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  #31  
Old 09-13-2006, 04:03 PM
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Namuna Namuna is offline
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No more updates? Why not!!??

I quite enjoy reading your ideas and progress.

10" wide with 2" high rails has me pretty fairly excited! Any ideas on pricing for that setup?

How do you think you'll be handling the embankments with going that wide with the tracks sections?
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  #32  
Old 09-13-2006, 09:08 PM
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Quote:
No more updates? Why not!!?? I quite enjoy reading your ideas and progress. 10" wide with 2" high rails has me pretty fairly excited! Any ideas on pricing for that setup? How do you think you'll be handling the embankments with going that wide with the tracks sections?
Nam, well like I've stated I figured out how to do the guard rails. I just need to get the materials to fabricate a prototype. I'll let you know when I have some made up.

I'm glad you are excited about this and thanks for the encouragement and suggestions.

I have no idea on what pricing will be yet as I am still in the R&D phase, but don't worry you'll be part of my test group once I have something fabricated. I would expect intial price to be a little high at release, but as I start ordering more volume the cost will reduce. Types of materials used for the final product will have a big factor on price too.

One thing to remember is that this is only an accessory for the Mattel Hot Wheels Fat Track. I don't want to infringe on their patented designs. The track texture will be different though on my accessories as I believe that is part of Mattel's patent.

I plan on releasing these as accessory packages at first to keep the price down and generate interest.

The first package will be the guard rail set which will only be needed on the Fat Track straights. The second package will be the wide lanes package. The third package will be a pit row. The fourth package will be a flat curves package.

I probably will eventually come out with my own straights and banks to completely replace the Fat Track, but I haven't thought that far ahead yet and I see some engineering issues that would have to be addressed.
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Last edited by steelo; 09-13-2006 at 09:11 PM.
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  #33  
Old 09-19-2006, 07:12 AM
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Still working on the guard rails, but I have some more motor information. I finally got one of my new Sizzlers apart to see what was going inside and it seems to be direct drive, no gearing, just two wheels attached to the axle which runs through the the motor. This could be the reason why I couldn't find out gear ratio information.

A 1:1 gear ratio with the motor specs that we have though seems rather peculiar to me. I may not undestand the physics of it all though.

Inside the car is just a 1.2V 1/3AA 150 mAh battery directly connected to the motor. The only thing that regulates any current is the on/off switch on the bottom of the car which is simply a piece of plastic that lifts a metal arm that connects the positive terminal of the battery to the motor. Sorry no pics I don't have macro function on any of the cameras that I have.
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  #34  
Old 09-19-2006, 08:10 AM
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Yeah, no big surprise about the Sizzler internals there. Being a very basic "rail runner" it doesn't need much complexity.

Hopefully the tiny Lipo batteries I ordered will be arriving soon so I can start getting some high speed runs on my Fat Track!...And if I can find a way to keep the cars on the traick, I could even get my Wife to get in on the fun.

...Anyone that's married (or has a significant other living with them) KNOWS that if you can get them to play along, life is SOOO much easier (because usually they're giving you grief about making a mess or taking up too much space!).
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  #35  
Old 09-20-2006, 02:29 PM
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...Anyone that's married (or has a significant other living with them) KNOWS that if you can get them to play along, life is SOOO much easier (because usually they're giving you grief about making a mess or taking up too much space!).
You got that right! And the longer you're married, the less they care about tellin you about it!
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  #36  
Old 09-28-2006, 10:29 AM
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I haven't been able to get much work done. One of my best friends passed away and I have been busy with the funeral and all the functions that go along with it.

It's been real hard tracking down the materials that I wanted to make the guard rails out of so I had to rethink everything and I am going to try another idea. I was thinking maybe using circuit board blanks to fit in the grooves of the track wall and building off of that and using self adheshive weather stripping foam to protect the cars. If this works then I can make some casting of these and pour some molds to create a more rigid piece that isn't glued together and will provide more support and in the long run will be much cheaper.

For the new track sections I have the perfect soloution. It will be the same type of material as RCP but much thinner and easier to store and will also be much cheaper.

I should have something in the next week or two to show everyone.
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  #37  
Old 09-28-2006, 12:30 PM
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Man, sorry to hear about your friend! I empathize because it's coming up on the 1 year anniversary of the passing of my good friend as well. He was only 37 years old!

But, on to happier things...

I still need to try putting the insulation strips on the railings, I've been so hooked on the micro rc helicopters that I've neglected any more trials with the Fat Track!
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  #38  
Old 10-02-2006, 01:37 PM
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I found a border set that can be used for our mod. It's a little more expensive than I wanted it to be but it is exactly what I was looking for. For prototyping I don't mind paying more, it is to be expected. I would still need to figure out a way to attach them to the Fat Track but at least it is I am making progress again.

Here is the link to the borders http://www.toyeast.com/v3/catproduct...id=1864&clvl=4

I'm not thrilled with the colors either, but functionality is more important at this point. Once I get something funtional maybe I can talk to the manufacturer and get the colors that I want and some cheaper pricing.

This looks pretty close to RCP and they have track sets too which look to be the same thickness as RCP, but the material I have in mind for the wider track sections would be much thinner than RCP and it is much cheaper, so I may be able to reduce the cost for tracks there as well.

I'm getting excited about all this again and it looks like I should have something to show everybody soon.
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  #39  
Old 10-02-2006, 06:13 PM
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Uhhhhh, Get a Motorworks in that race!!!!!!!
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  #40  
Old 10-16-2006, 03:54 PM
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I was looking around at VsTank stuff and something just popped into my head to try for guard rails on the Fat Track. CD jewel cases! I tried a regular sized one and it didn't really fit, but then I tried one of the slim line cases I had it fits nice and snug. With some dremel work or even a jewlers saw in a mitre box I think I can make some very nice guard rails out of these. I should have some of these fabricated very soon and will post pics when I have a set made.
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  #41  
Old 10-21-2006, 04:55 PM
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Getting closer to having the guard rails finished.

I had another idea to make the guard rails look more realistic and add more support. I am going to get some plastic billiards racks and cut them up to glue to the back of the slim cd cases.

I am still undecided on whether I should use 9-ball racks or 15 ball racks. Let me know what you think.
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  #42  
Old 11-14-2006, 06:52 AM
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Well I haven't quite finished yet, but here is the jist of it.

Slim CD jewel cases will fit in the slots under the track walls. Just line up the tabs that would normally hold a piece of paper and slide them in (note it will be a tight fit but you actually want that). On the hinge side of the case cover you will see a raised line. Use this as a cutting guide and cut along the side away from the hinge. On the other side you will see 2 raised lines. Use the top of each line as a cutting guide to cut two barriers out from the material. Once you have done this use the lines as cutting guides to cut those sections off. Repeat process until you have enough to cover both sides of both straight aways (You'll need 24 cases for the new Giant O' Layout. It seems like alot, but they are realitively cheap).

For ZipZaps and Bits this is all you will need. Since the track is wide enough for 1/43 scale cars too you'll need some extra support on the back of the barriers so that they will not pop out. This is where I am having the trouble. I want to find a material that is cheap, visually pleasing and safe for kids to play with.

If you are worried about your cars getting scratched up on the barriers you can add a thin self-adhesive weatherstripping to the barriers on the track side.
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  #43  
Old 11-15-2006, 07:07 AM
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I found this video of X-V Racers running on the Daytona track set. It is similar to the Fat Track and X-V Racers are similar to Sizzlers. This video really highlights the type of action I am looking for. Enjoy!

http://home.mchsi.com/~meyersbl4/fayketona_web_hi.wmv
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  #44  
Old 12-22-2006, 05:03 PM
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Well I got my gears for Christmas and they came in today so you know I had to sneak one set to the play area for testing and the intial results are promising. Stock motor red gears is plenty fast enough for the turns, but looks really slow on the track so I switched to the orange motor. When it goes into the turn it goes so fast it smacks the top wall and glides around and then smacks down really hard. Just a matter of adjusting the trim though to fix this.

I think I may need to lower the bodies now though as they seem to be a little top heavy and will occasionally flip over coming out of the turn.

For a car setup this is what I am suggesting now. Minimum Orange motor, Optimum NOS blue motor or faster with either green or red gears. The only reason I am suggesting the green gears is for torque to get up to speed faster. Once you get the car fast enough the side rails are really not that big of an issue as we once thought, but for passing is still needed.
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  #45  
Old 01-19-2007, 01:23 AM
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I'm working on getting better guard rails now. The CD cases work but are brittle and kids can break them easily and can have sharp edges. I'm trying to either get Mattel or an aftermarket company now to reproduce the guard rails from a similar track set that would be perfect and add a more realistic look. I'll update everyone once I get more information.

steelo
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