WLF1 Ring February 2013 Part 2

A few more pictures to look over. As I said I will take some new pictures of the circuit over the weekend. Also check back in the near future for a new adventure I am undertaking. All I can say is it's F1 related and will ultimately span the 60+ years of F1's existence.

WLF1 Ring February 2013

It's been quite a long time since I've done some updates here. WLF1R is still very much in progress. I do have several new elements that have been added since the last post. Unfortunately I haven't taken any pictures! I'll work on those over the weekend here. In the mean time I figured I'd upload a few images never before published. Enjoy!

Overview - April 2011

As is customary around here now I'll wrap up my latest flurry of posts with the latest track overviews. Spring is here and track work will subside quite a bit for the summer, but the racing will go on! Have a great summer Northern Hemisphere, I'll post up some more when its Spring time in the Southern Hemi!

Lets see a back to back champ with Vettel driving his Kinky Kylie in F1 2011.

And finally a small quote that I saw at my friend Dons house and it resonates quite a lot with me.

"Whatever you do... be the best"

-Abraham Lincoln

If thats not what racing and life is all about I don't know what is.

-James

Discovery Channel Visits WLF1R

I imagine most of my friends and aquaintances have seen this but I thought I should post up the clip on my blog. Discovery Channel Canada was out for a day to film me and some friends racing on the circuit. It was a fantastic day with lots of HD cameras and audio. It finally culminated in a really cool piece Ben Schaub and his crew from Discovery put together that aired on their show Daily Planet. Thanks again to Don, Brad, Jimmy and Bryan for particiapting on that exciting day! Enjoy! http://watch.ctv.ca/clip417745#clip417745

Weather Station and Subterranean Garage

The cars keep piling in so it was time for another garage expansion. This time 4 additional floors. That should keep plenty of space for the next couple years, or maybe months (I wish)!

On my daily commute I pass the White Lake / Oakland County Weather Station and it has this cool spherical Doppler Radar dome. That got me to thinking that a weather station would be cool to have and so I've built one on top of the garage. I searched toy shops and sporting goods stores for a small soccer ball that I thought would be a perfect geodesic pattern for the dome. I finally found a nice foam one with a good coating that would accept oil / laquer paint (without eating the foam). From there it was the domes support structure and two story building made from gator board, popsicle type sticks and sintra sheet. It's dressed in corresponding blue / gray to go with the garage look. So how's the weather? Partly cloudy or sunny depending on your preference and it never changes...

Race Control Comm Tower

This new tower has been installed recently to help disguise a cord cover that goes up to the tracks new perimeter lights. Same style construction as the other towers primarily dowell rods and styrene. Back to the lights though, my friend/neighbor spent many hours with me helping me put up the light fixtures around the circuit installing dimmers and the like. The lights actually are pretty cool for night racing in that they have a set of blue leds in the center that remain on even when dimmed which gives a cool night look to the track. Thanks Smitty!

Medical Evac Euro Copter

Well a pretty straightforward one here. I actually got this model in Virginia visting my fiance's parents almost two years ago. My soon to be father in law, also a hobby guy suggested we go to a small hobby shop while on a road trip. Of course I couldn't turn that down and boy was I pleasantly surprised to find several 1/32 scale euro copter kits from revell. Many nationalities and styles so I opted for the medical evac type and finally got around to building it over the winter.

Another few additions are the add-on to the Tux Tower with track side patios on every level and of course the clouds made from chicken wire and poly fill on the ceiling. Certainly a great place to string up the heli!

Revised Pits 2

Here's a few additional pictures of the pit enhancements.

Revised Pit Elements 1

The WLF1 pitlane has undergone significant upgrades. Some damage had occurred through the several race nights I've hosted while other upgrades were merely to enhance the authenticity of the main straight. Firstly I've built a more robust pit wall with new fencing and updated logos. Also fluorescent entry/gap markers and F signs indicating where fire extinguishers can be found. I've updated the Team control boxes with a few additional architectural elements. Also the overhead walkway towers get a stairway landing pad like brick pavers along with railings and new graphics. One of the more subtle elements are the Elf fuel canisters I made. I created the graphics from scratch off of some rather low resolution photos I found on the web. So although not entirely accurate to the real deal they are pretty close for 1/32 scale. The fuel graphics were wrapped around large sized glue sticks cut to size. Unusual but a perfect size for them!

First Boat Sets Sail at White Lake

Greetings from the Ring followers. Its been another fun year of racing and building at White Lake F1 Ring. Spring is upon us so it's time for the latest updates on my track before my focus turns to the fine weather outside.

I did a rather haphazzard search for 1/32 scale boats to populate the lake in the middle of my circuit, and turned up with next to nothing. With some background in transportation design I figured I would create my own scratch built wave runner.

A relatively small craft with two occupants crusing through the viaduct at the East end of the track. I am including some build photos for those interested. I used sintra sheet to make the sides of the hull, then a balsa wood main deck. Seating was made from carved blue foam and the gantry, windshield and other small parts were made from various Sintra strips. It flies two flags proudly, the good ole starts and stripes and a vintage pirate. Its cool seeing it in its modeled environment with reflections coming off the water. I'll think I'll christen her the SS Eleven... go figure. Bon Voyage!

WLF1 Ring - Overview May 2010

I always like to have the first post on the blog be overview shots, especially when I know I'll be leaving this site alone for a while... its summer afterall so time to enjoy the fine Michigan weather. So here it is WLF1 Ring overviews. Until next time...

WLF1 Ring - Details

Here's a few shots of various upgraded places around the track. Turn 19 "James Boys" gets a scenic outer edge and billboards. The garage gets a 3rd floor (dare I say I ran out of space for two floors and am getting close to needing a 4th floor!) Also the garage ramps get more robust railings and blue trim pieces. Last place for the race is Park Ferme which gained a few visitors... and to the victor, the spoils!

WLF1 Ring - Triple Towers

Here's another case of hide the house to make the track look more complete. This time its the rear marshall access door. I started with a shelf anchored directly to the door and then added some 2 inch foam rock base. I made three buildings of decending sizes and oriented them along the door face. The left side of the left most building actually stays with the wall and door frame stationary while the remaining right half and other two buildings swing away with the door. This way for big race nights you can open the door for a marshall, otherwise its closed for a more complete scenic look. These buildings are all gatorboard with flat wood stock trim pieces. I did a few antennae platforms too to cover up some more of the door moulding. The buildings are elevated to accomodate a small lot to park a few cars on.

WLF1 Ring - Harlan Tech Center Upgrades

I left the HTC alone for quite sometime but recently revisited its structure. I never put the elevator doors on the original and the roof was a bit lacking in detail. Now you can see those added elements. Also I finally made the HTC sign which is a play on my signature. You can see the road way that leads up to it complete with manhole covers and a speed limit sign... 11 mph!? A little tip of the hat to my girlfriends nickname, Eleven. Recently I've been calling her Captain Slow though! ;)

WLF1 Ring - Track Terrace

This ones been waiting around for a long time... When I first did my lake surround of rocks and boulders I left certain areas flat and "available" for some future scenic. This is one of those areas, the Track Terrace. It sits adjacent to the Schumacher Esses and overlooks that section of the track. It also has two staircases leading down to circular waterfront platforms.

It's constructed of wood dowels, gatorboard and corrugated paper. Also the hand rails are silver solder which is easily pliable and not necessary to paint if you want a silver railing. Spectators here can enjoy the best mid speed corners on White Lake F1 Ring!

WLF1 Ring - Circle Lot Marshall Cover

Lately I've been working on hiding some of the substructure features of circuit. I race quite a bit with only a few guys and can actually marshall the track almost entirely from the drivers stations. So I began fabricating removeable or moveable scenic items beginning with the Circle Lot. This is a couple of 1/4 inch pieces of foam glued together and reinforced underneath with dowel rods. I scored the foam for concrete breaks and did a little rock and grass scaping to hide the edges when the cover is in place. Many people are quite surprised when I take out the Circle Lot for a big night of racing. The best of both worlds, good track access and complete scenic!