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!

WLF1 Ring - Sector Towers

My original Sector Towers were one of the first structures to go up. A little hastily and spindely I might add so late this winter I upgraded the structure based off the originals. Some of this was prompted by me getting ever closer to sector timing for my circuit via a friend of mine, BT. We're not quite there yet, but the custom chip has been developed, Copper gaps are in (to register cars going past) and soon it'll be all up and running for lap timing as well as sector timing just like a real F1 race! The new structures were made primarily of stick and sheet balsa wood, a little styrene and graphics. They certainly look more robust and are easily spotted from the drivers stations.

WLF1 Ring - Night Racing

Night racing is certainly as much fun as day racing on the Ring. I haven't taken specific night shots in quite some time although there has certainly been a lot of lighting added. These are really just more overview type shots but it gives a good sense of what to expect when lapping the circuit at night. Still a few more power issues for me to address though as some of the lights are not illuminating due to bad cell phone transformers or inadequate power. Both the cell and radio towers have red LEDs on top. Also the crane has a series of lights. Still though just small details that very few will notice. Of course I always notice them!

WLF1 Ring - Main Straight Additions Part 2

For the last part of the main straight I wanted to add team control boxes. Typically these are put on the pit wall, but due to my limited space there I opted for the bleacher side of the track and the walkways provide teams a way to get team members over there. These were more gator board and styrene pieces for the main components. The roof is scored clear lexan. The stools are cut out patterns that I folded up an added supoport tubes then glued them to the buildings. TV screens are graphics mounted to a strip of styrene and are color coded to the adjacent pit boxes. I dressed them up with some numbers and WLF1 Ring logos to add a touch more detail. If you're ever over take a close look at those monitors, you might find an interesting camera shot or two!