Guides, does anyone make their own?

[cambridge]

Hi, 

I was wondering if anyone made their own guides these days to suit those applications where a proprietary one wouldn't do.
I used to make them out of Swish curtain rail, a la Barrie Wade, but Swish ain't the same as when I was 13.  Odd isn't it?  Why would they change curtain rail in 50 years?

I wondered about using Perspex (Lucite for our American friends) where the guide might show a lot.
I must say I'm one of those strange guys who used to love to see a little slide on VIP guide sticking out the front of a small car.  Now they have to be hidden away under the front.

Do many people use pin guides these days?  I'm thinking they might be ideal on a small hillclimb track.

Martin

[Chris Wright]

Martin there are so many guides available now-a-days that knowbody makes their own. However pin guides are still in use, and come in very usefull on narrow low nosed, and short overhang cars. All forms of racing now requires that the guide is not visble when viewed from above.

[cambridge]

Trouble is, Chris, most are of that silly pattern where the wires poke out the top from towers in which the braids are fitted, or if they go in the front, they're huge big raceway things. What we need is a replacement VIP guide that slides on a thin brass tongue. Now, where's my yellowed old yard of Swish?

Martin

[Peter Seager-Thomas]

Hi Martin.

Some years back I did a couple of cars with home made guides. This was when I was still running Airfix track.

The guides were made using the plastic sprue pieces which came with the MRRC Clubman guides sold by John Robinson shortly before his regrettable demise. This gave me the right material which I imagine was nylon.

I simply used the right angle bits of sprue, the horizontal part being shaved to fit the slot, the vertical part drilled and tapped to take a pivot. Like the Airfix earlier guides, the braids were mounted in the body, and like the Airfix guides, if the tail swung out too far, contact was lost. These guides were leading types with the pivots behind the axle, and were used on Bugattis where they were barely noticeable.

Regular guides were fitted to these cars once I switched to Scalextric, as the guide blade was then needed to keep the braids apart due to the closer contact strips on the track.

I’m having a big sort out at the moment, so if I find one I’ll post a picture.

I have used pin guides and was amazed at how effective they were. The only problem I had was with poor track alignment where the guide could catch, but if the track in question is to be routed, this will not be a problem.

Perhaps of help.

Peter.

[cambridge]

Indeed, Peter,
if anyone had made their own I guessed it will have been you! If you do find one please do put a picture up. I am intrigued with the pin guides. I know Al Penrose was a fan and there have even been pin guide meetings/proxies. Since the tracks for my cars will be hillclimbs with tight hairpins it may well be the case that pin guides work better.

Thanks,
Martin

[David Mitcham]

Hi Martin

You might want to check out the Shadowfax web site - shadowfaxslotcars.com/Chassis.html . Marlon has the sort of guide I think might interest you as part of his chassis kits (you will need to scroll down the page) - don't know if he'd sell them separately but it would be worth trying your considerable powers of persuasion on him. I'd be interested as well as I don't really like the Slot.it style of guide either.

Best Regards

David

[cambridge]

Thanks for bringing my attention to it, David,
I have sent Marlon a mail about it and will let you know when I hear anything.

Cheers,
Martin

[cambridge]

Just heard back from Marlon. He will remodel the guide to be produced on its own and let me know next week what's what
Excellent results. I will standardize on that one.

Cheers,
Martin

[David Mitcham]

Great! I've just let him know I'm interested too.

Best Regards

David

[chase]

I've been making guides for a few years, started off with this SureChange guide for digital - it puts the LED right on the guide (as opposed to other cars where it's about an inch behind it) so that even if the car is skidding it still triggers the sensor.  This is an underside view, the LED wires are in the middle but the braid wires are either side and come out the front.

Upside down view


I simplified this a bit for my own guide just to get a longer stem I need for a Pickup truck with a body lift (scale 36 inch tyres).  Right way up view, ignore the bits of sprue out the side, it's where they are nested as manufactured, it gets trimmed off.


They are made from the same tough nylon that my chassis use, it's very resistant to impact and has some self-lubricating qualities.  It also allows the braid to be looped around for two sets of contact on the track.  I don't normally sell them separately but I can if you like.

Gareth

[cambridge]

Looks interesting, Gareth, except for the wires coming out the front. On a small car, like a half tonner or a hillclimb Special you really need the wires to come out the back, out of the way, as soon as possible.
As to the LED....you lost me there!

Martin