Description
By 1967, Russkit slot cars were exported in Europe, Australia, South Africa and even Japan. While the kits made a large part of the exported merchandise, ready to race models took less space and were favored by importers as shipping costs were lower despite the extra cost of assembly.
These two Honda F1 models reflect the typical export colors, the main ones being metallic brown and silver, both fogged with black.
Most of these RTR cars received plain-aluminum chassis, plain-aluminum axles and Hitachi motors called “Russkit 28”. The original Dunlop molded rubber tires were now hard narrow fronts and neoprene foam rear donuts that were glued on the wheels, then ground and trued. The guides were no longer the Carrera Series setscrew unit, but one of the several 2-piece jobs marketed by Russkit but largely ignored by the customers. A supply issue could also have been present here.
The two models shown here are different from the usual by that they were fitted with Pactra “Super Hemi X88” motors, because of a supply problem. Pactra came to Russkit’s help by supplying a number of their Igarashi/Strombecker-sourced motors. Enough of these models have now surfaced to assess that they are authentic, a fact confirmed by Jim Russell a few years back.
