Just back from Christmas shopping with son in Reading - quite a pleasant experience really, starting with a nice cooked breakfast in Debenhams (son made me do it), not too busy, and found a few things for Mrs F.
Had a browse in a model shop on the way back to the car, and wow, you could spend some serious money in there. How about one of these:
scalextric.hornby.com/shop/sets/digital/c1276-scalextric-digital-platinum/
Ok you get 6 cars and 8.5 metres of track, but even so - £500? And I don't like the sound of the "Magnatraction™ system to help them stay on the circuit" - does that mean there's no skill involved any more? Anyone got one?
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>>
>> Ok you get 6 cars and 8.5 metres of track, but even so - £500?
>> And I don't like the sound of the "Magnatraction™ system to help them stay on
>> the circuit" - does that mean there's no skill involved any more? Anyone got one?
>>
Things have swapped round, in the 1970s the Hornby locos used 'magnadesion' to improve performance on steel track, now they don't - and the track is nickel silver. The old Scalextric cars didn't have magnets, but now they do, or at least Spamcan Junior's Porsche Boxsters do. Makes things a bit tricky, if you back off too much going into corners the magnets actually stop the cars completely. It's still possible to go too fast and exit the track though; switching between the two types of car does your head in.
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>> Makes things a bit tricky, if you back off too much going into
>> corners the magnets actually stop the cars completely.
This isn't one of Bernie Ecclestone's ideas is it?
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Its just a magnet in the back of the car to try and attract to the rail in the track. It dont work, and its just as easy to hurl the car into the scenery at 500 mph.
So dont worry, no skill lost.
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>> Its just a magnet in the back of the car to try and attract to
>> the rail in the track.
Is it progressive though, or does it mean you can push it so far then it suddenly flies off?
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Nope just a dumb magnet. It does add a spot of weight to it tho, the scaletrix version of a bag of cement.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 23 Dec 11 at 14:45
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>> Nope just a dumb magnet.
But without having played with one my limited experience of magnets leads me to think that the magnet 'pulls' quite well when close to the metal track guides, but then the pull drops off non-linearly as the distance increases. Is this not what happens?
Not that it matters, no chance of getting one - just curious.
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Its always the same distance (gap) from the track guides. The problem comes when the back slides away from the guides. Magnetism is lost, and because you got there at a much higher speed than you would have without it, you are offski. No chance of saving it.
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>> Its always the same distance (gap) from the track guides. The problem comes when the
>> back slides away from the guides.
Sorry that's what I meant, the lateral distance, not vertical.
>> a much higher speed than you would have without it, you are offski. No chance
>> of saving it.
So you have lost the skill of sliding the car round the corners?
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Yes you have, but that was never the fastest way round anyway,.
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BTW there's a free track designer download on the website - quite fun.
scalextric.hornby.com/downloads/scalextric-track-designer/
Basic though - you don't get the option to 'drive' the circuits you build.
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OK I've just taken one of junior's Boxsters apart:-
tinypic.com/r/240yzhh/5
small bar magnet underneath the diff.
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would be better if the power pick-up could hook -under the rail (monorail style) so that the cars couldnt come off unless taken off?
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Good practice for owning a proper RWD car...! :-)
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Or managing to cope without mincing about on winter....Oh never mind, I'll shut up now...
:-)
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>> so that the cars couldnt come off
No fun!
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>> so that the cars couldnt come off
No fun!<<
+1
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>> OK I've just taken one of junior's Boxsters apart:-
>>
>> tinypic.com/r/240yzhh/5
That needs a good defluff and lube!
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He's had the Scalextric 2 years, that's the first time I've taken the top off a car. Hopefully give 'em a bit of a service over Xmas.
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Typical! square-cut gears! - they must sound like those trucks you see in war films!! ;-)
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>> Typical! square-cut gears! - they must sound like those trucks you see in war films!!
>> ;-)
>>
Can't normally hear them above the kids screaming and shouting ;-)
The fancy executive set at the top of the thread is 300 quid at Amazon, bit more reasonable.
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>> Hey-Hey! the ultimate! ;-)
>>
>> tinyurl.com/cs7r3vs
>>
Had a fun evening a few years back now at a very similar setup near Liphook, they look like the same caravans :-)
tinyurl.com/86lq5dp
tinyurl.com/6q8jsgy
tinyurl.com/72yubxl
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I wonder if they actually disintegrate into bits! like the real things! - would keep the kids quiet for ages reassembling them for the next race!
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>> I wonder if they actually disintegrate into bits! like the real things! - would keep
>> the kids quiet for ages reassembling them for the next race!
>>
I recall trying to corner six abreast in shed-jerking mode was tricky, they were unsuprisingly tail happy! The track I went to had lorries as well, you could re-enact the pile-ups at the bottom of the M3 on a summer Friday evening.
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>> Typical! square-cut gears! - they must sound like those trucks you see in war films!!
>> ;-)
>>
This car is older (it's made in the UK for starters), cut of the gears looks a bit more civilised:-
tinypic.com/r/rbbc4l/5
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That reminds me, I still haven't cleaned and lubed junior's cars.
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Nipper's got a "My First Scalextric" with two magnattraction MINIs. The track layout is a figure of 8 covering a floor area of 98x46cm, so the running length is around 10 feet. The cars are 1/64 scale.
The magnets stick the cars to the track so well it's entirely possible to do a lap every 2 seconds. Someone else has shown this here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKWmvCNdzq8 although they're not going flat out.
Must be a scale speed of 250mph or so :)
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I was into Scalextric BIG time 50 years ago, even had the Dunlop arch, pit stop etc., etc..
But the fun was had by going as fast as one could without coming orf and I wouldn't fancy a set up where the jam jars are glued to the track.
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>> I was into Scalextric BIG time 50 years ago, even had the Dunlop arch, pit
>> stop etc., etc..
>>
>> But the fun was had by going as fast as one could without coming orf
>> and I wouldn't fancy a set up where the jam jars are glued to the
>> track.
>>
Spose its the equivalent of traction control and vehicle stability systems on real cars.
I do totally agree with you Dog!
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We have micro cars it's Mc Queen and a green car it's flippin fast for the size of track son is 3 and loves it.
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I got into slot car racing in the late '60s. We built a 4-lane track with a hardboard surface, rough side up and painted with Sandtex IIRC. Copper strip glued either side of the slot. Things developed very quickly and we had to keep providing more wiring to different parts of the track as greater current was drawn by the cars and the resistance of the copper strip became a major factor. Four car batteries could be drained in a couple of hours. I gave up when chassis were being made from hollow brass tube, bodies were vacuum formed and motors were costing a fortune, some were winding their own armatures.
Vauxhall Motors in Luton had a marvellous circuit. They held a twenty four hour race each year to coincide with LeMans.
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>> I gave up when chassis were being
>> made from hollow brass tube, bodies were vacuum formed and motors were costing a fortune, some were winding their own armatures.
>>
The cars ended up being called "Thingies" if I remember correctly. Two huge sponge tyres at the back and a couple of wafer thin pramwheels at the front and wedge shaped bodies, they bore no resemblance to real cars at all.
Every High Street seemed to have a model shop with it's own track, it became a serious hobby for a few years.
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>>Two huge sponge tyres at the back and a couple of wafer thin pramwheels at the front and wedge shaped bodies, they bore no resemblance to real cars at all.<<
could have been modelled on the 70`s Princess or the 80`s TR7 ! both probably handled like the "Thingies".
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...Two huge sponge tyres at the back and a couple of wafer thin pramwheels at the front and wedge shaped bodies...
Most Scalextric offs happen on corners, with the rear end letting go first.
Presumably, the huge rear tyres gave more grip to the rear end, enabling faster cornering.
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The tyres were more about transmitting the torque (and braking) from the motors. They used to soak the sponge rubber tyres in a wintergreen smelling concoction.
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>>
>> Vauxhall Motors in Luton had a marvellous circuit. They held a twenty four hour race
>> each year to coincide with LeMans.
>>
I'd forgotten all about that, I recall seeing pictures of it in the Vauxhall Mirror now you mention it.
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Apropos of nothing whatsoever concerning the thread topic, but I've noticed that most people pronounce it "Scalectrix".
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The Scalextric cars I owned as a kid in the 80's had the Magnatraction system. It's been around a while.
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Scalextric - how much?? - spamcan61
