Flyslot Williams FW08C - Ayrton Senna - Home Racing World & The Slot Car Garage

06/06/2014

Flyslot 1/32 Williams FW08C Ayrton Senna Collection #W40101

This is looking like a good year for fans of classic Formula 1. One of the models some have anticipated by Flyslot has arrived and time to take a closer look at this special release.

Special because of who this model is all about: Ayrton Senna.

The release by Flyslot had some people really hoping for the best. I can safely say that this car should be a popular one for collectors but for the average home or club racer I am not so sure. Although this special run of models is clearly aimed at the collector, that has never stopped most of us from racing them and the same will apply here. Sitting in the case on the shelf is not the future I anticipate for my slot car.

When you do a search for prototype photos and compare them to this model you may or may not be pleased. I am no "rivet counter" by any means and not a member of the prototype police. I do have to say that I am somewhat surprised at the final product. It is clear there are some issues with the overall shape but it is very close. Our famous driver is sitting a little high as well.

The item that stands out to me are the front wheels. These are simply way off the scale mark, even for me. I find this very odd as this is supposed to be a special run of models celebrating one of the greatest race drivers of the sport. When looking at prototype photos you have to ask yourself who decided these wheels were good enough? For the price they are asking and for the person the line is dedicated to, I would have expected Flyslot to try and tool a more accurate wheel.

The overall fit and finish isn't going to impress some of you either. The rear wing markings especially. They are crooked and almost gives you the impression the wing is not mounted correctly. The air intake section is also very poorly executed. Bad mold lines, flash molding, and the white has more opacity than the car body which really catches your eye. There is also flash molding on the gloves of our famous driver that is very pronounced.

Tires seem standard aside from the huge slices in them. It appears as if the body was cutting into the tires but they clear it easily. But that is sitting still. I put 12 volts through the car while having the rear end in the air. The tires expand and thus start rubbing the body. So it shows they bench tested the model to make sure it ran.

The front has "steering" we covered in our Lotus review. It's not that impressive as it does not look that well. Most times the front wheels look like they have a massive toe-out issue and actually takes away from the look of the car. Then there is the durability issue. The small plastic used is not going to withstand many hard crashes.

Before the model was in my hands I was not very happy to see the motor arrangement. This told me Flyslot is using the same offset gearbox system they have used in the past on the other Williams FW07. The SlotCarOuthouse did a fine review on this prior version and is worth the read.

The reason for it? So that there is no "hump" visible in the rear of the car to allow clearance of standard inline gearing. So the thinking is to use this type of drive-train to help increase scale accuracy, yet items like the intake, wheels and poor paint work are acceptable.

Closer Look

Let's take a quick look at this gearing shall we?

There are 4 gears total. 9 tooth pinion, 27 Spur, and 2 12 tooth bevel/miter gears. The gears did not have a lot of slop than I expected, but this is going to vary from car to car I am certain.

So what do you think so far? Yes, I am being very nitpicky. And some of you are right in thinking most of this does not matter. It still looks pretty good and will look great at speed on the track. Am I really bothered by all of it enough to keep me from enjoying it? Of course not. But I have to be fair. These models are not the most budget-friendly slot cars out there and we have to try and let the enthusiast know exactly what they are getting.

Routed Wood Track Test
MidMo International Speedway
4x16 - 3 Lane MDF - Satin/Flat Latex Surface
Slot Car Corner Braid/Flush Mount - Aftermarket Power @ 12 Volts
Professor Motor 2110 Low Voltage Electronic Controllers
TrackMate Timing

Now that you have heard the negative, prepare for the positive. This car runs pretty good out of the box. No tire sanding, no steering modifications, just straight from the box to a wood track. No, I am not kidding. Even with the huge slices in the tire did not bother it. Although the gearing has a certain sound to it and you might think they are malfunctioning, they are not.

The culprit is the chassis to body fit. The chassis is not as flat as it could be when you tighten the screws all the way down. It causes the chassis to bow and this effects this gearing system as you could imagine. The fix? I backed off the front screw a complete turn and removed the rears. They are so short that backing them out leads to them falling out so I ran it with just the front screw and it makes a big difference. The gear noise is greatly reduced and sounds much better. TIP: I replaced the rear screws with SCC screws with a longer shank.

When I was investigating this issue I went ahead and removed the rear axle assembly. I trued the wheels and installed PG tires.

This one change made this car much nicer. Lap times were in the 4.3 second range and the handling was what I like to see in this kind of car. It held the corners tight but if you pushed it, it would slide a little and allowed time to recover.

Now the not so nice part.

It runs better but not as good as my March or Lotus. Out of the box there is not much of a contest. The March and Lotus are easy 3.7 second range models and are great rivals on the track. This new Williams is simply outclassed. So this gearing arraignment makes a pretty slot car in the back but is it really worth it?

Not to me. I race my models not look at them. In my opinion it makes little sense to design a model that is not compatible in performance to be raced against other models in the series. This is why the prior FW07 was not included in my collection and why this model is destined to be enjoyed on those solo flights I often like to do.

You cannot please everyone. If they stayed inline and created a hump in the back then the collectors and fine scale enthusiasts would complain. A solution is created and people like myself dislike it based on performance.

Final Thoughts

There is good and bad about this model and it is up to your eyes and preference if it satisfies. It is a fun slot car on the track but I cannot say it is suited for serious club or home competition. It is also not suited to be raced against any of your March or Lotus models by Flyslot. Yet if you just enjoy this era and series and want a model to enjoy solo then it might just be exactly what you are looking for.

- Harry

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