Open Track diecast racing
Well, open track testing has begun and it didn't take me long to realize..."I'm not in Kansas anymore".
I assembled a "U" shaped turnaround coarse with 2 single entry lanes(each 5ft long) which transition onto 5ft of strait 'Fat Track', then 1 180deg banked curve followed by a wide, 10ft long straight away to the finish. This is, by no means, a fair coarse for competition. But it does allow me to get a first-hand look of how these cars behave on an open track...both individually and together.
After only a few hours of rolling cars around this short coarse, I've created some of the exciting side-by-side racing, rubbing, and passing action that I had envisioned. But its also forced me to throw out several of my previous notions. First of all, more cars.
GspeedR
Here are my 1st 'open track' video attempts including "chase footage" from the perspective of my HW Video Racer...sorry about the poor lighting of my spare room.
and
...its a start.
Today, I made a wedge-shaped starting ramp out of a cardboard fender box which has finally enabled 3 car runs. The 3 lane entry drops 42" @ 36deg and provides most cars with more than enough yet, but give me time. I'm starting to notice some distinct patterns in the rolling line of certain cars, especially in the curve. Then again, cars like the Cat-A-Pult are totally unpredictable...but it sures gets around the coarse pretty well.
GspeedR
...and here are a few open track chases featuring "The Hot Ones".
My 3-Window `34 & Neet Streeter were running some consistently fast lines during solo runs, so I decided to get `em on video. They seem to negotiate the banked curve surprisingly well, despite their high center of gravity. (Right now, the good use!!
GspeedR, If you get a chance, show some overhead video footage of the cars as they go into and come out of the U-Turn just so we can see how they track through and exit from the curve.
If you only have a Hot Wheels Video Racer to record footage, then use it like a regular camera instead of having it race along with the cars =)
Awesome!