How I built that F1 slot car thing step by step
Alright so last weekend I got this wild hair to try building one of those miniature F1 slot cars. Saw a video online, thought “heck, I can do that,” and ordered a cheap kit. Big mistake or fun project? Let’s see.
First thing Monday, the box showed up. Ripped it open like a kid on Christmas morning. Plastic pieces everywhere, tiny wheels, this skinny metal chassis thing, and a bag of screws smaller than my dog’s kibble. Spread it all over my living room floor.
Step one: Screwing the chassis together. Thought it’d be simple. Grabbed my smallest Philips head screwdriver. Almost immediately dropped one of those microscopic screws into the carpet. Took me ten minutes crawling around with a flashlight to find it. Got the chassis rails screwed down eventually, though my neck hurt from squinting.
Step two: Putting on the wheels. Axles were stupidly thin, kept slipping while I tried pressing the tiny tires on. Broke a fingernail pushing one wheel – yelled so loud the neighbor knocked to check on me. Finally used pliers wrapped in a cloth to avoid scratching the plastic. Felt proud when all four wheels spun freely.
Step three: Wiring the motor. Got the tiny electric motor clipped into place okay. Then came wiring it to the little metal pickup skates under the car. Had to strip insulation off hair-thin wires using my pocket knife. Sweaty hands made this scary. Hooked red wire to one skate, black wire to the other. Really hoped I wouldn’t zap myself testing it.
Step four: Slotting in the guide flag. This plastic fin goes in the slot on the track to steer. Thing got stuck when I pushed it into the chassis. Wiggled it gently while muttering “work you little…” and it finally clicked into place. Small victories!
Testing time: Set up the tiny oval track piece that came with the kit. Placed the car on it. Holding my breath, I turned the power controller knob slowly. Motor whined softly… wheels spun! Nearly flipped off the track immediately when it shot forward. Adjusted the guide flag depth, tweaked the pickup skate tension against the rails, tested again. This time it zoomed around smooth as butter. Actually yelled “HA! YES!” at nobody.
Final thoughts: Took me almost 5 hours total with all the swearing and dropped parts. Looks kinda janky up close – glue smudges on the windscreen, paint job rushed. But man, seeing that little racer fly around the track feels awesome. Kids begged to play with it after school, and now they’re hooked too. Might buy more track pieces Friday. Wallet’s weeping already.
