Scalextric - or alternatives

[BadFish]

Try and look out for the Sebastian Vettel Scalextric Set. It's very reliable and the car never breaks down or comes off the track. If you have a can of lighter fuel you can upgrade to the retro Nikki Lauda Set.

I want the Ayrton Senna one where the slots go straight across the corners.

 

[1066familyman]

With young kids I'd go for micro scalextric (1:64 scale).

The cars have little magnets on them which means they tend to stick to the track like the proverbial to a blanket, so even little kids can have great fun racing them without constantly coming off the tracks and so getting fed up with it. The cars will come off the tracks though if you don't slow down for corners etc, so still skill involved, just a lot more forgiving. You can get loop the loops and crazy almost vertical bends and all sorts too so lots of fun to be had setting up challenging tracks. I promise you he'll love it and you will too.

Here's the first random youtube video I could find to give you an example:

[yt]OYqi0aJzYxs[/yt]

 

[spongy]

I spent loads on Scalextric when I was a kid, and loved it for years, I had so much track in the end I could make my own circuits, had loads of extra bits like cross overs, chicanes, narrows, including those combos around corners, loads of barriers to help, the lot.

This thread has just rekindled a long lost memory so just had a google of the digital stuff, it may be great but I'm not sure if I like it, there was nothing more exciting than racing against a friend on a track we had just built than to come off on a corner and have to get up and get your car back on track before he lapped you without cheating or knocking him off on your way back to your controller!!!!!!

All this magnatec stuff is cheating in my eyes

When my friends had to go home and eat dinner I even used to wedge bits of Lego in the other controller so another car used to maintain speed without going off and I'd race that, or turn the connector the other way round on the track so the other car went the other way and play chicken with it

I remember even burning my fingers regularly on the motor that used to be visible through the bottom of the cars and pulling braids out a bit further to make the cars quicker, licking tyres on the cars to create wheelspins or turning tyres inside out to make it a bit more difficult.

My god, I must sound like a freak but this has brought back some memories

Personally I'd buy the traditional stuff to replicate what I had but things and technology move on, not necessarily for the better

I'd also consider how often the track will be dismantled and re built, I remember building tracks and start to play only to find a dead spot and the car died as there was no power and using small hammers and screwdrivers to make a connection. But I imagine they'd have fixed that by now..........

 

[£1.99]

Get him a train set instead.

 

[1066familyman]

I spent loads on Scalextric when I was a kid, and loved it for years, I had so much track in the end I could make my own circuits, had loads of extra bits like cross overs, chicanes, narrows, including those combos around corners, loads of barriers to help, the lot.

This thread has just rekindled a long lost memory so just had a google of the digital stuff, it may be great but I'm not sure if I like it, there was nothing more exciting than racing against a friend on a track we had just built than to come off on a corner and have to get up and get your car back on track before he lapped you without cheating or knocking him off on your way back to your controller!!!!!!

All this magnatec stuff is cheating in my eyes

When my friends had to go home and eat dinner I even used to wedge bits of Lego in the other controller so another car used to maintain speed without going off and I'd race that, or turn the connector the other way round on the track so the other car went the other way and play chicken with it

I remember even burning my fingers regularly on the motor that used to be visible through the bottom of the cars and pulling braids out a bit further to make the cars quicker, licking tyres on the cars to create wheelspins or turning tyres inside out to make it a bit more difficult.

My god, I must sound like a freak but this has brought back some memories

Personally I'd buy the traditional stuff to replicate what I had but things and technology move on, not necessarily for the better

I'd also consider how often the track will be dismantled and re built, I remember building tracks and start to play only to find a dead spot and the car died as there was no power and using small hammers and screwdrivers to make a connection. But I imagine they'd have fixed that by now..........

All the things you describe here were a part of my childhood too. Thankfully, they also fairly accurately describe the micro scalextric that we have at home for our kids now. The cars will come off if you go too mental around corners, and you will get dead spots on the track and get your pencil rubber out to clean the track with and get a needle to pick dust and hair out of the axles of the cars etc etc. Happy days still

 

[portslade seagull]

Just make sure you have plenty of room to put it up and to allow for the extra's over the following years

 

[Questions]

I can remember my old man making new 'brushes' for the cars out of the copper insides of aerial cable. Very rarely got to go on it myself though.

 

[spongy]

All the things you describe here were a part of my childhood too. Thankfully, they also fairly accurately describe the micro scalextric that we have at home for our kids now. The cars will come off if you go too mental around corners, and you will get dead spots on the track and get your pencil rubber out to clean the track with and get a needle to pick dust and hair out of the axles of the cars etc etc. Happy days still

I've worked a 12 hour shift today and come home in a foul mood but this thread has cheered me up

If and when I have a son I can't wait to teach and tell him what I had growing up, I'm only 35 but even then most of my toys didn't need batteries, I grew up with Transformers, HeMan, Action Man etc and if it wasn't raining I was over the park playing army with broken sticks or falling out of trees on a regular basis.

How times change eh?

 

[supaseagull]

Scalextrix - or alternatives

I bought my lads a scalextrix when then they were younger, fully expecting them to be blown away by it...sadly they lost interest in it after a couple of days and never touched it again.

 

[Tony Towner's Fridge]

I found that buying F1 was more realistic and betterer.

All the best

Bernie Flintsone

 

[Yorkshire-Seagull]

I bought my son a Subbuteo set last year - he loved it. They've just repackaged it all, so it looks 'modern' whilst still actually being the same game me and my friends used to play in the 80's...

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Get him a train set instead.

I'm sure the Hornby Southern Rail set will be great fun over Xmas "daddy, daddy, this doesn't work", "wow, that's pretty realistic son."

 

[father_and_son]

I bought my lads a scalextrix when then they were younger, fully expecting them to be blown away by it...sadly they lost interest in it after a couple of days and never touched it again.

Sadly this! Three sets of the mini version (same brand, smaller cars) gather dust under his bed! Hoping that as he gets older and his interests change that there will be a window when he thinks its cool/rad/sick (whatever!) and we can get it out again.

 

[father_and_son]

I'm sure the Hornby Southern Rail set will be great fun over Xmas "daddy, daddy, this doesn't work", "wow, that's pretty realistic son."

Lots of track... no trains

 

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

In the early 80's I was given a TCR ( Total Control Racing ) set for christmas. This was a budget brand and as the cars were smaller than Scalextrix they tended to be off the track more than on it. Happy days.

 

[Badger]

I'm sure the Hornby Southern Rail set will be great fun over Xmas "daddy, daddy, this doesn't work", "wow, that's pretty realistic son."

I hear it comes with a set of really old buses to ferry passengers between stations.

 

[Wozza]

I (sorry, my kids) got a Scalextric set for Xmas.

First time I've raced properly for 35+ years. Still magic - although I miss the high-banked bends and, er, six-wheeled F1 cars.

Kids seem to love it too, luckily. They had it set up in the lounge before 8am this morning....

 

[zefarelly]

I (sorry, my kids) got a Scalextric set for Xmas.

First time I've raced properly for 35+ years. Still magic - although I miss the high-banked bends and, er, six-wheeled F1 cars.

Kids seem to love it too, luckily. They had it set up in the lounge before 8am this morning....

Brilliant. My lad loved it for a few years, less so now ( 15) so I spent a few hours ( 4 cans Punk) driving round in circles on my own! went for a 70's theme

Santa got me an RS COlogne Capri . Old habits die hard

 

[Wozza]

Nice! I had that yellow mini.

 

[zefarelly]

Get on ebay, look for job lots, picked up loads of 70's cars for peanuts and restored them, really simple, I can 'briefly' be 8 again!