RE: Scalextric! Scalextric! Time For Tea?

[wst]

BricktopST205 said:

My first set



It also had a little sound box that made engine noises as well.

I've got the red Takefuji Porsche! I used to be well into Scalextric when I was a kid - spent my holidays in Lincolnshire at [this place](http://onyourmarquesmodelcarcollection.vpweb.co.uk) driving my collection of cars on their track (they had "rent-a-cars" for their official lap time board, and I wasn't awful just through putting hundreds of laps down a day...)

Started with an Opel Vectra and Audi A4 touring car set.

Ended up with:
2 Williams F1 cars
McRae Ford Focus WRC
MG Lola LMP
Joker's Porsche 911
Corvette Stingray
Plain White Subaru Impreza WRC
Skoda Fabia WRC (4wd!)
Scalextric Club Ford GT
Nissan GTR (never used it! Not had a track set up for years!)
Bobby Labonte's #18 Pontiac - this is an older one with the inline motor mount instead of the more modern sideways-motors.

My Dad put a big shed up (well paid people to put a big shed up) and keeps threatening to use it for model trains. If he doesn't hurry up I might use it first...

Edited by wst on Thursday 20th November 14:13

[aka_kerrly]

vrsmxtb said:

Mighty Metros was one of my favourite Christmas presents!

Ah yes the Might Metro 6R4s were a good starting point, I must have been around 11-12 when I got my set.

I recently rediscovered Scalextrix after my brother got a whole load of track and cars second hand for peanuts.

Setting up a huge track all around the living room was great fun. Starting with just a large oval and then gradually adding extra twists, turns, crossovers, crests and other obstacles to negotiate meant things quickly got out of hand to the extent we spent more time building the track than actually racing.

[0llie]

Purchased for me as an Xmas present, in 1995 or 1996.

Great memories of the cars

I also had Cleland's '99 Vectra, this was rapid!

[daytona365]

Anyone remember a cheaper version made by Matchbox Lesney around the late 60's with a spiral spring running the length of the track pulling the cars along by means of little hooks attached under the cars ?

[Hilts]

Xmas 1980 I think



Found it under my parents' bed. I used to wait for them to go out and take out a few sections of track and run the cars along. Loved the look, feel and smell of the whole thing. Happy days.

[JimbobVFR]

STA5H said:

Never really rated Scalextric i always prefered Aurora AFX smaller faster more reliable, you could build much more elaborate tracks in any given amount of space .

Agreed, I was just about to say the same. Among others my fondest memory was the American Lorry and Police Car set I had. The police car had working blue and red lights on the roof and the truck had headlights. Looked awesome in the dark.

[aeropilot]

JimbobVFR said:

STA5H said:

Never really rated Scalextric i always prefered Aurora AFX smaller faster more reliable, you could build much more elaborate tracks in any given amount of space .

Agreed, I was just about to say the same. Among others my fondest memory was the American Lorry and Police Car set I had. The police car had working blue and red lights on the roof and the truck had headlights. Looked awesome in the dark.

The AFX was great for limited space, I had a small AFX set as well, would fit on a table top easily. I remember it had this flexy section of track with it. Had 4 x great cars as well, Ford Escort Mk1 and Ford Capri RS2600.





And a Chevy Camaro and Dodge Charger Daytona

[Brummmie]

In my mums loft...
1x mk1 Mexico
2x flat front minis
1x 240z
1x 911 martini Porsche
1x Capri

[Ian_C]

RAClNG SNAKE said:

IMO this is the best current incarnation of slot racing, cars take the racing line until a challenger slips one down the inside for a side by side battle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xpX-_aceLE&in...

That is a superb set up!

[cerb4.5lee]

Ian_C said:

RAClNG SNAKE said:

IMO this is the best current incarnation of slot racing, cars take the racing line until a challenger slips one down the inside for a side by side battle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xpX-_aceLE&in...

That is a superb set up!

Agree and they are a lot better than me as I normally crash on the first bend as I have got a little over excited!

[allatsea]

I'm afraid I never had one of my own, but wanted one desperately.

So, when my sons were old enough I spent a fortune one Christmas and brought the best and biggest set I could find. We set it up on Christmas morning and then they (we) played with it until about lunch time. That was it. It now lives in the house in the South of France waiting for a rainy day.......

I loved it, but they just didn't get it, I think they wondered why you couldn't shoot at people from the cars and why you were able to keep coming off! It also didn't help, I I should have remembered this from playing on friends as a boy, that there is always one car or one side of the track that is fundamentally better/quicker than the other, so on a basic level however gets that car/side tends to win.

Never meet your heroes (unless they're spelt 9-1-1)

AaS

[Steve_F]

I got a Dukes of Hazzard set late 80s or early 90s. Figure of 8 with a jump. Track had a lot of bits fixed with tinfoil and the sherriff's car had stopped working when it was retired/binned. Good memories!

[BigBen]

Steve_F said:

I got a Dukes of Hazzard set late 80s or early 90s. Figure of 8 with a jump. Track had a lot of bits fixed with tinfoil and the sherriff's car had stopped working when it was retired/binned. Good memories!

Matchbox Race and Chase rather than Scalextrix wasn't it?

[so called]

I've got a TVR Set
Added a T440 and a Speed 12.

[olderbutnotwiser]

Happy memories of my first custom job on a car.

Well when I say car, it was a scalextric mk1 escort in white,

which I cut ( melted ) a letterbox out of the windscreen , and sprayed

brown paint ( mud ) on the screen and body.

At age 9, this was my motocross escort .

[Jacobyte]

We've moved now, but here's the breakout area of our office a couple of years ago:

[andrewrob]

I'm counting down the days until Christmas, bought one "for the kids" but the deal clincher for me was that the cars are made out of lego compatible bricks.

The cars it comes with look ok but it will be great to mess around and build some custom cars with the shed loads of lego we have.
Obviously there's the obligatory crossover track section to crash them into each other too

[qube_TA]

Have miles of track still and about a dozen cars.

My original set had the classic 'Scaletti Arrow' cars and high-speed banking corners.



When I was young we'd spend days racing with a 4-lane track.

The newer track uses a different method for clipping together / power so not compatible which is a little frustrating, bought my son a set or two and some cars to try and get him interested in it but he never saw the point in it as it was competitive (he always flatly refused to play anything if it was against someone else).

[BigBen]

qube_TA said:

The newer track uses a different method for clipping together / power so not compatible which is a little frustrating,

You can get adaptors to go between track types

[OdramaSwimLaden]

I can't find it anywhere, but I'm sure I had a 4WD Audi Quattro Scalextric car; there was a black band that was attached to both axles, driving both axles.

Thinking about it now, it was gimmicky, as I can't really see that much benefit on a Scalextric car....