August 13, 2020
#399
Gentle reader,
I have written before about the YouTube Phenomenon that is happening around the world and best represented by 3DBotmaker's YouTube Channel. Here is a link to their channel: (36) 3Dbotmaker - YouTube
We, like countless others, are going through the process of coming up with our own downhill (gravity) course. 3Dbotmaker has TWO courses, both new for 2020.
One, called King of the Mountain is a perfection of the previous mountain course seen in 2019 and earlier iterations he tried prior to 2019. He has learned by experimentation, trial and error and LOTS of races.
The second is DRC, for Diecast Rally Championship a Rally course which features a track layout with jumps and a bridge and other features which create truly exciting racing.
If all this puzzles you, please watch some of their races and the other DRC racing: (36) DRC Racing - YouTube This person is in Shri Lanka where Hot Wheels track is hard to get a hold of, so he created two epic downhill courses mostly from cardboard. The races are really interesting on both layouts.
3D uses a combination of his own 3D printed track components, Hot Wheels track and Crash Racers track. He has figured out what kind of paint to color Hot Wheels track to match the terrain in the rally course and the CR track in KoTM.
Here is one of the many layouts we have tried. At the top of the Hot Wheels track is a 3D printed starting gate. Below is a photo created by the makers of Crash Racers of their latest track made with the cooperation of NASCAR.
And here is a photo I made of an earlier version with 1950's cars which we found at Target.com for $30.
There actually is REAL Figure 8 racing in many US states. The idea is to MISS the other racers at the intersection, but many fans hope for crashes.
We bought a second Crash Racers set and combined the tracks to create this setup. A "corkscrew" downhill section attached to the ramp then goes into an oval, then turns right and another ninety degree curve ending with the cars hitting the pillow and landing in the box.
The girls really get excited and try and catch the cars. We have six young grandchildren and thus a lot of toys which provide materials to support various track pieces.
See the blue painter's tape on the CR track? Hot Wheels joiners do work, but don't stay together. I have figured out a solution to that. That will be in the next chapter.
Here is the 3D printed starting gate made by JLH Kraft Racing. It is designed to hook to the latest Hot Wheels track whose joiners are made to be easily slid into the track and be removed just as easily by pressing the round BLUE button at the track joints.
It has two screw holes included to secure the gate to wood or whatever you make your track structure out of.
Gate closed above and open below.
Tiny, but strong magnets hold the gate closed and magnetically swing it back up after it has been opened.
Since Mattel's patent on their Hot Wheels track has expired, other companies have climbed on the band wagon with their own tracks and pieces which readily join to HW track.
There are 3D printed dual-lane curves and chicanes ("S" bends) made, but they are pricey.
These MAX TRAXXX curve's drawback is their banking is abrupt which greatly slows the cars, called "scrubbing off speed" in the real racing world. Plus, they are glow-in-the-dark green. Also, wider cars can get stuck between the walls.
3D incorporates circa 1969 Hot Wheels dual curves into KoTM (painted grey to match the CR track) early on in the course, and in the beginning of the DRC course too.
So, I bought a set via eBay and created this test section as an idea for the beginning of our course.
Note how the blue section is right next to the downhill portion? That will allow us to have a fairly narrow layout with there being another downhill section of all Crash Racers track to complete the course.
The two sections of curves, being fifty years old, tend to separate slightly creating a misalignment which causes cars to crash in the middle of the turn. For now Gorilla Tape is doing a good job of keeping that from happening.
Above are my collected smaller scale diecast cars. Completed since this photo. The shelf, which I made to hold lots of books and cars, has a 1/4" thick Lexan cover removed for this photo to keep the cars dust-free and not played with.
We tested ALL of the hundreds of "play" Hot Wheels and other brands of cars on a scale 1/4 mile drag strip and on the various downhill courses to determine which are the quickest AND that can handle the corners without crashing.
You can see the blue push button HW track connector in this photo at lower left.
The case shown is a classic Hot Wheels case which came with a poorly designed divider to keep the cars in place. I created a stronger one from Plexiglass and a few things around the house. The sheer weight of the cars required addition of a few strips of Gorilla tape to help secure them when opening the case.
These cars are the "best of the best" when it comes to both types of racing: drag and gravity.
Many of you have also discovered that there is no consistency of speed in HW car production. I, like others, have bought a copy of one or more cars which did well in races seen on YouTube, only to find the one which came in the mail is not that quick.
One thing I have noticed in the 3Dbotmaker races is that ALL the cars are based upon real cars. Nothing wrong with that. I used to be prejudiced against original designed Hot Wheels cars. Not snobby, but a realist when it comes to little cars.
I have changed my views on that as there are many fantastic cars that Mattel's HW designers have made over the last fifty two years.
The three trucks in the case above, managed to make the cut as did ALL the other cars shown above, on the purely dual-lane track and corners combination. The cars below did not.
The cherry-picker white fire truck and chrome armored car did very well on the Crash Racers track courses we have tried out, but they and ALL of these cars could not complete the very short, but technically difficult track layout which I believe is a good START to building our own layout.
This is a lot of vintage Hot Wheels track I just bought via eBay. Note the "Esses" dual-lane track at the bottom. I have another one on the way with the two-lane Hot Wheels Sizzler braking device it attaches to also coming via eBay. Sizzlers are battery powered, electric motor powered cars they came out with in 1969.
I believe I can combine the two "S" curves into one long one and we will be using the classic HW track since it does not use any visible push button joiners like the modern track does.
That's it for now. Next chapter will be covering a way I came up with to not only connect the Crash Racers track to Hot Wheels track, but also will strengthen the entire length of CR tracks and allow for some creative methods of structure building.
Thank you SO much for taking the time to read this article. Please take a moment to click the FOLLOW button which is at the bottom of the long list of dates of previous articles. Also, feel free to leave a comment below or on Facebook.
Scott & Nancy
August 13, 2020
#399
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