Mini Cooper
A classic Mini Cooper racer from the 1960's - this is the sort of car I'm aiming for.....
In the background is the original MRRC shell. In the foreground is one that I've cleaned up & modified. Main things are cleaning up flash, scraping out the rain channels round the roof, rounding off the top of the front wings, and, of course, adding the classic flared wheel arches !
I started with the basic MRRC slot car version of the Mini. It's a simplified reprint, based on the Airfix 1/32 scale static kit of the Mini. I'm going to use one of these to produce a detailed 'club racing' version.
Not too much here - framed the rear side window, and scored the front side windows in and out to represent the two sliding bits of this window.
NOTE - wheel arch sizes have subsequently been reduced, for 10-in as opposed to the 12-in wheels originally selected.
Front - from the bottom up - new front valance; side indicator lights cut from clear orange plastic ( slot car light bits ); radiator grill from guy on EBay who sells MRRC bits and note bottom corners modified so they turn out a bit; racing bonnet straps from bits & bobs of scrap; Mini Cooper badge on front of bonnet; headlamps modified from a couple of small-scale tank kit road wheels, drilled out & lined with foil ( there are clear lenses to go in ); windscreen washer nozzles ( yellow ); stubs for windscreen wipers ( grey ); windscreen has been framed; rear view mirror inside windscreen.
Rear - from the bottom - exhaust pipe, under new rear valance; new rear lights, made up from clear plastic ( slot car light bits ); small boot handle; twin fuel filler caps; rear window framed.
Chassis left - the original MRRC chassis is in the background. It's a flat plate, with assorted mounts underneath for Mabuchi motor and suspension ( including an Ackermann steering front unit ), and on top is a basic head-and-shoulder driver, and a bit of steering wheel. The whole car is so tiny that there's no real way of doing much detail in the interior.
In the foreground is my revised version, where I've done my best to improve things. There's boxing in underneath to provide wheel arches and to cover the motor a bit more ( visible underneath car otherwise ). I've added a roll bar, racing steering wheel, chrome instrument binnacle, and improved the driver as much as possible - arms, safely straps, detailed helmet, new face ( without goggles ); the driver's painted with matt enamels, then glossed where needed. Finally, the wheels; these 'Minilite' wheels come from a Revell Lotus Cortina slot car - they're far too small for the Cortina, but look good on the Mini. I've reverse-engineered the screws that hold the front wheels on, so they come in from the back and don't spoil the look of these nice wheels.
NOTE - wheels subsequently changed for Scalextric 10-in minilite wheels instead !
Finished ( the only extra bit of construction was making up the windscreen wipers........ )
The shell was keyed with fine sandpaper, thoroughly cleaned and the parts under the blue primed with enamel primer The white areas i.e. roof, bonnet stripes remain unpainted. I then applied 2 / 3 coats of Prussian Blue acrylic, followed by chroming - Bare-Metal foil, and chrome paint for the fiddly bits. The decals - the racing numbers are Letraset dry transfers. The sponsor logos etc. came from Patto's Place sheets. The whole thing was then glossed with Klear acrylic floor polish, which also holds down and blends in the decals, and I ran gloss enamel varnish over the chrome to hold it down and toughen it a bit.
