It is no surprise to those who know me that I'm a fan of NASCAR. It often gets slammed by those who think that the only car racing is sports cars, or perhaps formula one, or Indy cars. These are folks who are simply being snobs as car racing is car racing regardless of what the platform might be. I like NASCAR because the racing is generally close and the cars are colorful.

This enthusiasm moves into another of my hobbies; slot cars. Stock Cars (which are currently not stock at all) have had a checkered relationship with the slot car crowd. There have been times when the cars have been wildly popular, such as about 10 years back when many of the major slot car makers released NASCAR subjects. However, I do believe they entirely glutted the market as they soon totally disappeared. I have a feeling that the various licensing fees required by all of the sponsors that are on the cars doomed these. Having to pay 25-30% of the cost of the car to lawyers was probably more than most would be willing to pay.

This last year, Scalextric, who were a major player in the past with these cars, has introduced a new line and started with the 1987 Monte Carlo Aero sedans. These cars have totally fictitious liveries with the only licensing being done is to Chevrolet. Most of us who enjoy this hobby would rather have accurate liveries. This is where we run into problem. Thanks to those same licensing fees, most decal companies will not do them. In fact, several US companies who specialized in this sort of thing have been put out of business by lawyers who have demanded exorbitant fees to continue production.

Enter Pattos of Australia. He is immune to US corporate lawyers and so gathers in markings from a variety of sources, including the 'skins' from video games and turns them into decals. Yes, he pirates them. This can cause some fit issues, as his decals are not specifically for exact models. However, he has a huge data base and will print to any scale on demand.

Such is the case with this sheet that contains the markings for two of the Folgers sponsored cars from 1986/87. There are markings for both Tim Richmond and Benny Parsons' cars. Tim Richmond drove the #25 car while Benny Parsons drove the #35 Chevy. At one time both cars were a dark red, but as you see, there are photos of the #35 in a green.

There are three downsides to these sheets. One is that there are no guides as to what goes where. You have to search the 'net for photos and you need to match what is there to the sheet as car markings were not the same all the time. Secondly, these fairly thick decals are on a single carrier and are not fond of sharp curves. Finally, any attempt to use strong setting solutions or clear coats that are not water based acrylic will cause the decals to permanently wrinkle. However, the decals themselves are nicely printed and the whites are properly opaque and this sheet will be used on two subjects once I can find a green that is a good match. A web search will find his site and should you need racing car markings, you might want to give these a go.

February 2019

Copyright ModelingMadness.com. All rights reserved.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and fairly quickly, please contact the editor or see other details in the Note to Contributors.