How do I fix tyre wall on?

We think our tyre wall looks great around bends or along parts of a Pit Lane.  It is quite easy to fix but just to save you time we offer a few suggestions here for doing it as quickly and accurately as possible.

(Add pictures)

Begin by simply standing the pieces of tyre wall against the area of track you wish to fit them to.  (NB It is usually best to offset the tyres from the end of a piece of track or border as usually there is a place where you can’t attach a clip at each end.)
Place the tall part (‘tower’) of a clip where it will need to be to clip on to the track and line up with one of the stacks in the tyre wall.
Clip it on and fit the tyre wall over it.  (Be aware that the tyres will be a tighter fit one way up than the other though either way will work OK.)
Put the next clip against a stack near the other end of the tyre wall.  (You have to be quite precise to match up with the columns of tyres. )
Swing the tyre wall out of the way and attach the second clip. (Two clips per length of tyre wall will be quite enough.)
Repeat the process for the other pieces of tyre wall.

Happy track-building and racing,

To find out aboiut combining fencing and tyre wall click here.

How do I fix tyre wall and fence around a corner?

Putting both Tyre Wall and Safety Fencing around one of your corners can create a great effect but can just be a little tricky at first.  Here are some tips to save yourself some time and frustration.

Pictures to follow
Points to bear in mind:

When fixing fencing and tyres do the fencing first.  (The tyres offer more flexibility of fixing positions.)

Place the tall part (‘tower’) of a clip on each stanchion with the lower part pointing forward like a shoe.

Fix the clips to the track to stretch the fence out.  (NB It is usually best to offset the fence from the end of a piece of track or border as usually there is a place where you can’t attach a clip at each end.  Repeat this to make sure any other pieces of fence will clip on.)

Make sure that the clips are pushed right on to the track so that they are fully horizontal.  (flat).  Any variation at the base is exaggerated at the top of the stanchion and can cause bulging of the fence.

To do the tyres, it may be easier to remove the fence (but not its clips ) temporarily.  Then reverse the new ‘tyre’ clips so the ‘tower ‘ is closest to the track and push the tyre wall down on to it.

You have to be quite precise to match up with the columns of tyres.

Be aware that the tyres will be a tighter fit one way up than the other though either way will work OK.

Two clips per length of tyre wall will be quite enough.  You can sometimes even let the tyre wall rest up against a fence post but it is more secure if two clips are used.

Once the tyres are in place, if you have removed the fencing replace it then.

Happy track-building and racing,

NB the fencing can be used with Scalextric armco in front.  The armco has to be the full 350mm lengths so that the ‘legs’ on the armco match up to the fence stanchions.  This works fine with straights and shallower curves but is not recommended for Radius 1 corners.  With other corners it is up to you to see what you like.  Fencing and tyres are fine on any curve.

How do I finish embankments myself?

If you have already started to build a landscaped circuit using various different scatters or flocks you might want to finish our embankments to match that.  Or you might just fancy doing it yourself to save some money.  Either way it is really easy.

This is really easy.  The embankments come as vacuum-formed durable plastic shapes.  You can finish them in three easy stages.  

1.  It is useful to give them a quick wash in warm soapy water to remove any grease.  Then rinse in cold clear water and dry off.  All the edges that will meet must be trimmed off to allow them to do so.  For this you need a sharp craft knife.  You may wish to remove the front and back overlaps also or you may wish to use them to fix the embankments down.

2.  For this and step 3 it is best to do it on a work-bench or somewhere with some paper down underneath.  Get some earth coloured matt brown emulsion.  (Places like Focus or Homebase will mix up a small tin for you for a couple of pounds.)  Give it 1 or 2 coats of that using a brush about 1″ wide.  It only takes  about 10 minutes.  Then let it dry.

3.  Get hold of some PVA glue and some ‘scatter’ or ‘flock’.  This is something that railway modellers have used for ages.  It comes in various colours from people like Gaugemaster or Woodland Scenics (Both have good web-sites.)  We use Gaugemaster Summer Green (GM171) as our normal finishing colour and can supply that on request  Brush some PVA glue on to part of one of the pieces – say 50% of one of the smaller ones.  (Don’t put it on too thickly or it will take ages to dry but make sure it is well covered.)  Then scatter lots of flock over that area and press it down.
Give it a chance to stick and then shake off the excess in a place where you can collect it up and get ready to do the next part.
Keep repeating this pattern until you have covered all of them except for the joining ends.  (They make a tighter joint if left uncovered.)  Clip them together, put them in position and add spectators.  (NB Not all spectators will sit or stand in all positions.  Experiment.)
For further ideas on preparing spectators see the section on those in Hints and Tips.