Whilst I suppose it could be argued that perhaps I Should have 'posted' this in The Scale Section of the Forum,.....I thought it might actually be of somewhat More interest to Our Often 'Denigrated' Class/Choice of cars we Retro Racers choose to race,..not always,..BUT there Always seems to be some belief that the Bodies we run are Nothing like the Real Cars,..Not Scale etc,...
Well,..whilst there have been times (and with certain bodies I Most Definitely Do Agree),...BUT,..MANY of the Bodies that are (according to the Original D3 Rules), and available via TrueScale, Outisight etc, that are 'Reproductions', of Bodies from the 'Molds' that were available back then etc,..
Whilst 'Rummaging' around amongst the Gazillion Car and Reference pics I have amassed over the years, I came across this (If Nothing else 'Technically' interesting 'Blueprint' of a McLaren M8A.
I was sitting here with the image on the screen and one of My "TrueScale", M8A's in view as well, I noticed JUST How similar they 'Looked',..so I grabbed it and Placed it Over the Image on the Screen,...and Bugger Me !!,..it was SO Close I could Hardly Believe it !!!
So,..Off to Photoshop I go and 'armed' with the Dimensions from the McLaren Trust and when one 'Sizes' the Blueprint 'Correctly',..the M8A Slot Car Body, is So Damn Close to ABSOLUTE Dimensions,..it is actually Weird !!,..I mean Really, it is within almost a few thou !!!
For a Class that is Supposed to be running,..somewhat Flattened, Wider/Longer, Massaging's of the Real Car, it is rather Amazing Really.
Even the Body's Side 'Flank' Height is Also very close to 'Spot On' !!
The Lack of Scale 'Appearance', is The Wheels and Tyres !!!
Obviously as we Race with much smaller Tyres and an effective ground Clearance that could Not be used in Real Life.
In Retro, as we aren't Trying to Emulate Scale Cars, moreso Slot Cars from the Past, so it Isn't an 'Issue' as such, but as there Is Room for Bigger Wheels/Tyres,..IF You Ran it With 'Scale' Ride Height, it Would be a Pretty Damn Accurate 'Model' of a McLaren.
The work/Art of the guys that Carved the Molds for the Likes of Lancer, Dynamic, Kirby etc Waaay back,..like Lloyd Ashbury and Some others, were Truly Amazing !!,..The 'Detail' those Bodies had was Astounding and Few these days Manage to replicate That kind of Quality.
So,..if you happen to Have one of Victor's Truescale McLaren M8A's,..then you Can Race & Rest Easy,..Knowing you are Racing a Body as Close to Proper 'Size' and Scale than (at the Moment), any others I can also provide Similar 'Reference' to,...BUT,..I am Now really starting to have a Good Look,..lol
Unfortunately, I Don't have the ability to Show the Comparison 'Directly',..(right at this Time), but I'll bring the camera Home tomorrow and Post one asap,..bet Here is the 'Blueprint' and the Dimensions, from the Document Here;http://www.bruce-mclaren.com/the-cars/canam/m8a.html
Wheelbase: 94" (3.92" in 1/24th), Front Track:57.6", Rear Track: 56"
Interesting Huh!??
Cheers,
Stewart
I had inquired as to Victor at Truescale's Interest in producing some Scale Bodies and He was Very Interested, He was also Very interested in the Plafit 'Scale' type of racing as he enjoys that himself and would like to see More of it in the US.
So I guess I'll 'have ta have a Yarn with him',..lol about some other Possibilities.
I noticed he has acquired some Molds from the past from another 'source', so may have some 'Gems from the Past' to Add to he Catalogue of already Fine Bodies.
