Post by Transmission on Feb 23, 2015 11:40:20 GMT -5
Hi everyone!
My name is René, I am Dutch and live in the most southern part of the Netherlands (about the only part of the country which is not flat!). Big advantage of living here, besides the nice countryside, is having the circuits of both Zolder and Spa-Francorchamps within an hour drive and the Nürnburgring only 45 minutes further up the road. Quite handy for a petrol head like me!
My slot car story will probably not be that different from most. It all started in the early/mid seventies for me when my parents gave me (after begging for over a year) a tiny Polistil oval track for my birthday (I think I was 8 or 9). I remember the silver Ferrari P5 and red Alfa Romeo 33 it contained. I was hooked and the track and car collection steadily grew over the years. Working on the cars, designing my own cars and building a pit complex out of cardboard were already part of the fun. At the same time my passion for 1:1 racing also grew, F1 in particular but also Le Mans style and other categories had my interest. And after begging again with my parents for over a year to visit an actual F1 race, Santa claus brought me a nice present in the winter of '78; a Paddock ticket for the 1979 Belgium Grand Prix in Zolder! And so I was hooked again! I also visited the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort from my own savings later in the year and I have visited at least one Grand Prix a year ever since.
The slot car hobby took a long winter sleep when girls and study where of greater interest but became alive again in the early 90's. I had a part-time job besides my study to earn a little extra in a modeling shop (mainly radio controlled stuff) where I was able to buy a huge amount of (depreciated) Carrera Servo stuff from them for virtually nothing. It is not real slot racing but I had a lot of fun with it, racing with a good friend and a few beers!
Back into real slot racing happened a few years later when I walked by a train modeling shop. They had a Scalextric F1 set displayed in a corner of their window but I was mainly intrigued with this beautiful Porsche 908 besides it. It was clearly a slot car but I had never seen one this detailed and good looking. This was of course a Fly Classic but I didn't know at the time. Anyway, I walked in and 15 minutes later I stood outside with the Scalextric F1 set and the Fly Porsche! And the rest is history as they say.
The last two years I've been a member of Slotforum.com where the progress of my track building project can be viewed and now my first project on this forum. Talk to you soon!
Cheers!
René
My name is René, I am Dutch and live in the most southern part of the Netherlands (about the only part of the country which is not flat!). Big advantage of living here, besides the nice countryside, is having the circuits of both Zolder and Spa-Francorchamps within an hour drive and the Nürnburgring only 45 minutes further up the road. Quite handy for a petrol head like me!
My slot car story will probably not be that different from most. It all started in the early/mid seventies for me when my parents gave me (after begging for over a year) a tiny Polistil oval track for my birthday (I think I was 8 or 9). I remember the silver Ferrari P5 and red Alfa Romeo 33 it contained. I was hooked and the track and car collection steadily grew over the years. Working on the cars, designing my own cars and building a pit complex out of cardboard were already part of the fun. At the same time my passion for 1:1 racing also grew, F1 in particular but also Le Mans style and other categories had my interest. And after begging again with my parents for over a year to visit an actual F1 race, Santa claus brought me a nice present in the winter of '78; a Paddock ticket for the 1979 Belgium Grand Prix in Zolder! And so I was hooked again! I also visited the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort from my own savings later in the year and I have visited at least one Grand Prix a year ever since.
The slot car hobby took a long winter sleep when girls and study where of greater interest but became alive again in the early 90's. I had a part-time job besides my study to earn a little extra in a modeling shop (mainly radio controlled stuff) where I was able to buy a huge amount of (depreciated) Carrera Servo stuff from them for virtually nothing. It is not real slot racing but I had a lot of fun with it, racing with a good friend and a few beers!
Back into real slot racing happened a few years later when I walked by a train modeling shop. They had a Scalextric F1 set displayed in a corner of their window but I was mainly intrigued with this beautiful Porsche 908 besides it. It was clearly a slot car but I had never seen one this detailed and good looking. This was of course a Fly Classic but I didn't know at the time. Anyway, I walked in and 15 minutes later I stood outside with the Scalextric F1 set and the Fly Porsche! And the rest is history as they say.
The last two years I've been a member of Slotforum.com where the progress of my track building project can be viewed and now my first project on this forum. Talk to you soon!
Cheers!
René
