Russkit

Jim Russell was a business consultant in Los Angeles and had been dabbling with slot cars when a visit to the Hollywood Raceway, one of the nation's first commercial slot racing centres, inspired him and a friend to build a multi-lane track in Russell's den. They used Strombecker cars, modified for higher performance, and the track was an instant magnet in his neighbourhood. However, the need for better equipment was obvious. In response, Russell founded Russkit in November 1963. His first product was "Russ-Coat," a polyurethane varnish to protect a car's finish from impacts. Next came fibreglass bodies, and then much lighter vacuum-formed white styrene bodies, which were an immediate success. The heavy sales forced the new company to move from the family garage to a new 6,000-square-foot headquarters in Los Angeles. Russell hired attorney friend Henry "Hank" Rose, who introduced him to the Mabuchi FT16 motor. Rose then hired Jack Duer to develop a version for Russkit. After much negotiation, Russell and Rose signed a six-month exclusive sales deal with Mabuchi. The newly labelled Russkit 22 motor was immensely popular, and by mid-1964, the company had sold more than 200,000 of them. In 1964 Russell was introduced to Mike Morrissey, an enthusiastic young student and accomplished slot racer. Together they formed Team Russkit, the first professional factory racing team in slot car history. Meanwhile, as customers demanded the new "23" motors, thousands of "Russkit 22s" were left unsold. Russell's wife came up with the solution to get rid of them, "If one motor is good, why not give them two?" Morrissey quickly devised the "Black Widow" four-wheel-drive chassis. It had two Russkit 22 motors, each driving one axle. The Indy 500-winning Lotus 38 and Ronnie Bucknum's Lola T70 Can Am car were mounted on the new chassis and sold as fast as they could be produced. By mid-1964, Russkit made a big move and issued their famous "Spyder" series Ferrari and Cooper kits. These kits were attractively packaged in reusable carrying cases, and had good decals and very complete instructions. Their injection-moulded bodies were not accurately shaped, but were attractive with plated wheel inserts, mirrors, and exhausts. This created a new problem: Russell's inventory of motors rapidly dried up. A call to Mabuchi for a new supply was answered by the delivery of 100,000 motors with the wrong end bell. In 1967, McLaren MK.II and Honda three-litre Fl kits were added to the Russkit line, along with a thingie dubbed "Hustler," which was sold as an RTR only. Russkit also exported to England, France, and Italy, where a company named Sticktoy distributed the Carrera cars as RTRs. As the commercial raceways died and slot cars faded, things were getting difficult for Russkit. Creditors were knocking at the door as the business came to a grinding halt for Russell and Rose. Hank went back to his law firm. Jim liquidated the entire inventory and sold the controller line to Aurora, which hired him to design a new line of 1/32-scale home racing cars inspired by the successful HO-scale T-Jets cars.

Subject ID: 29293

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Jim Russell was a business consultant in Los Angeles and had been dabbling with slot cars when a visit to the Hollywood Raceway, one of the nation's first commercial slot racing centres, inspired him and a friend to build a multi-lane track in Russell's den. They used Strombecker cars, modified for higher performance, and the track was an instant magnet in his neighbourhood. However, the need for better equipment was obvious. In response, Russell founded Russkit in November 1963. His first product was "Russ-Coat," a polyurethane varnish to protect a car's finish from impacts. Next came fibreglass bodies, and then much lighter vacuum-formed white styrene bodies, which were an immediate success. The heavy sales forced the new company to move from the family garage to a new 6,000-square-foot headquarters in Los Angeles. Russell hired attorney friend Henry "Hank" Rose, who introduced him to the Mabuchi FT16 motor. Rose then hired Jack Duer to develop a version for Russkit. After much negotiation, Russell and Rose signed a six-month exclusive sales deal with Mabuchi. The newly labelled Russkit 22 motor was immensely popular, and by mid-1964, the company had sold more than 200,000 of them. In 1964 Russell was introduced to Mike Morrissey, an enthusiastic young student and accomplished slot racer. Together they formed Team Russkit, the first professional factory racing team in slot car history. Meanwhile, as customers demanded the new "23" motors, thousands of "Russkit 22s" were left unsold. Russell's wife came up with the solution to get rid of them, "If one motor is good, why not give them two?" Morrissey quickly devised the "Black Widow" four-wheel-drive chassis. It had two Russkit 22 motors, each driving one axle. The Indy 500-winning Lotus 38 and Ronnie Bucknum's Lola T70 Can Am car were mounted on the new chassis and sold as fast as they could be produced. By mid-1964, Russkit made a big move and issued their famous "Spyder" series Ferrari and Cooper kits. These kits were attractively packaged in reusable carrying cases, and had good decals and very complete instructions. Their injection-moulded bodies were not accurately shaped, but were attractive with plated wheel inserts, mirrors, and exhausts. This created a new problem: Russell's inventory of motors rapidly dried up. A call to Mabuchi for a new supply was answered by the delivery of 100,000 motors with the wrong end bell. In 1967, McLaren MK.II and Honda three-litre Fl kits were added to the Russkit line, along with a thingie dubbed "Hustler," which was sold as an RTR only. Russkit also exported to England, France, and Italy, where a company named Sticktoy distributed the Carrera cars as RTRs. As the commercial raceways died and slot cars faded, things were getting difficult for Russkit. Creditors were knocking at the door as the business came to a grinding halt for Russell and Rose. Hank went back to his law firm. Jim liquidated the entire inventory and sold the controller line to Aurora, which hired him to design a new line of 1/32-scale home racing cars inspired by the successful HO-scale T-Jets cars.

Subject ID: 29293

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