Coyote Cavern

I humbly submit my first track for good natured criticism and suggestions. I was inspired by the members of the Redline Derby Racing community and the incredible racing videos. I'm not the first to choose a Roadrunner/Coyote scenario I'm sure, but it assured me of endless smiles whenever I think of that stupid looking coyote thinking he's so clever just before he goes FAP! into the side of a mountain.

So, here's my 4 x 8 assemblidge of impossible geology and an 8 second road race track by unmodified cars. Pink foam flew for weeks, with a surprising lack of bloodshed. Normally I'm a little clumsy with sharp tools.

Main features:
2 lane Spoolheads track in the first section, over a cartoon style bridge. and a Slanman crossover to somewhat equalize the lane advantage.

A few curves on a plateau to set up the next event.

A Jump where a failed rock ledge squished the coyote below. This jump is an eliminator, as many cars are unable to survive it. I have tuned it pretty well so that most cars in reasonable shape succeed.

The high bank curve which, if properly negotiated, can just rocket the jumping car to the next element. This was initially a problem as some cars acquired too much speed. Comments from the forum helped me resolve it.

My favorite part is the drift pad inside of the lighted cavern. This took endless hours of experimenting. All of the on-line drift pad videos were helpful for this, but very few of them actually incorporated the drift pad into a working race track. I now get around 70% drifting, with the biggest variable being the cars themselves. A good drift is a thing of beauty, particularly when a drifting car overtakes a car which chose to follow the back guard rail. The drift “trigger” is mostly concealed.

Straight open track out of the cavern to the finish line and de-energizing corral. Timing system by Playrobotics.

The Playrobotics system required some rework. It's electronics are held in a block with wires coming out in 3 directions, I didn't want it visable so I placed it behind the scenery. Had to cobble some extension wires to the start gate and secondary display placed on the flat of the high bank curve. But the remote uses infra red, which requires line of sight. So, I used a ¼ inch shielded monofilament fiber optic cable which I poked discretely througfh the scenery, with the other end pointed to the ir reciever on the electronics block. It worked. I have since installed an ir repeater which works a little better.

Looking back, one of my own criticisms is the viewing angle for a race. I was not building this track for others, or for a group. Only for myself. As a result, a race is best viewed from a central position in the front of the layout. Standing anywhere else around it would not provide a good, complete view of the whole track. If I knew there would be 2 or 3 people watching a race, I'd have done thing differently.

I struggled with the scenery in that I intended it to be simplistic and impressionistic, like the cartoons.  But I was constantly drifting towards more realism, which is contrary to the cartoonishness. In the end, I failed at both concepts.  Not as Chuck Jonesy as I had intended, but not as realistic as it could have been.  I need to commit!  Or be committed.

As I'm sure you all know, dioramas are never really finished. There's always something to be added, improved, adjusted. A background is sorely needed. I haven't added the coyoted shaped hole in the rock, the catapult, or the abandoned Acme Anvil Co. crate. But I will, eventually.