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FLY Porsche 911s
24H. Le Mans 1972
Mini Review by Leo (GSR) / Nuro (SlotForum)
Click on images for bigger version
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| This latest Fly model is going to be popular. It seems that every collector over 30 will want on of these.
This classic model looks really good, despite unwanted tooling lines and molding trim from the headlights along the bonnet ending at the windscreen. The overall shape is correct. Painting and tampo printing are clear. Tires are also printed with the Firestone logo but unfortunately rub-off easily to the touch.
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| The car has some lovely accessories like the front spot-lights and the rear vents for cooling the motor. The chassis has been made to look like a real car, with painted, molded exhaust and engine. The rims are a little bit deceiving and let the model down.
We like the interior. FLY has made a good job with the driver; it is a complete figure which is attired and kitted out like a real driver from the 70s, with open helmet and dust filter over the nose. The cockpit has a complete detailed and painted dashboard, interior fittings and roll cage.
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| The surprise comes in the inside of the car when you open it up. As with the real 1:1 car, the sidewinder motor has been placed behind the rear axle. Cables are kept tidy onto the chassis by means of small plastic clips. The rest of the interior is very clean. |
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The car out of the box (with magnet) has no surprises, stuck to the rail as all Fly cars do. The mechanics and running are fine.
Handling without magnet is a little bit difficult due this atypical motor layout, all the weight is at the back of the model. It doesn?t help much the fact that the chassis sits quite a bit off the track. Controlled sliding is almost impossible, and the car de-slots very easily. We have to decrease the speed or else the guide comes out the slot. |
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| Update 17/12/2004:
Here are some more photos with lead added to the front of the chassis to balance the weight of the rear motor.
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| Update 19/12/2004:
OK, we continue to bring you info on this Porsche. We'll try and be kind, as it's such a beautiful model only let down by its poor handling.
Let?s try to improve the drivability. We're testing the model on a flat NINCO track with lots of bends and curves. The first idea is to add a strip of lead behind the front axle to distribute weight of the car. The car is a ?wild? horse?and it still is not right, though sliding can be a little bit more controlled, the guide pops out frequently from the slot. So, we added two more pieces of lead in front of the guide. No way. The car de-slots as soon as we increase speed coming out of a wide corner.
But we don?t give up. The next test is done in a SCX rally track with ups and downs, close curves and a long straight. The ?wild? horse becomes a ?crazy? bull charging against the barriers of the circuit. There is something we feel in the long straight: the front of the car vibrates. It might be due fact that the guide support is too close to the rail and that there is no up and down play in the shaft of the guide. It seems that there is no margin for error between the irregularities of the track and the delicate model, and the lead just emphasizes this fact.
If we want to make the car competitive the only way is changing the chassis. We suggest two possible solutions. The first is aimed for handy people with lots of free time: modifying their own Fly chassis, cutting a little bit the guide support in order to let the guide move a little more, and then fit the front axle with low profile tires. The second one is the easy and quick one but it is more radical: changing the chassis completely. We would suggest fitting a Slot.it HRS, but then the inside of the car has to be modified in order to fit the new motor layout.
Good luck to you if you go down either of these routes. It is a pity that a beauty such as this should stay on the shelf instead of running wild in the track. If you have any good suggestion, please post them here.
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Look forward to the Fly 911t soon.
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| Review provided by
GSR/SlotForum 12/'04
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