Nonno slot goes 1960's

[Andrew Rowland]

As most of you won't be aware of this minor Italian hobby builder I thought i'd post this link.

www.tuttoslot.it/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18435

Not sure they are totally to scale but nice enough looking set of cars.

[David Lawson]

About 45 years ago I stood squashed into a tiny and very hot room in the Westcliff Hotel, the audience numbered a few hundred and I was next to the stage a couple of feet from Thijs van Leer and Jan Akkerman as they performed. That night I heard the Dutch band Focus for the first time and they were fabulous.

Roll on about 20 years and I was squashed into a tatty smokey Irish pub in North London watching the brilliant Christie Moore performing in front of a small sized audience.

There is something great about seeing rock and folk acts before they break into the big time become mainstream and go on to perform at large venues and on TV and radio, those performances and the rapport with the tiny audience is magical and you feel part of something special and almost private.

What has this rambling got to do with slot cars.....

I will be branded a slot car snob or elitist and shot down in flames for saying this but there are now so many new producers of F1 cars from most of the various eras that for me there is a danger that this small niche area of the hobby will be lost to a new wave of people racing F1 as just another class at their clubs or open meetings and the small band of enthusiasts who love the cars and the history of grand prix racing will be trampled in the crush.

Some days I think back fondly to those times when converting some old 1960s Airfix and Scalextric cars, detailing and modifying a cheap Charlie Fitzpatrick shell or carving a balsa shell was what it was all about.

Phew, I'm glad I got that off my chest.....

David

[Mark Huber]

Andi,

I tried to access Nonno Slot’s website but literally drew a blank.

I see that you reviewed the Nonno Slot Brabham BT55 a number as years ago for SlotForum, so you have some familiarity with the company and are fluent in Italian as I remember. What more can you tell us about the company and its products?

www.slotforum.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=Nono-Brabham

Of course my interest in any 60s era shell, RTR or kit is almost always whether the product would be useful for a scratch building project. I don’t find collecting shelf queens or even RTR cars that perform well to be that rewarding. But that is me, and I don’t suppose that Nonno Slot builds these cars with folks like me in mind.

With that said, I am wondering about the scale and accuracy of the car. The pictures of the Ferrari show what appears to be a clam shell construct. I may have seen some packages of painted shells only; although my real preference would be to buy unpainted resin shells or kits if the car was reasonably accurate. Yes, I was intrigued by the exhausts.. (once a kit a basher, always a kit basher!)

I see that the company did not sell outside of Italy—at least not in 2012. If that is still the case, I won't be able to buy any of these shells even if I liked the answers.

[Chris Wright]

Oct 19, 2014 9:00:40 GMT -5 Mark Huber said:

Andi,

I tried to access Nonno Slot’s website but literally drew a blank.

I see that you reviewed the Nonno Slot Brabham BT55 a number as years ago for SlotForum, so you have some familiarity with the company and are fluent in Italian as I remember. What more can you tell us about the company and its products?

www.slotforum.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=Nono-Brabham

Of course my interest in any 60s era shell, RTR or kit is almost always whether the product would be useful for a scratch building project. I don’t find collecting shelf queens or even RTR cars that perform well to be that rewarding. But that is me, and I don’t suppose that Nonno Slot builds these cars with folks like me in mind.

With that said, I am wondering about the scale and accuracy of the car. The pictures of the Ferrari show what appears to be a clam shell construct. I may have seen some packages of painted shells only; although my real preference would be to buy unpainted resin shells or kits if the car was reasonably accurate. Yes, I was intrigued by the exhausts.. (once a kit a basher, always a kit basher!)

I see that the company did not sell outside of Italy—at least not in 2012. If that is still the case, I won't be able to buy any of these shells even if I liked the answers.

It appears that Nono Slots web-site has been abandoned. They (he) does have a facebook page; www.facebook.com/nonnoslot?sk=wall
Close-ups of some of the cars are grungy, but he does seem to be manufacturing still.

Chris

[Mark Huber]

Thanks Chris. I took a look at the Nonno Slot Facebook site.



These 4 cars of course are already made by other large or small concerns. But I was intrigued by the look of the Ferrari shell. Yes, I’m still obsessing about sourcing a great set of Ferrari exhaust pipes, but I’m sure that will pass in time.



I’ve also had some time to reflect on David’s comments above.

First, I appreciated that David shared his memories of seeing Focus and Christie Moore perform years ago before they became famous. I must admit that I am a musical Neanderthal, and I have no idea who either of those artists are. No matter; it was a good story, I got it, and it illustrated his points nicely.

Sometimes I wish there was a bit of a “crush” around me as it relates to this hobby. But my situation is unusual. I while away my spare time building cars, hundreds of miles if not more, from any commercial or club track. It’s a solitary hobby for me, but made very enjoyable by the interactions I have with the friends and colleagues I have met online.

I’m optimistic enough to believe that there will be a goodly supply of Airfix, Scalextric and even Atlas and Supershells bodies to last into the foreseeable future. My goodness, it’s probably been 45 plus years since those kits were made and we can still, for the most part, find these car shells on the Internet or at shows and swap meets.

I will go out on a limb and say that I’m optimistic enough that some day I’ll even carve a balsa shell (or two). I’m pretty certain I could make a reasonable balsa model.  The only thing that has precluded this to date is that I’m up to my ears in resin and fiberglass body shells, which have served my needs very nicely. My thanks to Dave Jones, Charlie Fitzpatrick and Mel Ault, to name the three major producers of my current inventory.

I think our group has a fondness for historical F1 cars, and for some of us, the cars that raced in the 60s or 70s in particular, since those were the cars that raced when we were in elementary school through high school. Moreover this era overlapped with the great slot car boom. What we do now provides not just the pleasure of building a nice model and racing it, but it rekindles fond memories of great events, racing heroes, beautiful cars and perhaps even some nice models we made long ago.

That may well end over time as we drop out. I don’t know how the hobby will evolve. But in the meantime, nobody is going to trample over me by god.    Well this was long winded; no surprise there as I’m prone to that. I will take what David wrote to heart, and may just stock up on some more Charlie Fitzpatrick and Dave Jones shells. As well as some balsa wood.

[Andrew Rowland]

Sadly? I'm far too young to remember the '70's and certainly can't therefore remember any slot car craze or any of the great drivers or cars we celebrate on this forum.

I do however recognise and understand nostalgia and the other emotions David is expressing. I feel a great deal of that myself.

I do however have a slightly different view from David. Certainly I personally believe in getting as historically accurate as possible but for me on some level a feeling of continuing interest in what we do is important.

But my main feeling is about the continuation of skills. There are so few of us that can do this stuff and that, in my view is extremely sad. It is safe to say that I am the person I am because I discovered model making as a child and have carried forward those skills.

For me, anyone who actively promotes those basic skills is to be commended. Sorry David this is not meant to sound like a difference of opinion as really I fully understand what you mean but I am trying to see it from a point of view of my generation who just don't / can't do this stuff at all.

Andi