Finish Line

Kart-Racer Tuesday, 8/28/2012

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Hello all I'm new to Diecast racing and am setting up my first track. I was wondering if anyone has made a DIY mechanical finish line and could help me with mine. I would rather like to have a DIY finish line so I can improve on the design and repair easily. If anyone could help that would be great! Thanks


Discussion

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Finish lines is something everybody is trying to improve at a reasonable price.

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model40fan 8/28/12

i had good luck adapting the finishline from the INDY 500 roll up race set, $15 plus shipping... bolted it to a dual lane lapcounter.. used it in a 133 pass race with no malfunctions... edited for pix to come.

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redlinederby 8/28/12
Site manager

Welcome to Redline Derby, Kart! I think you'll find these boards the best resource for diecast racing and hope you hang out a bit and pick everyone's brain. There's a lot of experience on these pages for everything from custom cars, track building and even just good old fashioned collecting.

But as was said, making a DIY finish line is like the holy grail around here. It's something everyone wants but no one can figure out (easily). Adapting existing playset finish lines seems to be the way to go for the most part, as Smitty (model40fan) said.

Here's the thread about the modified finish line he was talking about: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=895

But if you just cruise around this forum for a bit you'll find a lot of threads about finish lines with discussion and pictures. If nothing else it should give you some ideas to try (and see which ideas aren't worth trying).

Happy racing!! And don't forget to share your racing photos and stories here for everyone to enjoy. We love seeing how people are racing.

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Preacher 8/29/12

Hey where are you located at in Canada? I use for a finish line, one of the electronic finish lines that come with the Super Six Lane from Hot Wheels...it works great!

Preacher

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vidmouse 9/7/12

Couldn't sleep well tonight, so I decided to prototype my finish line...
Based on the one from the Drag Race set, the flag falls (most of the time)
on the side that wins.

Made from popsicle sticks, hot glue, 2 metal L-brackets, a rubber band,
a penny, a pushpin, and a cardback from a Hot Wheels car. Maybe some paint later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihWzWPGf0C0

Enjoy!

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model40fan 9/7/12

nice finishline V. well done !

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Preacher 9/7/12

Great Job!

Preacher

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redlinederby 9/7/12
Site manager

Well that's damn clever. Can you take some still photos up-close of the front and back? I don't see in the video where the rubber band is being used or the brackets.

Is the rubber band holding the vertical "trigger" sticks so they snap back as the car goes by?

This is near how the V-Drop finish line that I have works too, only the flags go up so it uses springs.

Great idea, Vid, you're on to something with this. I think I might try to re-create this with cardboard.

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model40fan 9/7/12

just got a green with orange padles finishline mixed in with some ebay stuff, it has the winner's flag raise first, but then friction holds both of them up for a few seconds then gravity resets the flags .... i still like the popcycle stick trick...

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vidmouse 9/7/12

Thanks! Glad you like the popsicle stick model. Here's a few shots as requested, along with a description.

Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox

Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox

Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox

Hope this helps you make your own if you want. I notice that I had to play w/ the
interface between the flag and the triggers a little bit to get it to work better, and
added more glue to beef up the trigger-to-rubber-band-to-top-support joint. In
the video it was a little loose, that's partly why I think the first shot missed triggering.

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model40fan 9/8/12

Indy 500 roll up raceway / sizzlers dual lane lapcounter = finishline
Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox

.
[2] flags, winning flag only pops up, press it back down to reset.... works well.
Indy 500 Roll-Up race track's finishline is about $20.00 shipped from Amazon...
.
[ after cutting off the finishline ; duct tape the 2 track ends together leaving a 2" square tab on each side to hold the track down and (tight), then throw a second car in the box and give it to a deserving kid ]
1970'S sizzler dual lane lap counter is about $15.00 shipped on e-bay...

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vidmouse 9/10/12

That's pretty cool. I might still invest in one of those b/c I noticed that
after a weekend of racing, my popsicle gate was showing some wear and
giving false readings on some close races. I'm not 100% sure, but will
run some tests later with video to check it out.


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