His company, Slot Mods USA, makes incredibly realistic tracks, Beattie using CNC routers to cut the slots for the cars to race around. Unlike the flat, plastic tracks we've all played with, the focus is on realism, Beattie's attention to detail going so far as to airbrush worn effect tarmac and include skid and tyre marks on the track surface.
Hand fabricated trees, fencing, buildings, bridges and everything else creates circuits with a degree of realism that's extraordinary. Much like the prices, with even the simplest layout costing around €7,500, and the larger tracks cost anything up to €60,000. Not a hobby for poor schoolboys then, but we're tempted to get our tracks down from the loft for the hell of it.
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