JULY 20th - PROGRESS
The Sunbeam #107, from the 1965 Monte Carlo is turning out a little better than expected for what was a very poor model.
The Morris Minor is probably the best of the three models, but the headlights and wheels were very poor, so I've had to order some replacements.
JUNE 17th - NEW RESIN KITS
Three new resin kits arrived recently, a Datsun 240Z, a Sunbeam Alpine Tiger, both by OCAR, and a Morris Minor.
As usual with resin kits, they're a fairly mixed bag, but as always they each have their own unique charm.
MAY 18th - NEW VIDEOS
We've now added a whole bunch of new videos covering 70s rallying, the original RAC Rally, and the more recent historic RAC.
There's also a music video which features the Whichwood Quarry track and some dodgy looking drivers!
MARCH 20th - NEW RALLY CIRCUIT PLAN
Ahvenisto Circuit, Hämeenlinna, Finland. As used on the 1968 1000 Lakes Rally.
Here's an old British documentary of the event. In the film the circuit is described as "Scalextric like" and unusually, the cars line up five abreast and set off at 3 second intervals.
DECEMBER 10th - RAC RALLY
This year's Roger Albert Clark rally was a white out, very cold, very snowy and generally inhospitable in the weather department. Good, that's just how it should be every once in a while.
Great job by everybody concerned to keep it running, and congratulations to Stefaan Stouf and Joris Erard for the overall victory.
OCTOBER 28th - NEW CARS
Time to catch up on some new cars. First, the magnificent Maserati 250F, driven by Juan Manuel Fangio. This isn't a new model, it's actually the Scalextric anniversary tin plate edition released a few years back, but it was on sale at a bargain price so it had to be bought.
Next, the SCX model of Pauli Toivonen's Citroen DS21 which controversially won the 1966 Monte Carlo Rally, the Scalextric Lotus Cortina in which Vic Elford won the 1964 Coupe des Alpes, and the Auto Art Lancia Fulvia which Sandro Munari drove to victory on the 1972 Monte Carlo.
These three cars arrived in the summer and had a run out at the Hunmanby Raceway. Perhaps surprisingly the Citroen was a really nice car to drive considering it's long wheelbase and narrow rear end. Less surprisingly, the Cortina, like many Scalextric cars was overpowered without a magnet and proved a bit of a handful. The Lancia Fulvia was unfortunately totally incapable of completing a lap, though I'm not yet sure what the problem was.
And finally, a couple of resin kit cars, a Sunbeam Alpine, and a Datsun 240Z
AUGUST 22nd - AUTO 64
Last weekend the Auto 64 Rally visited the Hunmanby Raceway, with a new track layout, new cars and new scenery. It was a cut down version of the full circuit as space in the car was limited, but in spite of that, it looked pretty cool and was quite a challenging drive, with plenty of varaiation.
As usual there are more photos in the Auto 64 Gallery, and there is also a detailed track layout page.
APRIL 17th - NEW SCENERY
Check out the scenery page for some ideas on how to add buildings, trees, rocks, straw bales and backgrounds to the track.
I've recently discovered a really simple, very cost effective way to make small shrubby trees, typical of the sort of tree that might grow on English scrubland or at the edge of a wood. As well as being cheap and simple, I think they look great, though I should also say that they're quite fragile. If we had a permanent track it wouldn't be a problem, but packing the trees away is going to be difficult.
APRIL 17th - NEW CARS
We have several new cars for the Auto 64 Rally, including Paddy Hopkirk's Mini, a beautiful model from Scalextric and winner of the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally. Next we have Henri Toivonen's Talbot Sunbeam from SCX, winner of the 1981 RAC Rally. Finally, on it's second release, the second of Timo Makinens hat trick of RAC winners, a 1974 Ford Escort RS1600.
MARCH 30th - NEW MAGAZINE
The Auto 64 Rally now has it's own magazine, featuring the cars we've got, and the history that inspired our miniature slot car rally series.
Auto 64 Magazine (30mb PDF)
We've also got an Oliver's Mount magazine which explores the circuit's relationship with the R.A.C. Rally.
Oliver's Mount Magazine (9mbPDF)
MARCH 12th - NEW PHOTOS
Here are a few snaps of the latest scenery and cars on the Auto 64 Rally. There are more photos in the Auto 64 Gallery.
MARCH 9th - NEW CARS
There are two new additions to the Auto 64 stables. I finally managed to finish the kit of Timo Makinnen's 1975 RAC winning Escort MkII. It's not a great car, partly because it's an innacurate model, partly because it was a bad casting and partly because I made some mistakes in making it. But I had to have this particular livery, because it was there on Oliver's Mount in 75 when I first saw rally cars on my favourite circuit.
The second new arrival is Timo again, this time winning the 1973 RAC rally in a Scalextric MkI Escort.
NOVEMBER 19th - KIT CARS
Finally got two of my kit cars finished. It's been quite a challenge and quite expensive, but I thoroughly enjoyed building them. The Saab 96 by Ocar is a decent model, not too much cleaning up required and all the metal accessories like bumpers, mirrors and lights, really make it a nice looking model.
The Escort model is, quite frankly a dog. By far the worst of the three models. Badly modelled and very poorly cast. It's quite possible that this is beyond my fairly limited modelling skills and patience. We'll see.