Has anyone else used slot cars to motorise 1:76th road vehicles?

[Captain Slough]

I've been slowly disposing of all but the key items of my excessive model collection for a month or so now and using this forum to help me understand what demand exists for various elements and also to bring myself up to date with the markets and the "new" models that my used sales are competing with

 

i built my collection through the mid to late 1990s and was trying to build an entire world compressed into my parents attic so I had a variety of UK and continental trains running on an extensive circuit and also eventually working road vehicles. Which it felt at the time I was the only person trying to do on a homebrew basis.... I'm slighly surprised there still doesnt seem to be a real scene for this.

 

Faller car system came available at this time but was way beyond my economic reach so my road services were run with Tower Models RT and Olympian buses sitting on Tyco/AFX slot car chassis using a standardised slot-in chassis unit that I made to fit any of my buses, which had the power unit from a F1 slot car on the bottom, a small switch at the front and a battery holder for 2 triple-A 1.5v cells on top and within the body (Also had one that retained its pickups and took power from the slot-car road, this one proved problematic to control)

 

I later also built a London trolleybus by severely hacking 2 Tower Models RT buses that ran off BRAWA/EHEIM trolleybus system catenary, and actually took power from the overhead.  This one was always a little problematic,being under more dynamic pressures than the battery-powered RTs and having a more inconsistent power supply.  An original BRAWA//EHEIM continental trolleybus also served the same route, rather more reliably.

[russ p]

14 minutes ago, Captain Slough said:

I've been slowly disposing of all but the key items of my excessive model collection for a month or so now and using this forum to help me understand what demand exists for various elements and also to bring myself up to date with the markets and the "new" models that my used sales are competing with

 

i built my collection through the mid to late 1990s and was trying to build an entire world compressed into my parents attic so I had a variety of UK and continental trains running on an extensive circuit and also eventually working road vehicles. Which it felt at the time I was the only person trying to do on a homebrew basis.... I'm slighly surprised there still doesnt seem to be a real scene for this.

 

Faller car system came available at this time but was way beyond my economic reach so my road services were run with Tower Models RT and Olympian buses sitting on Tyco/AFX slot car chassis using a standardised slot-in chassis unit that I made to fit any of my buses, which had the power unit from a F1 slot car on the bottom, a small switch at the front and a battery holder for 2 triple-A 1.5v cells on top and within the body (Also had one that retained its pickups and took power from the slot-car road, this one proved problematic to control)

 

I later also built a London trolleybus by severely hacking 2 Tower Models RT buses that ran off BRAWA/EHEIM trolleybus system catenary, and actually took power from the overhead.  This one was always a little problematic,being under more dynamic pressures than the battery-powered RTs and having a more inconsistent power supply.  An original BRAWA//EHEIM continental trolleybus also served the same route, rather more reliably.

 

Minic motorway was probably the closest thing but they were a little overstate

Not slot related but I motorised an EFE bristol LS using a miniature radio controlled car chassis about 20 years ago,  I got it working but never did finish it

[Captain Slough]

lol, minic motorway - yeah I've got some of that too as my first attempt but it was too troublesome, which was why I started using then-new Tyco as a basis.

 

All three of the Minic cars I bought either didnt work or failed pretty quickly.  Still got the double-track level crossing with Triang Super-4 track intersecting it, and recently sold a Minic Motorway working motorail terminal with wagon for a nice sum on eBay