Review by CoMod martinmm of the Carrera DIGITAL 124 Mercedes-Benz W 125 'No. 35', AVUS 1937 (23751)
With the Mercedes-Benz W125 StromlinieCarrera , is
not only releasing
a reissue of the 1999 Exclusiv model, but also a “variant”—at least as far as the starting number is concerned.
The Grand Prix race car, designed by Rolf Uhlenhaut in 1937,W125 competed with driver Rudolf Caracciola on May 30, 1937, at the 6th International AVUS Race with full aerodynamic fairing. Also competing was the Auto Union Type C from Auto Union AG with starting number 33, which also featured full bodywork. The streamlined cars reached speeds of up to 380 km/h on the straightaway. Rudolf Caracciola secured the victory with an average speed of 250.33 km/h. Bernd Rosemeyer set the fastest average lap speed to date in his Auto Union.
For 37 years, this was the fastest lap ever recorded in a Grand Prix car.
Apart from minor body modifications and new spoked rims, the car isCarrera
identical to theW125
#36 released in 1999.
Technical Specifications:
The car is equipped with the latest D124 chassis generation. The most striking features are the magnets, which are now located inside the car. As with the current D132 models, these areEvolution
accessible only by unscrewing the body.
To do this, the motor mount must be loosened and the motor block removed. Then the center and rear magnets can be removed. The center magnet is still a three-piece design. The front axle is no longer swing-type but is now rigidly mounted. This gives the vehicle more stability in corners in its original condition.
Appearance:
I’m convinced that even people who aren’t fans of these old vehicles will find them appealing. Visually, they’re real eye-catchers—especially when you remove the wheel covers and the very delicate spoked rims are revealed.
Driving Performance:
In their original condition with a full set of magnets, they run as smoothly as ever, almost as if on rails. There’s hardly any margin between taking a fast corner at the limit and veering off the track. Without magnets, the narrow and treaded rear wheels quickly reveal the limits of traction. Due to the grooved tread pattern, the contact patch is reduced by another 50%—you’re essentially driving on bicycle tires. That doesn’t work.
You should at least sand down the tires until the tread pattern is gone. Then it’s a bit better.
I experienced the best handling characteristics with the two outer center magnets and 10g of additional weight in the center of the chassis. The grip is sufficiently high, but you still need a light touch with your thumb in the turns to keep the car from just sliding around. Acceleration and braking performance are very good, even on large tracks.
Outer edge strips are indispensable in the turns. And then it’s really fun!
The test car had a flaw in that not all four wheels were resting on the straightening plate. The cause was a threaded bushing on the front axle mount that hadn’t been fully tightened. Once corrected, everything was fine. This had been noticeable due to severe rear-end breakaway during braking.
We can't wait to see the Maserati!
CoMod
Martinmm****************************************
Review by CoMod Mike... on theCarrera DIGITAL 124
Mercedes-Benz W 125 'No. 35', AVUS 1937
(23715)
Back in 1999, the Exclusiv Stromlinien models in the AVUS starter set were already a sales success. They had been relatively unknown in the slot car sector until then, and their historical-futuristic bodywork also impressed buyers at the end of the 20th In the 20th century, you had to dig deep into your pockets! Unfortunately, the beautiful bodywork back then couldn’t make the dedicated slot car racers overlook the rather poor handling! The gear ratio—which was still too long at the time—combined with the electronics board, turned these streamlined
cars, with their guide fins set much too high, into rather mediocre racers!
An additional magnet—and later, changing the gear ratio—improved these gorgeous cars’ cornering without having to lift off the throttle 2 meters beforehand!
For me, shimming the guide fins with washers was standard practice on these cars!
The announcement of the reissue gave me hope that
the new chassis redesign of this Avus steep-corner monster
would bring nothing but benefits! And then they arrived...
Right out of the box, they look great!
Compared to the old Exclusiv models, you can see subtle additional color accents around the intake and exhaust areas on the body! Basically, the only modification needed on the body was to the mounting studs, which were replaced with the standard threaded bushings. That’s great news: the old bodies can be fitted with the new chassis if you use the old screws here.
The only downside is the slightly orange race numbers on the old version and the bright red ones on the new ones. But this way, you can double the starting field!
But now for the durability and comparison test on the SG-Stern wooden track, where the old Exclusiv racers were almost undriveable.
Of course, the slight bouncing is perfectly normal—just like with any mass-produced plastic rim. Still, it maintains a pretty decent straight-line stability. The cornering drift is very forgiving thanks to
the new steering angle, and the redesigned swingarm with spring ensures sufficient depth in the slot. Even stock, the Silver Arrow handles significantly better than its older counterparts with the old swingarm!
With sanded tires, the car whirs along almost as if it had aluminum pot-style rims! I’m definitely thrilled! If you want to take it to the next level, you can install a rear axle mount from various professional shops and fit ball bearings. Up front, thanks to the fixed axle, a 6mm ball bearing can also be installed without any modifications. The problem, though, is likely to be finding rim covers that match the look of the spoked wheels, so the tire covers will have to stay on!
But on theCarrera track, none of this is necessary—a little tire-to-tire contact is plenty of fun, and you can
admire the beautifullyrestored spoke rims without the covers!
CoMod Mike...
With the Mercedes-Benz W125 Stromlinie
The Grand Prix race car, designed by Rolf Uhlenhaut in 1937,W125 competed with driver Rudolf Caracciola on May 30, 1937, at the 6th International AVUS Race with full aerodynamic fairing. Also competing was the Auto Union Type C from Auto Union AG with starting number 33, which also featured full bodywork. The streamlined cars reached speeds of up to 380 km/h on the straightaway. Rudolf Caracciola secured the victory with an average speed of 250.33 km/h. Bernd Rosemeyer set the fastest average lap speed to date in his Auto Union.
For 37 years, this was the fastest lap ever recorded in a Grand Prix car.
Apart from minor body modifications and new spoked rims, the car is
Technical Specifications:
The car is equipped with the latest D124 chassis generation. The most striking features are the magnets, which are now located inside the car. As with the current D132 models, these are
To do this, the motor mount must be loosened and the motor block removed. Then the center and rear magnets can be removed. The center magnet is still a three-piece design. The front axle is no longer swing-type but is now rigidly mounted. This gives the vehicle more stability in corners in its original condition.
Appearance:
I’m convinced that even people who aren’t fans of these old vehicles will find them appealing. Visually, they’re real eye-catchers—especially when you remove the wheel covers and the very delicate spoked rims are revealed.
Driving Performance:
In their original condition with a full set of magnets, they run as smoothly as ever, almost as if on rails. There’s hardly any margin between taking a fast corner at the limit and veering off the track. Without magnets, the narrow and treaded rear wheels quickly reveal the limits of traction. Due to the grooved tread pattern, the contact patch is reduced by another 50%—you’re essentially driving on bicycle tires. That doesn’t work.
You should at least sand down the tires until the tread pattern is gone. Then it’s a bit better.
I experienced the best handling characteristics with the two outer center magnets and 10g of additional weight in the center of the chassis. The grip is sufficiently high, but you still need a light touch with your thumb in the turns to keep the car from just sliding around. Acceleration and braking performance are very good, even on large tracks.
Outer edge strips are indispensable in the turns. And then it’s really fun!
The test car had a flaw in that not all four wheels were resting on the straightening plate. The cause was a threaded bushing on the front axle mount that hadn’t been fully tightened. Once corrected, everything was fine. This had been noticeable due to severe rear-end breakaway during braking.
We can't wait to see the Maserati!
CoMod
Martinmm****************************************
Review by CoMod Mike... on the
Back in 1999, the Exclusiv Stromlinien models in the AVUS starter set were already a sales success. They had been relatively unknown in the slot car sector until then, and their historical-futuristic bodywork also impressed buyers at the end of the 20th In the 20th century, you had to dig deep into your pockets! Unfortunately, the beautiful bodywork back then couldn’t make the dedicated slot car racers overlook the rather poor handling! The gear ratio—which was still too long at the time—combined with the electronics board, turned these streamlined
cars, with their guide fins set much too high, into rather mediocre racers!
An additional magnet—and later, changing the gear ratio—improved these gorgeous cars’ cornering without having to lift off the throttle 2 meters beforehand!
For me, shimming the guide fins with washers was standard practice on these cars!
The announcement of the reissue gave me hope that
the new chassis redesign of this Avus steep-corner monster
would bring nothing but benefits! And then they arrived...
Right out of the box, they look great!
Compared to the old Exclusiv models, you can see subtle additional color accents around the intake and exhaust areas on the body! Basically, the only modification needed on the body was to the mounting studs, which were replaced with the standard threaded bushings. That’s great news: the old bodies can be fitted with the new chassis if you use the old screws here.
The only downside is the slightly orange race numbers on the old version and the bright red ones on the new ones. But this way, you can double the starting field!
But now for the durability and comparison test on the SG-Stern wooden track, where the old Exclusiv racers were almost undriveable.
Of course, the slight bouncing is perfectly normal—just like with any mass-produced plastic rim. Still, it maintains a pretty decent straight-line stability. The cornering drift is very forgiving thanks to
the new steering angle, and the redesigned swingarm with spring ensures sufficient depth in the slot. Even stock, the Silver Arrow handles significantly better than its older counterparts with the old swingarm!
With sanded tires, the car whirs along almost as if it had aluminum pot-style rims! I’m definitely thrilled! If you want to take it to the next level, you can install a rear axle mount from various professional shops and fit ball bearings. Up front, thanks to the fixed axle, a 6mm ball bearing can also be installed without any modifications. The problem, though, is likely to be finding rim covers that match the look of the spoked wheels, so the tire covers will have to stay on!
But on the
admire the beautifullyrestored spoke rims without the covers!
CoMod Mike...
