When the Slot It set of three Rothman's cars came out a while back slotters banded together to purchase and split up the cost of the set, now Maurizio has given racers what they've been asking for since then...a single Rothman's slot car.
The Slot It 962 Rothman's Limited Edition comes with a nice display box...but don't expect to see it there again. Limited Editions are generally aimed at collectors but allowing the latest car to stay on the shelf is going to be difficult. Before we throw this beautiful white and blue car on the track let's take a deep breathe, restrain that "holy cow let's race this thing already" feeling and look at the packaging because it's worth a second look.
The sturdy orange box has a brief history of the car on the bottom of the lid and a small card showing the limited edition number (in this case it's 4844 of 6000).
Also to ensure this car stays put on the base during shipping, aside from the small screw holding the car down attached to the chassis, there is a light weight plastic dome that hits snugly over the car. So even if the screw does come loose, the car won't bounce around in the box....EXCELLENT!
Ok, now let's get that car out of the box finally! There are certain liveries that inspire collectors and racers alike, the Gulf liveries, the Jagermeister liveries, and the Rothman's liveries. This Rothman's car (which comes with "Racing" stickers over the Rothman's markings) is an outstanding example of this iconic race car.
Whether leaving the car as it is suits your taste or you feel the need to show the world those cigarette logo's you can do what you like with this car and it looks good either way. Along the sides of this particular slot car the slightly darker "Racing" sticker is lined up well on the car and is quite close tonally to the base color on the body.
The paint on this car is opaque and there's nothing to catch the eye and ruin that "new slot car" experience. There is overspray inside the body, but hey...it's inside the body so who cares (photo below).
The stripes down the edges of the body and top deck of the car are straight, even, and perfect. I don't take quality like this for granted when I see it, so I thought I'd mention it.
The detailing on this model is exceptional. One nice detail are small "Cibie" logos inside the light covers on the nose.
Nearly hidden but still worth trying to get and eyeful of is the driver. Detail, detail, detail...it's all good!
If we remove the usual two body screws and pull the body off we see the "orange endbell" 21.5k motor (which actually turns 23k according to tests we've done at Slot Car News BTW) and standard 28 tooth crown gear. The motor is mounted on the endbell side and between it and the crown is the magnet. No surprises here just the usual slot car goodness we've all come to expect from Slot It.
On the 60+ foot wood track I did some testing on this car performed exceptionally right out of the box. Pre-testing prep work was only some lube on the bearings, motor and gears along with a few turns out on the motor pod screws to allow a bit of rattle. I replaced the stock tires with the S2's that come in a small bag with the car and off I went. Lap times for this car were very, very good. The car nearly did a 5-second-flat-lap which is only half a second slower than highly modified 956's that I race. Honestly I was apprehensive about the high-torque "orange endbell" because I hadn't raced one before. I found the motor quite well mannered and not overpowering for this car. It was smooth out of the corners and blinding down the straight. This was my first experience with a 962 as I mentioned earlier and I found the car much better in the turns than the 956's, which tend to be a bit more tail-happy than this car.
The bottom line is obvious I think... this is a car that every slotter who's into Slot It's, Porsche's, or just has a pulse should buy. It's simple, there are only 6000 of these to go around so WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!
Thanks to Fantasy World Hobbies for supplying this car for review!
Dave Kennedy
Publisher, Slot Car News
Also note that reviews will appear on the Fantasy World Hobbies site as well....
