CARRERA SLOT CAR TRACK

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One of THE COOLEST man caves I have ever seen!!!!

Yeah, yeah, I've seen some cool bars and such, but DAMN, you have a car guys paradise!!

Thanks fyssh. Teresa's grandkids were over during Thanksgiving and it didn't take long for them to get hooked on the track. They used to be fascinated by the theater and pinball but I think the racetrack is the biggest thrill for them now.

I've tried to assemble most of what's in our basement from swap meets, Craigslist purchases, and from eBay. Everything costs money and it tends to add up but I've saved a ton by reconditioning used stuff and building from scratch.

I bought all 12 of the theater seats for a total of $100. The stand I made for the steering wheel was from scrap iron. I won the SNAKE & MONGOOSE banner from the movie maker's Facebook contest where you were asked to post before & after pictures of your car build. (I posted pictures of my Barracuda) I bought the Pepsi light up sign that I display movie titles on at a swap meet for $10. The pinball machine that I modified was a cheap purchase from Craigslist. It needed rebuilding. Wherever possible I scrimped to cut corners.
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That's the only way to put together a man cave!! It looks real and not sterile like it does when buying everything new. Thanks for sharing!!

I've wanted a pinball machine for years (was a pinball wizard back in the day!) I love your Thunder Valley one! I've been in the military and moved every three years even after my my military retirement. Even though the military moves us, stuff gets beat up and I've tried to travel light. I'm looking forward to getting into a "forever home" soon so I can start putting my own man cave together.
 
That's the only way to put together a man cave!! It looks real and not sterile like it does when buying everything new. Thanks for sharing!!

I've wanted a pinball machine for years (was a pinball wizard back in the day!) I love your Thunder Valley one! I've been in the military and moved every three years even after my my military retirement. Even though the military moves us, stuff gets beat up and I've tried to travel light. I'm looking forward to getting into a "forever home" soon so I can start putting my own man cave together.

First of all, a big thank you for the time you've spent in the service. My son did a couple of tours in Iraq with the Army. I'd probably be internet illiterate if it wasn't for him wanting progress updates on his Charger while he was overseas.

A few of the jobs I've had in the past required me to be away from home. I could never get past feeling that my life was in limbo when I was away. I think I'd go stir crazy if I didn't have a few projects going on to distract me from the day to day drudgery of life.

The trouble with having a pinball machine is that eventually the newness wears off and you wish you had another to give you some variety. I bought the first one because Teresa had told me she'd always dreamed of having one. I talked the seller into selling me the second one as sort of a package deal because it needed work. It started out as a 1963 Swing Along table. I would have left it alone if it hadn't been so scratched up. The action on it is pretty lame compared to the machine I bought Teresa but changing it over to a car theme made it look at home with the rest of the stuff in the basement.
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Thanks John. Please thank your son for me to his service. My son did a tour in Iraq early on at a small FOB near Mosul where he saw combat. I'd go back in the military tomorrow if I could. Its very difficult to duplicate the team environment "out here" in the civilian sector!

Very creative converting Swing-along over to a car theme. SUNDAY - SUNDAY - SUNDAY!!!!!

I poked around the last time we lived in Georgia and found a guy that sold pinball ball machines near us, but it looks like he may not be very active now. Once we get settled, I'll start looking again. I can imagine it could get boring playing the same one over and over. Just need to find one that presents a challenge!!

Great thread and pictures!!
 
Thanks John. Please thank your son for me to his service. My son did a tour in Iraq early on at a small FOB near Mosul where he saw combat. I'd go back in the military tomorrow if I could. Its very difficult to duplicate the team environment "out here" in the civilian sector!

Very creative converting Swing-along over to a car theme. SUNDAY - SUNDAY - SUNDAY!!!!!

I poked around the last time we lived in Georgia and found a guy that sold pinball ball machines near us, but it looks like he may not be very active now. Once we get settled, I'll start looking again. I can imagine it could get boring playing the same one over and over. Just need to find one that presents a challenge!!

Great thread and pictures!!

Although I don't believe my son ever had the intention of remaining in the Army, I do feel he struggled to blend back into the non-military environment when he got out. He's always been pretty quiet about the time he spent in the service but it wasn't hard to tell that he was easily disturbed by the lack of discipline he'd see in others. I hope your transition to civilian life hasn't been too rough.

I'd been looking at pinball machines every now & then that I'd see advertised on eBay and Craigslist. Most of the time I did it just to get an idea of what they were worth and to fantasize about getting Teresa one 'some day'. Of the two we've got, - one is electronic and the other uses relay logic. The newer one is a lot more fun because it has more targets to hit and there's more of a strategy to playing it. Playing the older machine is mainly about trying to keep the ball in play as long as you can before it goes through an exit.

There are a bunch of websites devoted to pinball machines and some of them rank them from best to worst. I've found that the better ones usually sell for more money and are a lot more entertaining than the ones ranked lower. There are also many sites that sell parts for the machines so you can keep them repaired.

I had considered getting a 'virtual' pinball machine. I still may some day. I don't know if you've ever heard of them but they are a video simulator built into cabinets that resemble an actual pinball machine. Once you've built one you can run software that simulates 100s of different pinball machines. Some are so well done that they say they're very close to the real thing. I included a few YouTube links that show what I'm talking about.





 
Although I don't believe my son ever had the intention of remaining in the Army, I do feel he struggled to blend back into the non-military environment when he got out. He's always been pretty quiet about the time he spent in the service but it wasn't hard to tell that he was easily disturbed by the lack of discipline he'd see in others. I hope your transition to civilian life hasn't been too rough.

I'd been looking at pinball machines every now & then that I'd see advertised on eBay and Craigslist. Most of the time I did it just to get an idea of what they were worth and to fantasize about getting Teresa one 'some day'. Of the two we've got, - one is electronic and the other uses relay logic. The newer one is a lot more fun because it has more targets to hit and there's more of a strategy to playing it. Playing the older machine is mainly about trying to keep the ball in play as long as you can before it goes through an exit.

There are a bunch of websites devoted to pinball machines and some of them rank them from best to worst. I've found that the better ones usually sell for more money and are a lot more entertaining than the ones ranked lower. There are also many sites that sell parts for the machines so you can keep them repaired.

I had considered getting a 'virtual' pinball machine. I still may some day. I don't know if you've ever heard of them but they are a video simulator built into cabinets that resemble an actual pinball machine. Once you've built one you can run software that simulates 100s of different pinball machines. Some are so well done that they say they're very close to the real thing. I included a few YouTube links that show what I'm talking about.






Not funny, but comical that your son notices others' lack of discipline. I can certainly relate. I made the transition OK. My first job after retiring was a military candidate recruiter placing separating junior officers and enlisted technicians into civilian companies. I loved it and it helped me stay connected...I just couldn't sit in the cubicle all day! Then I owned a franchise for 5 years, then moved closer to my aging mother and took a job with a company that did business with the military so that helped also. Since they closed and laid off, I went back to school to use up my remaining GI Bill. Then I started with Advance Auto Parts about 6 months ago. I was hired with a promise to move into a General Manager role quickly and that hasn't happened. Too much BS political crap and not enough team atmosphere for me. I've been working on another career and should know something soon. Much smaller company where I'll have free rein to grow a new division.

This thread brought back my desire to own a pinball machine. Well...not only a pinball machine, but a nice place to relax! Your basement is a really cool looking place that would be perfect to play and relax!!

I had not seen the Virtual Pinball Machines before. The side-by-side comparison video is really amazing!!! I'd love to see and play one in person. Have you heard anything about whether or not you can use a little "english" to move the ball around?? As you know, the use of "english" is very important to being a "Pinball Wizard"!!
 
I had not seen the Virtual Pinball Machines before. The side-by-side comparison video is really amazing!!! I'd love to see and play one in person. Have you heard anything about whether or not you can use a little "english" to move the ball around?? As you know, the use of "english" is very important to being a "Pinball Wizard"!!

I've never seen one of the virtual machines 'in person'. I stumbled across info on them when I was looking for computer pinball games. Since then I've read up a bit and watched a lot of YouTube videos about them. As I understand it, the level of reality varies quite a lot depending on how much effort people put into building them. Even though there isn't an actual pinball some folks opt to install a pull back plunger control to launch the balls. They're connected to micro switches. If you've ever played some of the computer software versions of pinball you've probably seen the games that allow you to nudge the table with the keyboard (or controller). I've read about some guys building inputs into their virtual machines that sense nudging. I guess they use a set of switches similar to the tilt mechanisms for input.

I doubt any of the virtual machines will ever completely duplicate the feel of a real machine but the good ones are supposed to come close. I used to play pinball games on the computer and on a PlayStation. Some were a lot of fun and I imagine a well made cabinet version would be a heck of a lot of entertainment.
 
When I bought the Carrera set it came with a lap counter that also gives each car it's last lap time. I had to do some repairs to it to get it to work but it was worth the effort. The only problem I thought it still had was that the LCD display was hard to read. It's small and not back-lit. Unless the ceiling lights were on you couldn't read it at all.

I decided to hook up a webcam and more lights to remedy the situation. We had an old X-Box camera sitting around, an extra laptop, and a spare TV. No sense letting them gather dust when I could be using them downstairs.

I don't have any of the wiring hid yet but I've tested it out and it works pretty good. In order to conceal the camera I built a tower over the track (in front of the lap counter). Poster-board, wood dowels, some odds & ends from a junk drawer, paint, and my printer.

To put more light on the readout I attached one of those $3 billboards that I got at Menards to the top of the lap counter and covered it with printed START/FINISH signs.
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I used 2 more of those $3 billboards on top of the camera tower.
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The camera isn't exactly hidden but it's less noticeable mounted to the bottom of the tower rather than the top.
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I added some railing on top of the tower so it could double as an observation deck.
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I hung the television on the wall. It's in a good spot so you can see lap times at a glance. The lights I added above the lap counter allow you to see the display clearly with just the track lights on.
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The grandstand was still pretty dark after I'd put on the green EL wire around the roof so I used 3 more of those Menards billboards to help light it up.
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I know I've got a lot of lights on this layout but there are several areas that could use more.

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- Not a lot of progress today that's noticeable in pictures. I did manage to hardwire the new lighting into AC transformers so they won't have to run off of battery packs and I hid the wiring from yesterday's additions.

I decided to load some car movies on the computer that's being used to display the lap counter. That way it'll be more versatile. Of course, it can still be used to surf the net and other things.
 
With Christmas fast approaching I told Teresa I'd help her shop for her grandkids. Her list of toys that she was searching for included 5" action figures from the television show 'The Walking Dead'. As I surfed eBay for them I came across a bunch of 2" 'Walking Dead' figures including a Winnebago RV. Now while I was putting the track together I had searched for a 1/32 scale RV to add to the display and come up empty handed. This Winnebago is approximately 1/35. I couldn't resist ordering one when I found one selling for under $20.
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If you're familiar with the show you'll recognize Dale standing on top holding binoculars. He'd look great on the layout. This thing comes with him, a pair of lawn chairs, and a couple of zombies.

So after ordering it I started to look at other stuff they made that could be added as well. As I browsed for more the thought popped into my head that I could actually add some of the other characters from the show and even use the zombies. If I set them up in a remote area they wouldn't distract from the race car theme and would add some comic relief.

Next thing you know I found a few for sale cheap enough that I added to my order. The chopper should be a nice touch.
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And, - what the heck, I'm getting these extra 5 figures also.
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Now a lot of you are probably thinking I've gone off the deep end but I don't think I'll be adding any other stuff that is weird. I still want it to retain a somewhat realistic look.

Today we went shopping in Omaha and I did buy some additional lighting. Two areas that I thought needed it were the flagpole and the pit area. They had a 50% off sale on spot and stadium lights so I picked up a pair of each.

The spot lights have a nice bright focused beam that seems perfect for the flag. They're made to pivot up so they aim correctly.
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Each of the lights on the stadium light poles pivot so they work really good on lighting the pits.
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The 50 people I'd ordered showed up today. This set was pre-painted. I'd decided to go that rout hoping to save time because it takes quite a while to do it myself. They're not horrible but I'm not sure I'll be satisfied until I detail them more myself.

I was a bit disappointed by the selection they sent me this time. I had hoped for a few with cowboy hats that I could use to make my Richard Petty. I didn't get any. There was one that was a good candidate for making my Linda Vaughn. I used a glue gun to make bigger hair on her. Maybe I'll try to add a cowboy hat to one of the ones that came.
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OK.
The job sucked, but I got it done. I'm never really satisfied with my results but I keep reminding myself that you can't see the flaws on these figures from a few feet away. Here are pictures of the 50 little people that I finished painting.
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My drivers. My attempt at making a cowboy hat on Richard Petty is lame but a friend of mine immediately identified him before I told him who it was supposed to be. At the angle the photo is taken, my 'hot glue helmet' on the first figure looks terrible but it looks better at from the viewpoint he's normally seen.

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My brew crew. I cut their right arms off and glued them back on at an angle so they could hold their beverages.
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In order to make each figure different I sometimes made wild schemes. Check out the mohawk on the guy on the right.
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These guys don't look very tech savvy but they've got laptops on their laps.
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The RV showed up and I assembled it as quick as I could. You can see that the scale works well with my regular people. I set a few on the included lawn chairs.
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Dale's on top of the Winnebago watching the races through binoculars.
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DANG!! - Looks like a few zombies sneaking up from behind. I guess Dale should have taken a break from tracking Petty's progress. LOL.
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Nice work on the people!! I know painting such small people can't be easy!!
 
Well... - it's starting to look like the race track is attracting a rougher crowd today. The rest of my 'WALKING DEAD' figures showed up and I added them to the layout. They are small enough and painted in low contrasting colors so it's not readily evident that most of them are deceased. - But at a glance it looks a lot like some sort of gang violence going on.
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The chopper came with a small diorama that I wasn't going to use at first. It looked really good but I had to try to get it to blend a bit better with the track. This is what I settled for. If I was really serious about making sure everything blended together, I'd have used the bike without the rest.
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I think any time I add more figures to the layout that it looks better - even if they're zombies. I guess I feel that it'd be great if every area seemed to have something going on. Right now I have the pit area, the grandstand area, the HOT ROD Cafe area, the Winnebago area, the chopper area, a spot for the rescue squad, and the area with the fight going on. I'm considering building a chili dog stand. I LOVE CHILI DOGS!!
 
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It's getting better all the time. I like your version of Richard, it looks great!! He does stand out in the picture of all the figures.
 
As creative as you are, Fight could become dance party. Whittle away knives and guns. A little repainting, whatever.
 
It's getting better all the time. I like your version of Richard, it looks great!! He does stand out in the picture of all the figures.

Thanks Roadcuda. I probably should have given him a white racing suit to be more accurate but I wanted the color to connect him with the car. I dread the thought of painting figures when I've got a pile of them to do but I really get into it after I've started. I'm still thinking I need Elvis and some folk wearing those Coca-Cola pants. I may need to get another 50 to do.
 
As creative as you are, Fight could become dance party. Whittle away knives and guns. A little repainting, whatever.

- Not a bad thought. But for now I think I'll let the fight continue. I've seen plenty of them break out at the races over the years. LOL.
 
We've been spending a lot of time getting ready for the Christmas holiday. I struggled with what to buy my boys this year. When they were young it was a lot easier to shop for them. I can't remember the last time I got them something that 'knocked their socks off' when they unwrapped it.

While searching for ideas I came across a lot of info on VR systems (virtual reality). At first I blew them off as some new gimmick that would be a passing trend. Good systems aren't cheap so I wasn't about to lay out a bunch of cash for something that would spend it's life sitting in a closet an hour after they first tried it out.

After doing further research I found out that one of the BEST BUY stores was giving demos on an Oculus system about 50 miles away. Teresa and I decided to see what all the hype was about.

WOOOAH!!! I had expected it to be lame. I sure didn't expect it to be anywhere near as enjoyable as it was. Heck, I think I'd have been willing to pay to try it again, and I'm a cheap bastard! Teresa's reaction was the same.

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Although I didn't get a chance to see a driving sim demonstrated on it, I've got to believe that the experience would be awesome. On the drive back home we couldn't stop talking about how realistic it felt. When you've got those goggles on and are able to turn around, look up & down and see everything just as if you were standing inside of (and part of) the games, - it's a heck of a lot of difference from watching things on a flat screen.

We decided to get a system for ourselves to add to the basement track/pinball/theater setups. I had to upgrade my computer to handle the demands of the Oculus. It needs a much more powerful system than what I had. Although the VR system hasn't arrived yet (I ordered one online) I've been rearranging the basement to accommodate it when it arrives. Oh, I actually did order two systems. - One for my boys and one to surprise Teresa with. She still is hoping we'll be able to get one for ourselves in about six months.

If any of you guys get a chance to see the Oculus demonstrated at a BEST BUY near you, try it out. I really think you'll be impressed.

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While eBay shopping I came across an ad for a custom made Chili Dog Stand. It's not the correct scale for my track but it looks really cool. I suppose it's not exactly kosher to make a copy of it in 1/32 scale but that's what I intend to do. I guess I'd feel more like I was sponging off another guy's work if he was offering it in the scale I need. This is what it looks like below. I hope mine will turn out half as good.
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The seller custom makes a lot of other really cool 'O' scale stuff. Check out some of his other work.
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Awesome track layout you have there! I like all the details around the track. Looks like quite the man cave too! I have been running 1/32 slot cars for a few years myself. I took down my Carrera layout this year and set up a MDF routed track I picked up from a friend.
 
Awesome track layout you have there! I like all the details around the track. Looks like quite the man cave too! I have been running 1/32 slot cars for a few years myself. I took down my Carrera layout this year and set up a MDF routed track I picked up from a friend.

OOH! Sounds pretty cool. I don't think I've ever seen a routed track that didn't look awesome. I always figure that those tracks are for the 'real diehard' crowd. They tend to look more like real road surfaces if they're painted and it's really nice to avoid that plastic appearance of the off-the-shelf track. What did you do with the track you took down? Post some pics of your new setup!!!
 
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