Hillman Imp Slot Car Kit
by Steve Ash
(First published in the Magnetozine July/August 2019)
by Steve Ash
(First published in the Magnetozine July/August 2019)
I had been looking for a larger scale model of the Hillman Imp and found that Pendle Slot Racing produced a nice looking kit for around £40 including motor, wheels etc.
The resin body is heavy duty and very well proportioned/detailed. The chassis is a softer plastic, the front section holding the front wheels/ brushes slides into the rear section to allow for the varying wheelbases of the different kits. Some trimming of this section is needed due to the short wheelbase of the Imp, also the steel axles need slight narrowing to get the wheels to sit right in the arches. I had to use some warm water to soften the adhesive holding the rear wheels on.
I decided to build a replica of Rosemary Smiths rally car 4525 KV. After tidying up moulding marks on the shell I primed it and painted in Ford Royal Blue, which is and almost exact match for the Rootes colour. The white stripes on the side were made from white transfer paper, easier than hand painting! Number plates were made up using the correct font downloaded from the web.
Although no instructions are supplied it was easy to work out the assembly of the chassis. The glass was fitted followed by the vacuum moulded interior; an old Scalextric drivers head was fitted. The chassis needed a little shimming with A4 copier paper shims to get it right. The little car performs really well on the track with excellent road holding and a good top speed. Pendle Slot Racing produce a range of British saloon cars (Sunbeam Rapier, Jaguar, Ford etc.) – some look like moulds were taken from old Airfix kits.
Steve Ash
The resin body is heavy duty and very well proportioned/detailed. The chassis is a softer plastic, the front section holding the front wheels/ brushes slides into the rear section to allow for the varying wheelbases of the different kits. Some trimming of this section is needed due to the short wheelbase of the Imp, also the steel axles need slight narrowing to get the wheels to sit right in the arches. I had to use some warm water to soften the adhesive holding the rear wheels on.
I decided to build a replica of Rosemary Smiths rally car 4525 KV. After tidying up moulding marks on the shell I primed it and painted in Ford Royal Blue, which is and almost exact match for the Rootes colour. The white stripes on the side were made from white transfer paper, easier than hand painting! Number plates were made up using the correct font downloaded from the web.
Although no instructions are supplied it was easy to work out the assembly of the chassis. The glass was fitted followed by the vacuum moulded interior; an old Scalextric drivers head was fitted. The chassis needed a little shimming with A4 copier paper shims to get it right. The little car performs really well on the track with excellent road holding and a good top speed. Pendle Slot Racing produce a range of British saloon cars (Sunbeam Rapier, Jaguar, Ford etc.) – some look like moulds were taken from old Airfix kits.
Steve Ash
