'KING COBRA'
by Phil Wicks
The Cooper Cobra or King Cobra as it is more popularly called, was a great little model forty years ago and not too much has changed in the meantime. Although an MRRC kit the main body is undisputedly made from the Monogram mouldings of that era. The chassis too is a plastic look alike of the early adjustable brass monogram chassis. Improved features would have to be the trailing guide instead of those woeful leading guides of the sixties, apparently still in use in some other slotcar disciplines!! And the clip in 3/32" axles replace the tedious task of unfastening the old alloy wheels with a miniature spanner and sliding the 1/8" axles out of their rattly brass bushes. Heady days indeed!
So we must all know the history of the Cooper Cobra by now, If not, PM me this board! But what is this model really like. Well, I would be first to say I'm not the adjustable chassis's biggest fan but this one is really quite user friendly. None of the messing about you have with a Plafit but gram for gram, just as versatile. And when you take the model from its box, a precursory twist on all the screws to ensure nothing's loose and we're all set to go.
The body is a faithful reproduction of the '64 monogram which in turn was a faithful reproduction of the real car. My only comment here would be that the detachable front and rear valances are slightly off colour from the body but this isn't detectable on the track. Moulding flash too creates hard lines on the sides of the moulding but the body finish is uncannily smooth. The body colour looks to be the moulding colour and there is just a clear coat to give it a sheen and the tampo some protection.
With the lid off we can see the business part of this model and it comes as no surprise if you have already driven the model, that it has the mighty midget motor FF can. I still can't be convinced this motor is rated at 18,000 rpm @ 12V! Almost without exception, all the models I have driven with this motor are fireballs! Almost to the point of self destruction! Needless to say the model is a little uncontrollable on board track because of its shear speed. You need very careful throttle control to drive it with any comfort. There is an instant deslot waiting round the corner if you press this little monster too hard!
Gearing as as we have become used to but this is another model where the pinion teeth have ‘through’ valleys. That is to say the tooth profile goes from front to rear instead of having a thicker collar at the motor end. Repercussions?, Well it is my experience that the pinion shears along the tooth valley when excess stress is exerted. The motor has a 1.5 m.m. armature shaft and can ill afford a design fault like this. The time it will most likely fail is when you are, or have just sanded tyres on the model!! Be warned.
But, I was testing this model at more than thirteen volts. Once the voltage is dropped back to twelve it becomes (as expected) vastly more drivable and dropping the power a little further we almost experience the pleasure of NC1 racing. The wheels and tyres, as nice as they are, contribute to the models drivability under these circumstances. I would fully expect Urethane tyres to make this model very tippy in a race situation. Fortunately, I have also seen what can be done with these cars. One local racer has ballasted and retyred a Chapparal and has transformed it quite considerably. The only catch is finding enough low down space to put it!
There isn't much more to worry about as far as finish goes and the subject matter ensures this model a place in most collections, and even a place on the grid! Raced against similar models it is bound to be good fun. Twin traction magnets are a surefire hit with the SCM's and on plastic this model will give you kneck ache keeping up with it. Hairy cornering with whiplash acceleration out of the corners. MRRC are obviously back to stay and I'm looking forward to future releases, especially the MK IV GT40 !!!
Statistics Wheelbase 69.5 m.m. Front axle width 48.75 m.m. Rear axle width 48.5 m.m. Guide to rear axle 82.5 m.m. Overall weight 60.0 grams Rear axle load 35.0 grams Front axle/guide load 25.0 grams Front / rear weight dist 41.7 / 58.3% Body weight 12.0 grams Pinion 9z plastic Contrate 27z nylon Final drive ratio 3.00 : 1 Rear wheel diameter 20.6 m.m. Progress 21.59 m.m. per motor rev. Rear tyre tread width 7.00 m.m. Guide length 18.7 m.m. median Guide depth 5.7 m.m. Guide thickness (median) 1.39 m.m. Motor FF Type(18,000 rpm @ 12.00v)A very pleasant model and a ball of fire as mentioned on plastic track. This should be competitive as a Classic sports car or even a Can – Am entry!