The sts range
included six types of car, Jeeps, Mercedes, Nissans, Pinzgauers, Land Rovers
and Peugeots. All the cars use the same chassis assembly, which the car body
clips onto. Trailers were also available.
The chassis,
common to all car types, carries the motor, axles and guide assembly.
The chassis is
an approximately rectangular moulding with an open top. It has clips for the
axle, contact arm and motor. The motor fits diagonally in the chassis and its
shaft has worm gears at each end. The worm gears are made of brass and these
mesh with plastic gears on both axles so all four wheels are driven. The worm
gear means that the cars stop very quickly when the power stops and they will not
free wheel at all. The motor is small and is probably only rated at 6 volts,
hence the lower voltage power supply and high resistance controllers. The size
of the motor and low gearing means that the cars are not fast but they are able
to climb steep inclines in the track. It is not possible to service the motor.
Only one type of
axle is used in sts cars. This is very simple with a black plastic drive gear
towards one end and two white wheels with black, treaded tyres.
The chassis is formed
with a keyhole shaped cut at each end in line with the ends of the worm gears.
These were designed to accommodate pins formed on the end of prototype plastic
worm gears so that they were held firmly onto the axle gears. Sadly, this
facility does not seem to have ever been used in production cars. The result is
that as the motor and chassis wear with use, the worm and axle gears are not
held together so firmly and they can start to slip. The worm gears in the
plasticard mock-up Mercedes (see below) are plastic and do have these pins. For
this reason, the car still works better than some others, which have had less
use.
There are two
types of chassis. The difference concerns how the contact arm (see below) is
retained. (Photo) Type
one chassis have open clips (similar to those that retain the axles) so the
contact arm can be simply pressed in. Type 2 chassis have closed clips. These
require the right hand pin (around which the spring is mounted) to be located
first then the left hand pin is pressed home past a bevel into the hole
opposite.
The guide
assembly is fairly complex. The guide is on the forward end of a sprung drop
arm (also called a Contact Arm), which is hinged at the rear of the chassis.
This means that electrical contact between the guide and the rails can be
maintained when the cars are driven over high obstacles. The guide rotates
about a vertical axis as normal; but it is located in a holder, which can
rotate about a horizontal axis in line with the cars’ length. This allows the
guide to remain flat on the rails when one side of the car is raised (for
example, with the see-saw or centre obstacles). The guide also has projections
(or “stabilisers”) on each side. The obstacle tracks have grooves to
accommodate these stabilisers so that the guide is kept firmly in the slot as
one or both sides of the car are raised. The pick-up braids come out of the top
of the guide and are curved down the front and under the guide. This allows
contact with the rails to be maintained when obstacles lift the car.
The drop arm is
a flat piece of plastic holding the guide at one end and hinged at the other
where it attaches to the chassis. Power is carried from the pick-up braids to
the motor by two thin uninsulated braids, which are retained on the upper side
of the arm. These braids then form small loops before passing through the
chassis to the motor.
There are two
types of contact arm and guide. (Photo) On earlier arms, if the thin braids came loose from the
contact arm, they could touch the casing of the motor (which was exposed
through the bottom surface of the chassis) causing the power to short-circuit
and the car to stop. Later (type 2) contact arms differ by the addition of a
flat plastic cover to clamp the braids and prevent them coming loose and
touching the motor casing. This cover is sometimes missing. Type 2 contact
arms, which should have the cover, can be identified by a small rectangular
hole immediately to the rear of the “sts 4x4”
logo, which the cover clips through. Later guides differed in two areas. The
peg holding type 2 guides into the holder was about 2mm nearer the back of the
guide. This meant that the guide was held further forward in the vehicle. Also
the size of the holes (slots) used to hold the braids differed. Early (type 1)
guides have smaller holes for 3mm braids; type 2 guides have larger holes for
4mm braids.
The changes in
the contact arm and guide seem to have been introduced at different times so do
not appear to coincide. I have not looked at many combinations but those I have
noticed seem to indicate that the changes to the guide were made after the new
contact arm was introduced. The most important point to notice about these
differences is the size of replacement braid to be used. 4mm braids will not go
into 3mm holes and, whilst 3mm braids will go in to 4mm holes, they could be
loose or misaligned.
The spring
pressing the drop arm down also pushes the chassis and wheels upwards, away
from the track surface, so reducing traction. This effect is counteracted by
two substantial weights fitted in the chassis. These also help to lower the
centre of gravity of the cars and keep them more stable in the slot. Some of
the cars have metal winches on their front bumpers, which, apart from their
decorative function, also add weight to the front to improve traction. Cars
without these metal winches have extra weight added inside the front of the
body. (Top)
There are 6
types of car, which were produced in a variety of colours and liveries. As
stated above, the bodies of these cars all clip to the standard chassis
assembly. All the cars except Peugeots were fitted with hooks at the rear for
towing trailers. These hooks were black except in Jeeps where they were the
same colour as the body. Hooks were never catalogued as spares.
The drivers were
usually full figures missing only their feet. The left hand is on the steering
wheel and the right points down towards the gear stick. The Peugeot was a much
smaller car than the others so the driver was more like normal Scalextric
drivers comprising only head and shoulders and both arms on the steering wheel.
The drivers are generally white unless the cars are white in which case red
drivers were fitted. There are exceptions; white Nissans and Land Rovers have
been seen with white drivers but these cars were probably produced unofficially
(see below).
All the cars
came with mirrors except the Peugeot where the “mirrors” are little more than
bumps on the body moulding. The mirrors are extremely fragile and break easily.
Even cars that have never been removed from their box sometimes have a broken
mirror, often on the right-hand side. The car could come away from its
retaining clips allowing it to bounce around inside the box. Because the cars
were always orientated with the left side showing through the acetate, the
right side would hit the card at the back of the box breaking the mirror. Jeep
mirrors form part of the windscreen surround and dashboard moulding which is
heat-sealed to the main body. The other 4 cars used separate black mirrors with
tabs, which were inserted into slots in the body. These mirrors were
rectangular: horizontal on Nissans and Pinzgauers, vertical on Mercedes and
Land Rovers. It is wise to remove the mirrors if possible before running the
cars. Mirrors were never catalogued as spares but could possibly have been
informally available. They are very hard to come by now.
Some of the cars
were available in sets but all the official cars were available individually in
boxes. These boxes are all similar in blue with yellow “sts4x4” logos, white
writing and an acetate window over part of the front and top. White labels with
black text were attached to one of the end-flaps. Plastic clips retained the
cars through the yellow card liner clipping onto the axles. Each boxed car came
with a maintenance sheet specific to the car. Some boxes also had “by
Scalextric” printed on them. As the Scalextric logo has not been seen on Land
Rover or Peugeot boxes, it seems likely that it only appeared on earlier boxes.
It is possible that Exin had ideas about exporting sts so removed “Scalextric”
from the boxes to avoid infringing the UK Company’s brand name outside Spain.
This would be consistent with the production of the multi-lingual (English,
French and Italian) set instruction booklet.
Known colours
and liveries are set out below. Officially, the factory produced most cars in
three or four colours, each colour usually having a specific livery. The
liveries were stickers, which I understand were applied by hand so it is
possible that a livery may be found in conjunction with a colour for which it
was not originally intended.
It is known that
some cars were produced in non-standard colours. The most obvious reason is that
test shots were produced in colours that never went into production but such
cars, if they exist at all, will be very rare. Apart from test shots, it is
known that Nissans, Land Rovers and trailers were produced in limited
quantities in non-standard colours and there is also some speculation about
Pinzgauers (see below). The origins of these cars are not clear and there are
many stories about them. Some say factory staff produced them on an informal
basis but there is anecdotal evidence that they were produced unofficially
outside the factory using moulds acquired from the factory around the time it
closed. I have been told that at the end of its operation, Exin was having
difficulty paying its staff’s wages so, in compensation, handed the factory and
its contents to them, retaining only the tooling. Staff then sold the contents
and eventually the building, over the course of a year.
It is understood
that some 1:32 cars in rare or odd colours were produced in the factory,
unofficially by staff shortly after Exin ceased trading. Shortly after that,
the electricity supply to the factory was cut so that option was no longer
available. It is believed that the moulds for the Nissan, Land Rover and
trailer bodies were lent to people outside the factory. We can only speculate
why this was done. It is known that there was some sts stock at the time,
probably including chassis. This stock would have had little value without
bodies so this would give a motive for their manufacture at this time. Moulds
for the other four vehicle types were not available; no one can explain why
that was so. Perhaps the choice was influenced again by what remained in the
factory. Nissans and Land Rovers may have been used because, for example,
model-specific parts such as livery stickers were available for those two cars
but not for the others. Such evidence as there is suggests that the moulds
remained at the factory until it was sold. If this is the case, it is almost
certain that all the sts moulds were then sold for scrap.
A former Exin
employee told me that, apart from the other odd colours, Nissans and Land
Rovers were also produced at that time in white. I believe this to be the case
because all these unofficial sts Nissans and Land Rovers had white drivers. It
is most likely that, had the white cars been made officially, they would have
had red drivers.
The list of cars
below reflects cars seen by the author (except where stated) so may not be
exhaustive. Car types are described in the order of their reference number. The
dates indicate when the car first appeared in the catalogue. (Top)
2200 Jeep CJ-5 1985
Jeeps are open-topped vehicles with optional black roofs. Roofs were not always
supplied in sets but were supplied with cars bought separately. Jeeps have no
“glass” in their windscreens nor side window frames so the windscreen surround
is not well supported and can break easily. For this reason, it is wise to fit
the roof when running these cars but there is little that can be done to
protect the mirrors. Jeeps were fitted with the front winch.
Red 2 “Jeep” * (Photos 1
2)
White 3 “Jeep”
* (Photos 1 2)
Green 5 “Jeep”
* (Photos 1 2)
Yellow 47 “Laredo”
(Photos 1 2)
(* Jeeps numbered 2, 3 & 5 have slightly different “Jeep” liveries.) (Top)
2201 Mercedes 280GE 1985
Mercedes are open-topped vehicles with optional black roofs. Roofs were not
always supplied with Mercedes in sets but were supplied with cars bought
separately. The screen, etc is more robust than the Jeep’s and the mirrors can
be removed. Mercedes were not fitted with the front winch but a metal weight is
visible, fitted into the front of the car between the body and the black driver
platform. The plasticard factory mock up of the Mercedes had a spare wheel
fitted to the rear. Production versions do not but there is a tab in the same
position, which looks like it may have been designed to carry a spare wheel.
Exin may have decided not to fit spare wheels because they cost extra, they
were too fragile, they fouled on trailers or perhaps the extra weight at the
back would have acted to lift the front of the car.
Red 2 “Marlboro” (Photos 1 2)
White 4 “Rothmans”
(Photos 1 2)
Orange 34 “Jagermeister”
(Photos 1 2)
Blue 47 “Pioneer” (Photos 1
2)
White 4 “Rothmans”
Plasticard factory mock-up with some painted decoration,
spare wheel
and other differences. (Photos 1 2)
Red 47 “Pioneer”, blue 2 “Marlboro” and orange 4 “Rothmans” Mercedes have been
seen. (Photo) (Top)
2202 Trailer 1985
These are simple rectangular trailers designed to be towed behind all the cars
except Peugeots. They have a single axle similar to those used on cars but
without the gear. This clips to the underside of the trailer body. Two bars
forming a blunt V come forward from the front, lower edge of the trailer to the
hitch. The hitch has two parts. The upper part has the hole to go over the hook
at the rear of the car. Below that is a plain piece, which goes under the hook
to prevent the hitch uncoupling in use. There is a recess at the rear of the
trailer to accommodate a hook so that more than one trailer can be towed in
line. Hooks were never fitted into trailers as standard and would have to be
taken from other cars.
The trailers were packed with a sheet of self-adhesive decals to brighten up
their otherwise plain appearance. These decals are not pre-cut so have to be
cut from the sheet by hand before they can be applied. Trailers are very light
and have a tendency to bounce a lot on the rough track and obstacles. They can
be used to carry “loads” but a heavy load would affect the performance of the
car and a light load would tend to jump out of the trailer as it bounced over
the track.
Trailers were individually packed in bags and card (photo). These were then packed for dealers in boxes of four. I
have been told that trailers were originally produced in the four Jeep colours,
red, yellow, green and white. I have also seen blue trailers in original
packing but these seem to be much less common which would bear out the idea that
this colour was an afterthought. They have also been seen in three non-standard
colours, black, turquoise and bright red (corresponding to the colours of the
Nissan Patrols below) (photo). It is
believed that these were produced unofficially at the time the factory closed
in 1992 or very soon after. (Top)
2203 Nissan Patrol 1986
The Nissan Patrol is a pick-up type of vehicle with a closed cab and an open
rear for load carrying. The model came with an anti-roll bar set into the open
rear section with spotlights attached to it over the rear of the cab. This
anti-roll bar with its lights is another fragile part but is more robust than
the mirrors so is normally intact except on the most heavily used cars. As it
is heat sealed to the body, it cannot be removed to protect it in use. Nissans
were fitted with the front winch. It is believed that there were three main
colour/livery combinations
Yellow 1 “Nikon”
(photo)
Blue 156 “Nissan” (photos 1
2)
Red 173 “VSD” (photos 1 2)
White and blue examples have been seen with the 173 “VSD” livery (photos 1 2) and white and red examples with the 1 “Nikon” livery.
A number of white Nissans have been seen in various liveries. Normally,
officially produced white cars would have had red drivers but all the white
Nissans I have seen have white drivers. The most credible explanation is that white
Nissans were only produced unofficially at the time the factory closed. An Exin
employee I spoke to stated that white Nissans were only produced at this time
along with other odd colours. Three other non-standard colours have been seen (photo), black (1 “Nikon”) and turquoise
and bright red (both 156 “Nissan”). These match the colours of the non-standard
trailers above and it is believed that they were all produced at the same time.
The catalogue only ever showed one colour/livery combination for each model.
These illustrations were not photographs but drawn and the same drawing was
replicated in all succeeding catalogues. All the models illustrated were fairy
accurate representations of actual models (Cars page, 1989 catalogue)
except for the Nissan. The Nissan illustration corresponds almost exactly to
the blue “Nissan” liveried car except it is shown with a red driver, a white
tow hook and race number 370. I have never seen a car numbered 370 and it is
believed it was never produced. (Top)
2204 Pinzgauer 1987
The Pinzgauer is a type of box van. This basic shape means that, apart from the
mirrors, there is very little that is fragile. All had Puch logos on the roof.
The winch was not fitted. No weight is visible but there is a space in the
driver platform, which probably accommodates one.
White 28 Totip (photos 1 2)
Blue 36 New Man/Motul (photos 1 2)
Yellow 147 sts (photos 1 2)
The factory produced cars in two different shades of yellow. A number of
slightly darker yellow cars with the 28 “Totip” livery have been seen (photos 1 2). It is also believed that some red cars have been made (not
seen) and, whilst the details and origins of these are not certain, it is
thought that a sub-contractor in Madrid made them. Apparently, these red cars
first appeared in shops in the Madrid area. I have been told that there is an
example of an orange Pinzgauer (not seen), which came from the factory after it
closed. This may have been a test shot or it might perhaps be a reference to
the red car if the shade of red used was particularly bright. (Top)
2205 Land Rover 1988
This model is based on the short wheelbase variant of the classic Land Rover -
now branded “Defender” - with a complete roof and windows. As well as the front
winch, the model has a number of embellishments including a wing-mounted
shovel, a roof-height exhaust and a roof rack. Land Rovers were produced later
so are less common than the earlier cars.
Yellow 5 Camel
* (photos 1 2)
Green 12 Camel * (photos 1
2)
White 63 VSD (photos 1 2)
(* Land Rover liveries numbered 5 & 12 are otherwise identical.)
I have also seen a white Land Rover with a red driver and 5 “Camel” livery.
Yellow and green Land Rovers were both produced in two distinct shades. The
more common cars are those made in the brighter, richer shades typical of many
slot cars. Most of the promotional literature shows the duller shades but in
fact these are less common. The dull yellow (photo) is sometimes called mustard. The dull green (photo) is particularly rare
and is often referred to as khaki. I always understood that khaki was a
predominantly brown colour but the colour certainly has a military look to it,
albeit rather light. I have been told that the dull shades were produced only
for use in sets. I have also been told that they were produced towards the end
of the life of sts but this is not consistent with their use in brochures. Some
of the dull coloured cars (particularly mustard) were sold after the factory
closed as bodies only without winches. This could indicate that either they
were made by the factory near the time that production and sale of sts ended or
set sales did not reach expectations.
Apart from the standard colours and variations, I have also seen Land Rovers in
blue (5 & 12) (photos 1 2) and purple (12) (photos 1 2). I have also seen a white Land Rover with a white driver (12)
(photo). I believe that
these cars were all produced unofficially when the factory closed. A Land Rover
was also been reported to me in red (not seen), this might have been a test
shot. (Top)
2206 Peugeot 205 T16 1989
This model is based on a standard hatchback with small black spoilers forward
of each front wing and a large black spoiler above the rear window. This was
the last sts car to be produced and is the scarcest. The winch was not fitted
and whilst no weight is visible, there is a space in the driver platform, which
probably accommodates one. Only two colours and liveries were produced. (photos
1 2)
White 126 “Pioneer” (photo)
Yellow 205 “Shell” (photo) (Top)
In line with
other Scalextric products a range of spare parts was offered (photo). These were packed in bags and
card.
2400 Motor 1985
2401 Complete Axle 1985
2402 Tyres (4) 1985
2403 Braids (4) 1985 - 1986
2404 Chassis 1986
2405 Contact Arm 1986
2406 Contact Arm Springs (6) 1986
2407 Braids 3mm (2) 1987 (replaced 2403?)
2408 Braids 4mm (2) 1988
Braid width
should be chosen according to the guide (see above).
Two sheets of
self-adhesive decals were also available packed in bag and card. These provided
additional decoration rather than replacements for the original decals. It is
not believed that decals were available to repair or replace the original
liveries. As with the stickers for the trailers, these don’t appear to have
been pre-cut.
2425 Additional decals (set 1) 1986 (image)
2426 Additional decals (set 2) 1988 (image)
Car bodies were
also available. These were packed in bags with card covers. I have only seen a
few of these in the original packing, which makes these “accessories” much more
rare in MB form than the complete cars. I suspect that either few were made or
that many have been used as a cheap way of making up complete new cars.
2500 Jeep Body 1985
2501 Mercedes Body 1985
2502 Nissan Patrol Body 1986
2503 Pinzgauer Body 1987
2504 Land Rover Body 1988
2505 Peugeot Body 1989
Roofs for Jeeps
and Mercedes were never listed as spares but may have been obtainable. Mirrors
were also never listed but again, may have been obtainable. It is not believed
that towing hooks were ever available other than with cars or bodies.