Recently I took delivery of the Carrera F1 Red Bull “Vettal” number 15.

With the track test the very efficient front and back down force magnets made it handle “like it was on rails.” I needed a more challenging car to drive so I removed both front and rear magnets and gave it a run on my Dulux Ferrodor coated Carrera Circuit. Of course it then had very little traction so I added some weight front & near the rear axle and ended up adapting some Paul’s Urethane tires to the rear. The original tires have twice the undercut of most other Carrera cars and no other brand I know of runs with such a large rim centre with a normal size outer rim. It is going to need a special tire to suit if you wish to change rubber. Alternatively change the rear axle and fit alloy wheels to take more common aftermarket brands of tires.

We gave it a go & did several weight changes. It went reasonably in the end but

It was still one second or so slower than most of the Scalextric F1 post 2000 cars also without magnets. The Scalextric F1’s only needed about 3 grams of weight in the rear in most cases. We run MJK tires on those.

I really wanted to convert The Red Bull into a Mark Webber version. But I thought it did not perform on the same scale as the full size version. Maybe it needed some intervention from Andrew Newey in the design department.

Maybe it was divine guidance or my mother’s maiden name is Webber but I worked out that the difference between the Scalextric and Carrera Chassis was insurmountable

The Guide on the Carrera was placed behind the front axle unlike the Scalextric that was in front. This resulted in some acceleration “Fish Tailing with out down force magnets and so a loss in straight line aped.

The second design difference was the rear axle bushes are very much inboard on the Carrera Red Bull. This leads to a lot of axle movement. The Scalextric chassis place their axle bushes very near to the inside of the rear wheel. So there is very little wobble in the rear axle. Also there are a variety of tires available for the Scalextric.

Then the idea bloomed when I picked up a Scalextric Renault F1. Lets shoehorn that chassis into the Carrera Red Bull. It seem be possible with some investigation. It seemed to be the way to go as the Red Bulls run Renault engines any way.

I have managed to adapt it and it performs as any type of post 2000 Scalextric F1

Does.

I used the Carrera Front axle assembly held into the nose of the Carrera body by the front part of the Carrera Chassis which I dissected at the first right angle of the chassis. The original short front body screw retains the entire front suspension unit & this section of the chassis. This is one idea that would make all brands of F1 models a lot easy to remove & replace the body.

I like the Carrera front end to as it is solidly made with independent rotation Although the wheels wobble a bit they seem to do a good j job on the “wood track” Ferrodor surface. Of course with the usual nail polish applied to the tire surface.

The Scalextric Renault Chassis has to receive some trimming to fit into the nose section of the Carrera body. It is near where the removable magnet plate fits under the nose. This plate is discarded and the edges of the nose are trimmed so the Scalextric chassis will fit up into the body at that point From where the button magnet would normally sit under the nose to the guide plate needs no trimming. The Scalextric chassis has a moulding where the body of the Renault sits. This moulding is removed so the Red Bull can sit flat on the chassis.

Fit the chassis into the body and check that the Scalextric chassis just touches the housing where the front axle passes through on the Carrera chassis.

I then carefully used a hand operated small jet drill to put a hole in the Carrera nose chassis for the screw that fits just behind the guide plate on the Scalextric chassis. It is close to another existing hole in the Carrera chassis which could be filled in if necessary but I got away with it.

I next made a “T” shaped plastic body mounting plate. This is retained on top of front pair of body posts by self -tapping screws. The Stub of the “T” protrudes forward enough that a single self-tap screw can placed through a drilling in the cockpit panel the driver sits on . The screw is central & very close to the driver’s body. Then into the plastic “T” plate I made & fitted to the chassis.

Various comments will be made about that screw and it position no doubt . Maybe you could obtain a countersunk one to make it less obvious.

The last chassis operation was to cut off the rear wing mount on the Scalextric chassis. First cut off the wing mount on the Carerra Chassis I cut off the tail of the Chassis through the centre of the bearing mounts. Then line up with the bearing mounts on the Scalextric chassis and work out where to cut the Scalextric chassis I trimmed the Scalextric chassis so it fitted into the shape of the Carrera section . There vertical piece on the Scalextric chassis which supports the bearing mounts must remain, There is a corresponding vertical on the Carrera piece which mates up an hole can be drilled through each side and a self tappers fitted to retain the section. I then used Araldite to glue the Carrera piece to the Scalextric chassis.

The self-tappers will have to be reversed to enable the Carrera wing to slip on . the bottom airfoil may have to be trimmed if the screws protrude through . The rear axle may have to be eased out of the Scalextric chassis to access the screw heads . Alternatively countersunk screws to clear the airfoil may be an option.

The rear mounting screw on the Scalextric chassis is necessary to stop the flexing of the chassis. I used my jet hand drill again and put a hole through the Carrera top suspension wishbone with the body in place .

I then used a long Scalextric self-tapper and cut a thread in the wishbone .

I used a 5mm long axle spacer and a 12mm Scalextric “green” screw and used Araldite to glue the spacer to the underside of the rear wishbone when held in place by the chassis & screw.

The front wing is a worry. So far I have used Araldite to glue the 2 small clarions on to the front wing after I had to send out the search party for them a few times. The wing will dislodge on most impacts. I have not worked out yet how to reduce that without something being broken on impact. Seems the only solution is to not have a bingle or continue on without it if you do.

I tried painting a resemblance of Mark Webber’s helmet & changing the numbers to 6 but That is a job for fine painting skills.

The resulting car with the Renault rear wheels is a Hybrid between the 2009 and 2010 Red Bull Chassis . But at least I have a “Mark Webber” F1 model.

It was a good way for me to recognize Marks success this year . I finished the project on the night of the last 2010 F1 race in the hope it would be a good omen for Mark. Well the rest is history . Have fun with your little “Red Bull”.

John Smedley – fpr10@bigpond.com