wheel bodies. The stubby little Mustangs with the clear roof painted on the inside are not bad, but they do not resemble race cars and the roofs come off rather easily. The earlier long & skinny (L&S) era NASCARs, again Rokar like, are not bad from a handling perspective but these bodies detach too easily which detracts from their raceability, unless you take measures to secure them. The Taurus and first gen Monte Carlo from the short & wide (S&W) era are not bad, the Taurus being slightly better with less junk in the trunk compared to the Chevy. Hard to pick a worst because there are so many to choose from. Any of the turtle shaped bodies like the Intrepid, Pontiac Grand Prix, and even the Civic tuner are very top heavy and in the running for the worst. Based on its tendency to deslot, and overall unattractiveness, I'd nominate the Intrepid as the worst LL racing body. It's a dog that only knows one trick: Roll Over ... Good boy! Here's a cookie.:)

I agree with AFXToo that the original Rocar Porsche and Datsun bodies are little screamers. Both have very little overhang in the rear and both are really low slung. They tend to fetch above average prices when they come up on the bay. Wouldn't it be cool if Bad Dawg offered versions of these bodies?

I'm just saying...

Yeah, the fugly Superbird and fat Camaros also come to mind.

I think the LL Corvette C5 is a pretty nice body, however.

Yeah, I like the C5 Vettes too, especially the red, blue, and silver ones. There's a new C5 paint scheme coming out in June as shown on the Walthers site. I would be thrilled if Life-Like would release some of their nicer bodies, like the Corvette and Porsche, unpainted for customizers. I would be ecstatic if LL would repop the Datsun 240z body, but from what I hear, they no longer have the mold. It is the perfect body for the LL chassis, fitting the chassis like a glove (http://slotcarcollectibles3.homestead.com/files/Amrac_wrb_240z_Datsun2.JPG).

The LL chassis is flat, especially the M chassis which shares DNA with the G-Plus, and it really opens up the possibilities for doing some low profile bodies that have never been done properly in HO. Perfect case in point, the Cheetah. When you see what a real Cheetah looks like (http://www.cheetahcars.com/factory.htm) the Aurora TJet rendition, aka, "Cheetah perched on fat posts," is kind of hard on the eyes. I'd love to see the Cheetah done properly in 1:64. Maybe Racemasters will take it on.

Other good LL racing bodies:

Baja Pickup - Rokar/early LL bods. You can find these at a show or a well established hobby shop.

Citroen - These Euro bods are scattered in the US, but if you can find one....

Miami Vice's Excaliber - Originally made by Galoob, this body is dimensionally similiar to the datsun......Low, little or no tail. Lifelike remade these (California Cruisers) a few years ago so you're not forced to pay $35 and up for a Galoob original.

The Tony S car images have been released at last:

http://www.walthers.com/prodimage/0433/04330000009118.gif

The Stewy cars look a bit dull and muted in the picture but i assume they are brighter red in person. I will definitely buy them. LL did a great job with the COTs. I just picked up the 2009 versions of the #24, #48, and #88 cars and they all look very nice and ran great right out of the package. The #24 car is the best looker, nice paint scheme with bright colors. The #48 is the fastest, and strangely enough, in a case of art imitating life, the two #88 cars were a bit slower that the #24 and #48 cars even though they all came from the same manufacturer and had the same parts. Go figure.

I gots to have them Chevrolet Impala Old Spice/Office Depot cars myself!!! Maybe Jr.'s new crew chief will get him up too speed. Instead of getting all these engineers to help Jr., why not let Chad set the car up for a race, same as Jimmy's car??? I guess they have different driving styles, but you learn to adapt...RM

I like what Walthers has been doing with the COT bodies. I just wish they would address those awful looking wheels. I think the right wheels can make or break a car.

I saw one of Tony's OD cars at TMS. The red is actually sparkly, like a boat.

I like what Walthers has been doing with the 2009 COT bodies especially the #24.

You always find the Goodwrench crew checking out Wonder boys car!

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll258/XraceHO/IMG_0815.jpg

Just look at the flames!!!


http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll258/XraceHO/IMG_0818.jpg

Hope the new Fords come with a front splitter that represents the COT. Hope the #14 cars look as good as the pictures! ..RL

Yeah, they really did a great job on the latest #24 car. The #88 twin-pack is a very subtle change from the 2008 version. Unfortunately, it looks like the Fusions will still have an underbite on the splitter.

Tonight is the 2009 Life-Like Challenge at the HOPRA Nats. I had to miss it this year, but I'm sure it will be a blast. Life-Like is one of the good guys of our hobby and I am thrilled to see them putting out some solid products for one of the most popular racing venues AND supporting organized slot car racing.

Good luck Life-Like racers!

Not bad...
It's about time!

That is a good looking paint job!!! I'm waiting for the No.14 myself!!! I also want the Duck, Tiger, Dewalt, & Army cars...RM