I’ve covered the topic of resin bodied slot cars at some length. It’s a topic that deserves attention because there are a lot of cool people out there making cool stuff, and for that we should all be grateful. But sometimes, you want something a little nicer, so consider this post an entreaty to any entrepreneurial slotheads who may be out there: the HO world needs-and I mean NEEDS-some of the coolest and most famous cars ever as high quality bodies for the T-Jet platform. A couple of these might be a little obscure (and I’ll admit one is a personal indulgence), but some are so obvious that its almost shocking that no one has ever made these!
Maybe resin might cut it, but they’d have to have good window inserts and preferably separately molded bumpers in the few cases where bumpers are appropriate. So, what follows is my “wish list.” When might we see these automotive icons thundering down our tracks?
Mercedes-Benz 300SL coupe
- Let’s start off with a NO BRAINER! One of the most successful, most beautiful, and most famous racing cars of the post-war era is nowhere to be seen for the T-jet chassis! Some enterprising young’un gave is a pretty good 300SLR coupe, and that was cool, but they only built 1 of those; where’s the one we all know and love? I have several die-cast models on my diorama but I want one on the track!
Aston Martin DB4GT
- Another no brainer! A breathtakingly beautiful car nicknamed “The Englishman’s Ferrari”, to which I respond, a Ferrari wishes it was this cool! And as if the “regular” SWB GT coupe isn’t awesome enough to make into a slot car (hint: it is), then how about the even more Italianate Zagato version? We’re waiting…still waiting…
Jaguar E-Type “Low Drag” Lightweight
- There are lightweight E-Types in both coupe and hardtop roadster form. All these aluminum bodied cars are beautiful and special, but the “Low Drag” version went even farther, with its wide haunches and bulging midsections making an already cat-like car look even more sleek and dangerous! Although only 1 was ever “officially” built by the factory in 1962 (though some swear there were 2), many copies have been built which are just as good, if not better, than that first one. Even with its altered profile it’s hard to mistake this beautiful car for anything other than a Jaguar, and who wouldn’t want to race one in scale when the priceless real things are out of reach for mere mortals?
Ferrari 250GT California Spyder
- There are a lot of cool Ferraris that should be made in scale-the 1955 SuperAmerica coupe and 1957 LWB Tour de France Berlinetta are two I would pick-but I picked the California Spyder for this list because its so well known. It’s strange how few of these cars are seen on racing tracks today, since that’s what they were built for; and it can’t be the money, because people do race 250 GTOs which are even more insanely valuable! Learned Ferraristi know there are 2 versions-the long wheelbase and the short-and I don’t care which one gets rendered as a T-Jet because I love them both. Let’s put a California Spyder back on the racing track where it belongs!
Sunbeam Tiger
- Now I know this one has been made as a resin casting, but it wasn’t quite up to scratch IMHO. A while ago I profiled a very nice but very mysterious resin version of the Series 1 Sunbeam Alpine that I’m very happy with, but the Tiger-based on the Series 2 Alpine-is a must-have for the track. Maybe we already have enough models of Ford powered cars? Naaaahhhh…
TVR Griffith 200
- While on the topic of the huge array of Ford-powered cars seen on racing tracks in the golden age, this one is a little farther afield than the famous Cobra or even the Sunbeam Tiger, but the TVR Griffith is a little terror on the track and would make a really cool racer on your tabletop, too!
Bizzarrini Strada 5300GT
- So if you’re tired of all the Ford Motor-vation, I suggest very strongly that some kind soul render this beautiful Chevrolet-powered mo-sheen for us to enjoy! Originally the Iso Grifo A3/C (“C” standing for “Competizione”, not to be confused with the roadgoing A3/L or “Lusso”), then called the Grifo 5300 and finally the Bizzarrini Strada 5300GT, all of which are mouthfuls, but it doesn’t matter what you call it: its one of the coolest sports-racing cars ever, and they look even better on a track at speed than they do sitting still! How can you go wrong with a car designed by the engineer who built the Ferrari 250GTO with a Chevy small block under the hood??? I’d consider a resin copy to get the ball rolling, but this car deserves the full factory-made treatment!
MG B GT
- I call this another no-brainer for the simple reason that they built a million of these things! There are still plenty of them around today, and while perhaps not one of the most spectacular of British sports cars, they are well loved, well recognized, and well raced! The coupe version is especially cool dressed up for the track, but this one probably won’t work in resin, since any MG fan will tell you it isn’t right without a chrome grille!
Austin Healy 3000
- I’ll round out this list with yet another famous British Car which is still seen on racing tracks all over the world to this day, but has never been seen at the HO races! This is another natural!
Rambler American wagon
- So here’s my indulgence: look, I like Ramblers, OK? And I don’t care how many manly men will snicker when I say it: the 1958-60 American wagon is just adorable! It really is! Its like an American VW bug! I’d love to have one in red or baby blue with a rack on the top for surfboards! Johnny Lightning gave us one in die-cast (I have several!), now lets get a lightened one for the track!
But OH! I can hear it now: “Why doncha make yer own slot cars, huh?”
Hmmmm…well don’t think it hasn’t occurred to me! I’m looking at 3D printers, but of course its not that simple; the hardware and the substrates are actually the easy part; the hard part is the modeling and framing, and the software for that is expensive, and actually doing it is time consuming and challenging. But yeah, I’m thinking about it… And if I do, you can bet you’ll read about it here first! I just hope that someone smarter than I am beats me to it!
In the meantime-while we’re still waiting-I’d like to hear from you, dear readers: what do you want to see on your track?
Actually, I’m shocked that most of the models you referenced are not being made, the Mercedes, Jag, Aston Martin, and Ferrari all seem like some of the first ones that would be made. I’m right with you on those Ramblers and I’d like to have one myself! I think that would be a fine car to see on a track, maybe through in some Studebaker’s too!