User talk:D.Helber
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Contents |
[edit] Welcome to Wikipedia!!!
|
[edit] License tagging for Image:Scalextric cooper brm1965.jpg
Thanks for uploading Image:Scalextric cooper brm1965.jpg. Wikipedia gets thousands of images uploaded every day, and in order to verify that the images can be legally used on Wikipedia, the source and copyright status must be indicated. Images need to have an image tag applied to the image description page indicating the copyright status of the image. This uniform and easy-to-understand method of indicating the license status allows potential re-users of the images to know what they are allowed to do with the images.
For more information on using images, see the following pages:
This is an automated notice by OrphanBot. If you need help on selecting a tag to use, or in adding the tag to the image description, feel free to post a message at Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. 18:14, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Tether Car History
Hi David, That was a surprise! Thank you so much for the links and I'm happy with your suggested edit. I do think the Lionel cars were true antecedents as the illustration in the Lionel catalogue at least implies that they were intended to be used with a reostat although I doubt we'll ever know for sure if they ever were.
I had a look through a few of my magazines and it seems I might have more significant information on tether cars than I previously thought. An article in the Model Craftsman magazine for June 1940 by Tom Dooling claims he and his brother came up with the idea of using model airplane engines in a miniature car and assembled their first car in the early part of 1937. 1937 is also given on this page[[1]] although it doesn't give a source. Dooling goes on to say that they attended their first miniature race car meeting at Fresno, California in April 1939. The type of track they used isn't specified, but he mentions both flat and banked tracks in the article. I also have a picture from a later British magazine of the Dooling brothers at what is clearly a banked rail track dated 1940. Unfortunately fuel isn't mentioned in the Dooling article although a car shown is said to be powered by a 'Phantom' motor if that's any help.
Model Race Cars, a British book/magazine I have from 1945 has information about what it says are the first ten British model petrol driven cars, all between 5 and 10cc with spark plug ignition, a July 1946 British magazine Model Mechanic has a feature about a Swedish tether car with twin 2.25cc diesel engines and the illustration shows them to be just that with an adjustable compression regulator on the top of each cylinder head. Finally a clipping from the Sport section of a 1946 US magazine entitled Minny Racers (unfortunately the clipping doesn't include the magazines title) states "Owners experiment with fuels, usually proportions of castor oil and methanol alcohol", one picture shows a fan adjusting the "spark plug" on his car although what he's actually adjusting can't really be seen. All three of these only show or mention tether cars. Hope this is a good start for more tether car history Mighty Antar 00:01, 11 August 2007 (UTC)
A couple of other links worth a look [[2]] and [[3]] Mighty Antar 00:05, 11 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Slot Car edits
Hi David, I thought your new inserts fitted in well, I agree with you it might now be a bit over sourced in that section, but we can always make the history section a separate page and cover it on the main page with a couple of paragraphs. I think the overall layout does need some tidying although I haven't found a wikiproject that gives guidelines on layout for a Toy/hobby page. I added a few more wikilinks under the see also section, but as I found more, I began to wonder if the section might work better as a separate category, slot car related companies or something, however a lot of companies that make or made huge amounts of slot cars don't have that fact noted on their wikipedia page yet e.g Tamiya (Their first products in hobby shops in the US and the UK were 1:24 slot cars), Revell, Monogram models etc etc. A lot more work required to make WP:FA I fear! Mighty Antar 01:41, 15 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Slot Controllers illustration
Hi David Great illustration. I'll have to do some digging around for dates, I have to say I've never seen a telegraph key used as a controller although clearly it could be - dimmer switches feature in some pretty early rail car articles, though the first Scalextric sets just had on/off. As I recall Revell had a basic barrel shaped controller to begin with, the thumb clicker looks more like the (relatively!) sophisticated electro-mechanical device they bought out around 1966-67. I think I'm right in saying Revell didn't get into slots until about 1963-64. and as far as I know they never had any connection with Scalextric at all. I'll try and get back to you tommorrow, all the best. Mighty Antar 00:50, 30 August 2007 (UTC)
- Hi David. First off, the '1959' device is definitely Revell's 1967 vibrating electro-mechanical controller. Russkit's pistol grip Controller (actually looks most like the Parma purple controller shape but without the buttons) was announced at the 1964 Chicago Hobby Show, (Rod & Custom Models June 1964 pg 49) - Aurora launched their Super Model Motoring O scale sets at the same show.
According to 'Model Car Rail Racing' book (pub 1959) the first rail tracks used variable resistance controllers, but racers found on/off switches worked better - no sign of a telegraph key, but who knows. By the time of the book's publication the variable resistance type were becoming the norm usually a dial type (like model railway's). The earliest advert I could find for the Cox ventilated plunger type was Feb 1965, the Scalextric type came out in 1960. It was Lionel who marketed Scalextric in the US initially. There were commercially produced electronic controllers around from 1964 but it wasn't till the 1970s that individual users started to build in the sophisticated variability - unfortunately the 70s were a very poorly documented period in slot racing history so your guess is as good as mine. Hope this helps, but please let me know if you have any other specific queries. I'd keep the Marx controller in as it helps illustrate the diversity of styles. Regards Mighty Antar 00:31, 31 August 2007 (UTC)
