Triumph TR250 by Mark Gussin
Airfix produced some superb 1:32nd scale static kits in the 1960s and 1970s. Some of these were re-released in the 1990s. One such model was the Triumph TR4a.
I always loved the look of many of the production based cars raced in the American Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) series, particularly Bob Tullius' beautifully prepared race cars. So I set about converting the Airfix static to look like his race car.
The first problem was reference material; adverts in old Road and Track magazines showing the car provided the best help. Then it was a matter of gathering the parts to make the slot car.
The Ninco Ferrari 166 chassis was the perfect answer. It was the correct wheelbase, had a guide that hardly extended in front of the front-axle (there is hardly any front overhang on the Triumph TR4A). I also used the Ninco Motor, gearing and front and rear axles. The wheels came from an old Scalextric Formula Junior car and the tyres came from the reissue SCX Fiat 850.
I
started off by glueing in the hood and the rear valance to the bodyshell.
The chassis was then cut 
back
at the front, the rear and along it's sides, to fit under the TR4a bodyshell.
Adding the front and rear axles, wheels and tyres I then set about mounting
the chassis to the bodyshell using 5mm diameter extruded plastic tubular
rod which is readily available from hobby shops.
Two
slightly over-length sections of plastic rod are cut off, they are then
screwed to the chassis through the two normal bodyshell to chassis fixing
holes. The tubular rod is then trimmed down until the bodyshell fits on
the chassis correctly. At this stage no modifications to the back of the
wheels has been done so the bodyshell should sit on the chassis leaving
a slight gap above the tyres. Once happy with this, superglue (CYA glue)
the posts to the bodyshell and leave to set. To assist the glue keying
into the plastic a little light sanding in the area 
where
the post is to be located in the bodyshell often helps. Once glued remove
the chassis by undoing the screws and add more glue and plastic angle
if require to strengthen the mounting post to bodyshell even more.
The kit's full interior cannot be used as the motor is located right underneath. So a platform has to be formed which is very easily done using plasticard. I also cut down the rear seat section of the kit to make the location of this platform simpler.
Once happy with the bodyshell the whole thing was painted using 1:1 acrylic car spray paints. First a primer then the top coat. Using these paints has made modelmaking so much simpler as they dry quickly and come in a huge variety of colours. After the paint is absolutely dry the grill, door handles, filler cap and boot handle were glued on and painted. Decals were then applied using railroad stripes and dry transfers (for the numbers). The driver name was added by printing off the name onto decal paper using a regular computer printer.
The
front windshield was a great solution. I used the rear screen of the kit
cut right down. It looks great, is damage proof and is just
like the 1:1 racing car.
The driver is MRRC's AC Cobra driver which is available separately. He requires cutting down a bit and painting but really looks great in position.
The tonneau cover was made using thin plasticard with a paper tissue stuck onto it to provide texture. The whole lot was then painted over in matt black paint.
The roll bar is made of brass rod bent and carefully soldered together, four bits in all, the joints were then filed down and tidied up. Painted gloss back it looks great and is quite functional protecting the little man when he is a bit over zealous at the corners.
Some
careful work is needed to get 
the
wheels to fit properly inside the body. This included reducing the length
of the axles, trimming back the spacer
lugs on the front of the chassis and trimming off the back of the wheel
slightly.
The wheels are smaller in diameter than the Ninco wires so the guide has to be modified slightly to raise it up. It was easy enough to do though just using a scalpel and care.
Lastly to get this little car to handle well I added some lead weight which made it far better to drive with cornering far more predictable.
