Part of the fun of being a Dad is that as my boys get older, they are getting interested in the same things I was at their age. I was into slot cars and now they are too. There were always RC planes around the house when I was growing up, bit I wasn’t much of a flier. Instead I terrorized the neighbourhood with my Tamiya Beetle and later on, The Frog. Thanks to the members of Durham RC, my boys are now clamoring to race RC cars.

In the lot of a local major tire chain, we noticed a giant race track had been set up and decided to pop in for a visit. About all I can say is wow! These little (and not so little) machines have changed so much since the last time I powered up my old Tamiya cars. They are now lightning fast, brake and turn harder than imaginable and they appear pretty close to indestructible. There are versions powered by little engines and the old standby electrics. The electrics bear little resemblance to the old cars though, as they are as fast or faster than some of the petrol powered cars.
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On our recent trip to Lime Rock, I had hoped to bring something cool home for the kids, just like any good Dad is supposed to do. What was I going to pick up? Who knew. Until of course I was taking some respite from the sun while poking about in the Driving Impressions store and came across the Scalextric slot cars. I knew I had to bring home some slot car goodness.
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There was a time, growing up when I built a model car or plane every couple of weeks. As my work improved, I discovered that my detail skills were sadly lacking. I tried and tried, but my hands just weren’t steady enough to get the little stuff right. About the best work I did was when I airbrushed the camo and exhaust streaks on a Supermarine Spitfire.

With that in mind, I’ve always been in awe of the guys like master model builder Dirk Patschkowski who can take a simple plastic kit and turn it into a detailed miniature worthy of a museum.
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Like many of you, I spent hours and hours of my youth building plastic models from Revell, AMT and the like. Later, I gravitated towards the more detailed kits from Tamiya. Then, gradually life caught up with me and all my model building supplies sat on a shelf, never to see light again. The 8 year old in the house has received a few kits for his birthday and he’s been bugging me to get him started. My excuse has been that the workbench is buried under other stuff, we can start once I get the workshop cleaned up.

Today’s post from Coop over at Positive Ape Index just might have lit a fire under my fat ass. Coop has taken some time and built a trio of cool Gasser models, complete with a few mild mods of his own creation.
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