What First Scalextric?
Discussion
Christmas is coming (whether you like it or not!) and we've decided now would be a good time to get our 6 and nearly 3 year old a Scalextric to share as part of their Christmas presents.
But I've no idea what to look for - I guess the logical ones are to look for the bigger scale sets (1:32?) - any pointers for a good one and any good places to buy from before I subject myself to a trip to Toys R Us?
Budget? Not sure... Will £60 get me something?
But I've no idea what to look for - I guess the logical ones are to look for the bigger scale sets (1:32?) - any pointers for a good one and any good places to buy from before I subject myself to a trip to Toys R Us?
Budget? Not sure... Will £60 get me something?
Not sure what that will buy you, but this is where I got mine - http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/c-1-scalextric.a...
He is a PHer.
He is a PHer.
A few ideas for you:-
1. do not think about getting one of the START or Micro sets, IMO pointless and if they grow to love Scalextric anything will be redundant inside 12 months.
2. Jadlam is a great place to buy from, you can also pick up bargains on Amazon. I would suggest looking around but £80 for the new "World Champions" set looks a very good buy as a first toe in the water. They will trash those cars though.
3. Cars will be trashed. look for Super Resistant saloons and GTs for least number of bits to have to try to stick back on. It is all part of the learning process though.
4. Avoid the Quick Build sets. cars are too heavy for the motors which burn out in super quick time IMNephewsE.
I have no idea about how goof ARC is but will not be bothering with in myself until it can cope with a 6 car digital set up - your lads are about 2-3 years away from that at least though!
IF it works well with them and they love it keep an eye out for deals throughout the year. I have bought many rrp£40+ cars for less than £25.
Do not bother with ToysRUs - limited stock and always seems to be RRP.
Do not accept any substitutes. I have played with almost every type on the market and short of your own routed track with home built slot cars you will not get anything that does the whole package like Scalextric does. Anything else is just a toy.
1. do not think about getting one of the START or Micro sets, IMO pointless and if they grow to love Scalextric anything will be redundant inside 12 months.
2. Jadlam is a great place to buy from, you can also pick up bargains on Amazon. I would suggest looking around but £80 for the new "World Champions" set looks a very good buy as a first toe in the water. They will trash those cars though.
3. Cars will be trashed. look for Super Resistant saloons and GTs for least number of bits to have to try to stick back on. It is all part of the learning process though.
4. Avoid the Quick Build sets. cars are too heavy for the motors which burn out in super quick time IMNephewsE.
I have no idea about how goof ARC is but will not be bothering with in myself until it can cope with a 6 car digital set up - your lads are about 2-3 years away from that at least though!
IF it works well with them and they love it keep an eye out for deals throughout the year. I have bought many rrp£40+ cars for less than £25.
Do not bother with ToysRUs - limited stock and always seems to be RRP.
Do not accept any substitutes. I have played with almost every type on the market and short of your own routed track with home built slot cars you will not get anything that does the whole package like Scalextric does. Anything else is just a toy.
Rude-boy makes some very good points, but I would not discount the Micro-Scalextric totally.
One thing normal scalextric needs is space, a lot !
You can build some really interesting tracks in a much smaller space with Micro, and for the OP's budget you get a lot more for your money.
Eg: http://www.hawkin.com/micro-scalextric-g1102-pro-g...
Something like that can be mounted on a board and slid away under a bed really easily.
For an introduction into Slot Cars, £40 (above) takes some beating.
One thing normal scalextric needs is space, a lot !
You can build some really interesting tracks in a much smaller space with Micro, and for the OP's budget you get a lot more for your money.
Eg: http://www.hawkin.com/micro-scalextric-g1102-pro-g...
Something like that can be mounted on a board and slid away under a bed really easily.
For an introduction into Slot Cars, £40 (above) takes some beating.
Eric Mc said:
I thought 1/32 was the normal scale for Scalextric?
Come to think of it, there was a Mini-Scalextric once, wasn't there?
They currently also do Micro Scalextric, which is 1:64 scale. You can get more track in any given space, but obviously the cars are only half the size. I believe there is a greater range of track geometry available in the standard 1:32 size, which can allow for more interesting track layouts.Come to think of it, there was a Mini-Scalextric once, wasn't there?
Many years ago I bought my godson a set for his first birthday.
I made almost no pretence of the fact that while it was the boy's birthday, the gift was pretty much for his father and myself
Obviously my advice is simple: Buy the set that you want to play with. Think of all the father/son quality time you'll have.
I made almost no pretence of the fact that while it was the boy's birthday, the gift was pretty much for his father and myself
Obviously my advice is simple: Buy the set that you want to play with. Think of all the father/son quality time you'll have.
Avoid Micro Scalextric like the Plague!!!
If space is an issue, then forget Scalextric and go Carrera. Carrera do a 1/43 range which is much better than Micro. Better means, bigger track, better value, bigger choice of cars.
We have 60 different sets available - http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/c-1-scalextric.a...
Carrera go 1/43 scale, first decent set is £60 - http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/p-16323-carrera-...
Scalextric 1/32 (proper scalextric), first non digital set is £55 - http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/p-12615-scalextr...
Other notable price points are -
Scalextric 1/32 Cheapest Digital set - http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/p-16375-scalextr...
Our best selling set is one of our own @ £329 - http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/p-215-scalextric...
One of my faves (had this set up at home for ages, see video) - http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/p-4780-scalextri...
Another biggie we had at home - http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/p-9223-scalextri...
If space is an issue, then forget Scalextric and go Carrera. Carrera do a 1/43 range which is much better than Micro. Better means, bigger track, better value, bigger choice of cars.
We have 60 different sets available - http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/c-1-scalextric.a...
Carrera go 1/43 scale, first decent set is £60 - http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/p-16323-carrera-...
Scalextric 1/32 (proper scalextric), first non digital set is £55 - http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/p-12615-scalextr...
Other notable price points are -
Scalextric 1/32 Cheapest Digital set - http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/p-16375-scalextr...
Our best selling set is one of our own @ £329 - http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/p-215-scalextric...
One of my faves (had this set up at home for ages, see video) - http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/p-4780-scalextri...
Another biggie we had at home - http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/p-9223-scalextri...
The bay is always a good place to look too.. sometimes last years christmas presents reappear in a hardly used state. We've a 007 aston martin set that will most likely turn up on said auction site having been used just once! Getting a bargain here will leave more in the pot for other presents
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