# How many really detailed landscape tracks are there?



## AMX (Nov 1, 2005)

Besides the Katz Spa Ring and that Portugal in a Playroom track that doesn't exist any more, how many really detailed landscaped, realistic tracks are there? 

I know Jason Boye has Le Monzaco, but has anyone ever really seen it or even seen a lot of pictures of it?  I know he does great work, and I even have one of his bodies, but he is like the invisible man. No publicity of any of his work outside a couple secret handshake sites and what we see that he did on the KSR.

Anybody have some photos of his track?

Who else has really big detailed tracks? Are there even any? I have seen Vargo and it is cool, but I am talkin out of hand detailed like Katz's was.

I have almost got mine worthy of a photo op and want just a few more comparitive inspirations.

You cannot imagine how hard it is to locate or fabricate background equipment and structures for an HO race track. I have like 3 thousand bucks sunk into materials, structures and diecast for this thing. Luckily I did it over a period of time not only because of the ridiculous expense (much of it shipping) but 'cause a lot of the stuff was only available for brief periods and I am not talkin just Pit Row stuff of converted HO train stuff.

I am sure train layout guys spend plenty, but slotcar tracks in no way have the intensity of a train layout and if they do they look cluttered. 

Anyway....the post was to get some more links and pics because I have "reached the end of the internet" on slotcar scenery.


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## car guy (Nov 22, 2003)

Well then, please bring on the photo's, I said PLEASE.


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## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

Issue's #5 and #9 of HO Slot Car Journal have some good pictures of Jason's LeMonzaco track


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## coach61 (Sep 6, 2004)

Hi AMX, 

Any chance you post up all your links to finished tracks? I think a lot of us would apppreciate it...

and what happened to Portugal in a playroom? I remeber seeing it once or twice Ididn't know if no longer exsisted...and that my friend is a shame it was awesome.


Coach


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## vaBcHRog (Feb 19, 2003)

Jason's LeMonzaco does not exist anymore it had to be tore down.

Roger Corrie


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## zanza (Sep 23, 2005)

In Robert Schleicher book there is only one picture of Le Monzaco (neat one it's the Rascasse virage with the harbor in the background)


AMX, share your links and pictures, we'll all love to see beautiful sceneries...

Never heard of Portugal in a playroom for example.
And yes, Vargo is one I still recall for it's details


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## AMX (Nov 1, 2005)

I still have MDF showing on mine and I will only post pics when it is finished....I am contimplating moving a house wall for it right now to give 360 access.

I can find a link to that Portugal track later. It is gone, actually the guy abandonded it because he vacated the building and it was just too big to move or put anywhere else....I wonder what ever happened to it.

I should be moving soon and kept that in mind when I was putting this thing together.....Mine will come apart into sections. It can also be added on to that way as well. All my landscaping is on removable plate sections.

I have a row of pit garages and a main operations building to finish and then I can get pics. There will be no grandstands because they would be on the outside of the track and that would take up too much space, but in the larger house I can add a plank on the outside and include them. 100's of feet of plastic strips will be needed to build that waste of time. I wish someone made decent realistic stands or I could deal with a 2 dimensional photo instead.....we'll see.


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## AMX (Nov 1, 2005)

Abondoned Portugal in a playroom track:::




http://www.f1specialties.com/main/racetrack/racetrack.html


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

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## zanza (Sep 23, 2005)

There are some slotters in Germany with Faller tracks (grey one) that are doing a lot of landscaping and sometimes a bit overcrowded.... It looks more than railroad style, with cars driving slowly on it, but not really racing with crazy slotters or full speed throttle kids...

Check THIS ONE for example



On the other end, just found this picture of a nice minimalist IKEA style layout... Interesting


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## AMX (Nov 1, 2005)

I do not like the cluttered tracks in which stuff has no purpose other than a nicky nack thing that somebody stuck there. I would rather have bare wood. And I know fast cars would destroy themselves or the scenerey.

BUT a big wide open table with just track is only good for one thing...and that got old 20-30 years ago....just going fast.

A mix of realistic race track features wills up a HUGE void in the center of the table. There is no reason to snake track all over every inch of table...longer that 15 foot straights with huge sweeping 18" curves make big open space that needs to be filled up....

I am going to cringe the first time a fast car blows some of the detail off of a $65.00 Code 3 fire truck. I plan on mostly running fishtaling pacake cars tho.......


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## AMX (Nov 1, 2005)

That foreign one looks just that to me....foreign.

Also - I know a guy with a grag strip where they race cars that get up to probably 80 real MPH or more....if they didn't have a pillow at the end of it the cars would all be destroyed....and it is highly landscaped.....


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

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## sethndaddy (Dec 4, 2004)

I loved the German layout except that it looked like everything was sprayed with Future floor wax.
That plexiglass coffey table is too cool and may have me thinking about doing one similar.


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## AMX (Nov 1, 2005)

OK, well does anybody have any links to the LeMonzaco track pics, or anything else like the Portugal in a Playroom track?

Any other tracks that I have missed?



I do like that resin Sunbeam Tiger (I just sold my 1:1 Tiger last year......  ) in the German page...anyone knows whos turning them out?


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## jack0fall (Sep 8, 2004)

Hey AMX, Check out Alfaslot1 on eebay. He makes a sunbeam tiger. These are mounted on Tjet chassis's.


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## JordanZ870 (Nov 25, 2004)

I drew plans a couple of years ago for several new coffee tables. Of the three, the one that made it to the saw was the one that matched my entertainment center. 
One that did not make it was a plexi-toped one with a diorama of a pair of dragons fighting over a treasure hoard. I was so busy with slots that another art/sculpting project seemed daunting to me. Hmmmm...an easily maintained track......spill a beer, no problem......anyone want to buy a beautiful knotty-pine coffee table? (my wife would kill me. heh! she picked the design.)

On a main question, I have a site bookmarked that has great scenic stuff.

http://www.hoslotcarracing.com/

Great stuff at that site!


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## 69Ed (Jan 23, 2005)

Can't remember where I found this link to a French HO racing website. If you dig around there are some pretty nice photos of a landscaped track. 

Ed

http://hoslotfrance.free.fr/


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## zanza (Sep 23, 2005)

69Ed said:


> Can't remember where I found this link to a French HO racing website. If you dig around there are some pretty nice photos of a landscaped track.
> 
> Ed
> 
> http://hoslotfrance.free.fr/



Maybe from my website as it's linked from ...  

A really nice track BTW


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

I think this thread is about seeking "super-detailing" in HO tracks. There are very few super-detailed HO tracks out there that are functional racing tracks. Though after running my own HO BBS over the past 8 years or so I will say I have seen a few. Some guys just don't have web sites. There are some out there though!  

Detailed HO tracks fall under the "home racer" category as there are vast differences in commercial tracks and home set ups. I think you'll find there isn't much grey area here. Most guys are biased to one or the other.

I was the same way when I was building my track, trying to find every bit of detailing photos and information I could get my hands on. I do have a number of old slot magazines with early Aurora layouts, as well as the more modern Scale Auto Journals with Jason Boye's LeManzaco, the Portugal track and also the Katz-Spa-Ring. It has been great to see some of these surface in color photos on the web over the past couple of years. Jason Boye's LeManzaco and the Portugal track were big inspirations in building my Vargo Speedway track 15 years ago. I would stare at photos of those tracks for hours dreaming of how I could build one. I ended up making use of as much HO train stuff and available HO slot racing trackside as I could find, before I got on the Internet. Many buildings are actually valuable antiques and some things were scratch built. It was a mix of stuff that was built into an existing layout and yes there were some compromises made in terms of realism. The track was literally built into a room addition and took over the entire room to the point where I could not go any larger. However the layout is functional for racing a number of different classes and it is very fast.

I'd like to move into the future with a more modern mix of realism, fast racing and high-tech trackside gadgets. There's so much more I want to add. My website is very out of date and the photos on it are lacking. I hope to rehab my track and website this year. I would like to assemble as many web sites dealing with detailed HO tracks as possible. Also would like to try for magazine exposure once I get it all refurbished. It's been around a long time and I plan on keeping it forever.

Scott V. :thumbsup:


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

Another thing to consider: if it's photo op's you want and hope to produce realistic looking photos, that is an art in itself. All the detailing in the world won't matter if your lighting, photo skills and equipment aren't up to snuff. I've seen some very realistic photos of scale tracks that are really not that detailed. I've also seen great detailed tracks that photographed very poorly. And some folks just plain don't have an eye for details and realism. Beauty is on the eye of the beholder. (or is that "beer" holder?)


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## T-jetjim (Sep 12, 2005)

Scott - It is beer holder. After seeing Katz Spa RIng and Lemanzaco, my landscaping is a far cry from the detail that these guys are offering. Fortunately, plans are to continue to upgrade the detail on the layout. I know your layout is very detailed, but it took you a long time to get there. 
I am guilty for cramming as much track into my 16 x 8 table as I could. I would like to put more on it since I still have boxes of track, but it would be too hard to retrieve cars, so I'll stick to the present layout and continue to improve it.
Jim


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## AMX (Nov 1, 2005)

Scott I am using your tents and a few of your other things on mine.


I am going for the semi modern looking track. I started out wanting an all vintage looking track, but gave up on that and figured when I run the vintage cars it will be like a vintage race today is on a modern track.


Mine is almost done....another 3-400 bucks and some time and I will be finished. I was going to splice in a 25 foot routed straightaway into the Tomy track, but that would make moving the thing more awkward and we should be out of this house within a year or so, so that will wait till the larger basement.

I do have about 20 feet of Tomy straight on this one though. No converted HO train stuff except an operations building in scale corregated steel. I did go the Pit Row route for some of the personel. Code 3 mega bucks fire, rescue, ambulance equipment and medivac chopper. Some race semis and goosneck trailers, some track trucks like the vacuum/blower truck and the race league response trucks....some wreckers, some jumpsuited track personel.

Lab power supplies, very little green area and trees...just like the tracks I have been to and on myself CAFE racing.


Anyway I'll get it finished...send me some links to any other online documents if you have any....


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