Car purchased from Slot Car Corner – Slot.it Alfa 155 V6TI – DTM 1994 Norisring – Michael Bartels
The latest release of the Slot.it DTM series has arrived at my door. The decision to purchase it was rather easy: I just like cars in Jägermeister paint. Perhaps a very simple minded reason to choose a slot car, but I’m not alone.
And aside from this paint job, it is the same as the first release we reviewed of the Slot.it Alfa Romeo 155 V6TI.
So I chose a slot car based on just the decoration? Yes. Is this madness? Quite possibly. Yet, there are many out there who are afflicted with this same madness. In our small hobby, you can take almost any car and adorn it with a popular paint scheme and instantly transform it from a boring, dust collecting shelf queen to an instant fan favorite.
For classic road racing aficionados, themes like GULF, Martini, and this one are tops on the list.
This series is one of those that doesn’t seem to have much appeal at first. I certainly have no real identity with the 1:1 series and even less with the cars raced in it. 4 door import sedans of that era could likely be near the bottom of my personal preference list.
The excuse to choose the first one? Easy: It’s a Slot.it. This may sound biased and you would be correct. But I cannot help but prefer the brand due to the quality, performance out of the box, and the overall value it delivers. And last time I checked (and The General checked my budget) I am still in this hobby, which means if Slot.it has a new car released you can be sure it will be in my hands as soon as possible.
The model looks just fine to me. Markings are clean enough and the colors close to prototype. I always give a little here and there on color matching because it can be difficult to say the least.
Detail level is more than enough for my eyes. I am one of those that like scale detail, but do not want it interfering with performance. Slot.it has produced that balance for me.
That performance is the other half of why this series is appealing. The models are smooth and quiet to drive and easily tuned for our wood track. With just a tire change and some lead added here and there, they provide all the door to door fun you can ask for.
Some racers do not care for them due to the overall model being a little high. Well, that is how the 1:1 cars were. I don’t want every car to drive the same in my hobby. I don’t expect this model to handle like a modern LMP car nor do I want it to. I like to have models with their own character.
That is the heart of what scale racing is to me. I want each model to challenge me a little on the track and not simply act like any other before it.
The series Slot.it has introduced hasn’t been talked about much, but it is in it’s infancy. With a second entry in the series, this will help many home racers decide to try them. Quite a few home tracks are 2 lanes and just having a matched running mate increases the appeal.
-Harry
