OK, here's something to ponder over the coming week.

If space and money were no object, you could invest whatever was needed into building a replica of a real world track, it has to be a major track that is currently raced on in a nationally ranked series, which track would you do?

Remember, it has to be an active track in Indy, Formula 1, Sports Cars, NASCAR, V8 Super Cars, anywhere world wide. And I'm talking about a faithful SCALE distance, layout and elevation changes. You have all the space you need and a Lowe's card with no spending limit.

Link to it if you can, I'm just interested in seeing what others like.

My choice, now as always, Mazda Laguna Seca Speedway, current configuration.

Eldora, Knoxville, & Williams Grove. Using REAL dirt from the respective tracks. Using just a routed slot & rails with the dirt filling the space between them, oiled, packed & rolled! THAT's my dream basement.

I like the way you think John. Your never afraid to push the envelope. A track like that would be a killer. very inovative.

Gonzo

I'm floored. I never would have thought of something as cool as that.

Gonzo, SOMEDAY I will build one. Maybe not too big the first time, just to see what the bugs are. It's been done for 1/24th scale cars with a modeling clay that doesn't harden & from the pictures that I saw it seems to work pretty good. Using real dirt might be a bit more of a challenge, but the clay from Attica, Limaland, & Eldora is hard as a rock when dry so if you get it smooth & not too wet it should work fine. I would think that the slots would need to be deeper though just to compensate for anything that might get in there. I have some major plans to redo the basement tracks in the next couple years & after that, this is next on the "to do list" :)

Pete, I was floored when I saw the pictures of your track with the banked turns that you did. I'd like to pick your brain in detail on how you did that, heating the track, etc. It looked perfect. Not too much banking like the normal banked track sections. Just enough.
....but yea, I've wanted to try this thing with the dirt for 20 years or so. It's slowly moving up on the "todo" list. Hope that all is going good with you.

I'll have to dig up and repost the rig I used for Sequoia. Heating was with a blow dryer, bending the rails was with a jewelers hammer with a plastic head, but getting it to stay in the position while it cooled was the trick. After I did that I did find an easier way to do it but never got to try it out. Sequoia's turns were banked at 10 degrees, the same as the track is was patterend after. Someday I'll have to tell you about the screen roller I made that when heated makes either cobblestone or brick lines on a plastic track. That was interesting once you got it right.

Dirt sounds good, you'd have to sift it pretty good to get "scale" dirt but I can imagine a Road Race Replica's water truck that holds about 2 ounces of water going around, spraying the track.

hrm...if space and money were no object....I'd have a 1 to 1 size Mid Ohio in my back yard....(It would be cheaper to move my house there)...

I did do Mid Ohio track in 4 lane Tyco a while back..filled up a 2 1/2 car garage.....it's a good track layout even for HO's...lots of elevation changes...

Walkers Glen reduex is great for a pure racing venue.....but it lacks a realistic real world type of feel...

I would say something along the lines of Portugal in a playroom...

http://www.f1specialties.com/main/racetrack/racetrack.html

But I cant imagine needing 15 people to marshal a two man race...

I think that if you guys actually built a true scale raceway that you'd be disappointed. I've raced on some really huge tracks with 30+ ft straights, and I couldn't see the far reaches of the track well enough to hit my braking points. IMO, 6' X 20' is about the max size for an HO track. However, I must admit, I WOULD like to run some laps on a scale Laguna Seca, or Road America. I'd just have to slow down when the car got too far away.

My table is 9'x26'. I still wish I had room for a larger table. The biggest problem of a scale track would be, who is going to crawl across to the middle of the table to marshal or put a car back in the slot...:lol:

Seriously, as long as I could landscape in scale also, I would love to do a scale Long Beach, or Montreal. Those are my favs!!!!
4-lane Brad Bowman, of course.

The big tracks will take a little hot lap session, but you do learn the track just like any other. Back in the 90's Chuck's Race Place had a 28 X 8 layout, running from unlimiteds to magnatractions. You learn where your points are. I raced the 24 hrs in Derby England in '96 8 lanes with an 80 ft straight.......my first hot lap I let off three times before I got to the turn at the end!....but you do learn the track just like any other. Brad (Brad's Tracks) has section by section redone the entire LeMans layout in custom built track, eliminating all of the plastic track. & I'm hoping to get back & run it again one of these years. BUT those big tracks NEED lots of marshals to work.

The biggest HO track I've ever run on was a 30 X 8 at a buddy's house, 4 lane and it was all the old Model Motoring track. It was 2K scale distance per lap, about a mile and a quarter, and very rough. But we raced Cobalt and later Neo cars on it until the guy moved and broke it all up. When I was about 6 or 7 I remember a big 1/24th scale track at a truck stop north of San Antonio, my oldest brother raced a Cox car there a few times and had me marshaling the cars I could reach. That track was huge, maybe 24 X 16, with cut outs in the middle to stick your head up through.

My Laguna Seca wasn't that big at 6 X 6, but there were only 2 of us able to drive clean laps with T-Jets. Everyone hated that track except Yoshi and myself.

I think that if you guys actually built a true scale raceway that you'd be disappointed. I've raced on some really huge tracks with 30+ ft straights, and I couldn't see the far reaches of the track well enough to hit my braking points. IMO, 6' X 20' is about the max size for an HO track. However, I must admit, I WOULD like to run some laps on a scale Laguna Seca, or Road America. I'd just have to slow down when the car got too far away.

One of our club tracks has a 30' back straight...not a problem....even in the dark...

My new table is 5 x 24 and would be longer if I had the room...:thumbsup:

Let's see. No $$$ worries, forget about marshalling, etc. I'd pick Nurburgring. Maybe a condensed version with the key elements. Landscaping would be awesome.
Something raceable, I would have to pick Road America, Leguna Seca or LeMans.
Jim

t-jet beat me to it. I'd pick Nurburgring. Who can really say they wouldn't want that?

meh...Mid Ohio! *snicker*

That longbeach layout could easily go four lanes.....do something like lemansaco..

http://www.corvetteracing.com/tracks/trk_img/longbeach/longbeach.gif

http://afxracing.com/cart/image.php?path=images/products&image=514&width=425&height

http://www.eldoraspeedway.com/image/index08.jpg

You'll need LOTS of little people to complete this project!

Watkins Glen, all decked out in fall colors of course with full scenery and to-scale elevation changes. I'm good to about 30 feet so that would be the hard limit on size. I'd probably dump an extraordinary amount into the scenery and race management system.

Gotta go with what AFX said...The Glen. That track has so much history to it and it's a great layout for racing.

5 lane routed, fully to scale in all directions, fully landscaped HO version of Brands Hatch long track, Circa 1986.

Plus the full grid of cars on Mega-G chassis of course!

If it POSITIVELY HAS TO BE a replica of a 1/1 circuit, currently in use, etc. I guess my choice would have to be Catalunya (Spain) or Interlagos (Brazil) as I believe that those courses, if reduced to slot car proportions, would give the best racing....with a light nod to Monaco for the fun of doing the scenery RIGHT!!!
Otherwise.....If someone would just ship me the Katzsparing.......I'd be a happy man.

Wishing you all well

KJR

Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana.

I was thinking Monaco too but as a local racer pointed out to be that even Laguna Seca has a 300' elevation change, in scale that would be 4.16'. I'm not sure what Monaco is but I'd hazard to say it's a bit more than 300'. OK, so throw "scale elevation changes" halfway out the window for now. The Laguna Seca I did had about a foot of elevation change but it was only a 6 X 6 layout, the Laguna Seca 4 lane current course I laid out that was within 300' of scale distance took 18' X 12'. A 2' elevation change would have been adequate for a track that size.

my track is 6x 24 and is a really good size for a h.o track ,my friend had a track that was 4x30 in his basement and i thought it was too long i couldnt really see my car at the other end of the track and hard to judge ,i like my new layout that i have because it has a 20 ' foot staight with some big 18'' bank turns,if you would like you can view my pictures i took awhile ago but the track looks alittle different now been doin some senery stuff and havent took any pics lately, and whats really funny is about a week ago we was hangin out in the garage and a buddy said that we should make a dirt track, since we all are dirt track drivers ,crews and fans we thought that would be really cool to do, man some of earls clay off of eldora would be sweet if tony would let any slide out ,i would say put it in a cooler but that would get you busted,i guess the next time i race there i will keep the mud we scrape off the race car. thanks gary [ frankenstien speedway]

How about Road America in Elkhart great history.

http://www.roadamerica.com
http://www.grandprixcities.com/000sitepics/elkhartlake03map.jpg

Has anyone ever seen the Aisle of Mann TT motorcycle race course, That would be the one for me to recreate.
lots of elevations, turns and eternity straights, with enough quick turns to make it interesting.

Do a google on the isle of map TT maps

Money & space no object.......:thumbsup:

Targa Florio - (92 miles)

Mille Miglia - (1000 Miles)

Both ran races through the Italian mountains, countryside and then down to sea level dropping thousands of feet/meters encountering everything from snow at the higher elevations to sleet, rain and sun not to mention they did it through small mountian towns on unpaved and/or cobblestone streets, spectators and villas were mere inches from the track/road surface. Oh and while I'm at it (Money space no object).........I would want everything fully detailed with buildings, houses, goats on the side of the mountain etc.

If you’re not familiar with these long lost races, you should Google them or purchase one of the many books available. It took a real pair of brass ones to run in these events and some of the most famous vintage race cars and drivers from around the world participated. Ferrari, Lotus, Chaparral, Porsche, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Maserati...Moss, Fongio, Collins, Siffert, Redmen etc.

MANY of the 1:32 and HO slot cars we play with are from these races........In fact, I think Fly is trying to do ALL of them with their one body 52 paint scheme theme!

LOL

-------------------------
www.SlotCarJohnnies.com

THIS IS A MUST TO CHECK OUT THIS GUY ACTUALLY DID THIS!!
Sad story though he lost his battle a few years ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RdBpW0FULY

How about this one? If time, money and especially space where truly not a factor what about the Dakar rally

Here is a link to some better pics
http://www.toycollector.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=The-Amazing-Katz-Spa-Ring.html&Itemid=157

SCJ - Even the goats in your landscaping. Made me laugh. I read about the first Mille Miglia. They didn't know how long it would take so they packed all kinds of extra clothes for the trip planning for a few days. Then they finished in one day, I think. Amzaing stuff.
Jim

How about that new Abu Dhabi circuit? Complete with lights, boats, and neon borders.

http://www.autoarabia.org/photos/main/100909-162216.jpg

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

How about that new Abu Dhabi circuit? Complete with lights, boats, and neon borders.

http://www.autoarabia.org/photos/main/100909-162216.jpg

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I thought about that...but I found the xtra cost of the extra HO security to stop the HO suicide bombers from attacking my HO civilians was too high a cost...

:tongue:

Lmao :)

I thought about that...but I found the xtra cost of the extra HO security to stop the HO suicide bombers from attacking my HO civilians was too high a cost...

:tongue:

True dat Crim...but what a great oppurtunity for some Addam's family type mischief.

I can see it now; Gomez and Fester adorned with turbans, substituting RPG's for dynamite.