[moped rider]

Remember that Hornby said at the show that the Scalextric system is continuing to be developed and that there will be a software package linked to it similar to the SPORT World package.

I like the idea of the Carrera jam car but Hornby have already said that SPORT World will have a "Pacer" type of function and it would not surprise me if Scalextric Digital incorporates similar functionality.

Also have not Hornby said that a straight lane switching track is also being developed, in addition to the curve switching track.

And there may well be other track developments that Hornby have yet to reveal.

My one lasting impression of Carrera was how noisy the lane switching is. That big loud clunk is offputting but I suppose in time you will get used to it.

Whilst this is a European board its primary language is English and Scalextric is to the English speaking world in Europe what Carrera is to the German speaking world.

[Edited by Wankel - deleted a sentence, then edited his own edit for a typo! Sheesh!]

Carrera track products are of little interest to the great majority of the English speaking world in Europe, and Nikko as an importer into the UK did slot car retailers no favours at all with the way they permitted Carrera sets to be dumped into the UK market.

So the Nikko sales team can expect a cool welcome in most slot car retailers that they visit around the UK in 2004 I suspect.

Aside from the Jam car it is difficult to see how somebody can advocate that Carrera digital is any different from a strategy and race point of view to the other digital systems. Ultimately it may proove to be the least entertaining of the three systems.

Moped

 

[moped rider]

I have used the expression....

QUOTE the English speaking world in Europe

to distinguish the English speaking world of Europe from the English speaking world of the USA, where homes and space for clubs is somewhat larger and as a result a higher proportion of English speaking folk run Carrera in those parts.

Maybe a discussion of Carrera digital would be of more interest to English speaking folk from the USA as clearly one of the big benefits is that it can be intergrated into current Carrera track and circuits.

For the population of the UK broadly speaking it is an irrelevance but for folk from Northern European parts then it is relevant. And I would agree with Thomas that the pit lane and single straight will be an important aspect of digital as it solves all sorts of marshalling problems that I witnessed whilst watching folk have fun on the SCX circuit at the London Toy Fair.

On a small circuit a pit lane is almost essential to enable reslotting of cars without interferring with the race.

On a larger circuit it is not so important as there is more space between cars.

The single grooved pit lane can of course be reversed so that you can pit on the outside or the inside of the circuit. And with digital you only need one groove in the pit lane.

Any number of switching points are possible on a digital circuit so you could have several pit areas dotted at various key locations around the circuit to enable cars to be resloted.

Moped

 

[moped rider]

Didn't Michael Schumacher use the pit lane for racing?

It clearly is a Northern European race strategy!

Maybe David C. should have used it as it as a strategy to help him win the world championship. However, the F1 bosses have wised up to this and now levy an appropriate penalty. Maybe this could be built into any digital algorithm for realism to prevent pite lanes used for racing on the slot car circuit.

An automatic 2 second power cut for any car entering the pit lane or being re-slotted in it would certainly make folk think.

Changing the subject slightly as it has been raised in a round about way here and on another thread by Guagemaster.

Think of model railways in the UK. OO gauge is by far the most popular in the UK but then you do have a very small fringe who advocate and run HO gauge. Carrera in the UK is the slot car equivalent of HO gauge railway modelling in that its OO gauge that draws the crowd but you will always have one or two folk who like to be different.

Hornby have a roadshow that tours the country. SCX had one last year aswell. This costs money but brings slot car racing to the public in very public places.

Do Carrera do anything like this in the UK to promote slot cars?

Answer - no

They do however in Germany and Austria.

In Spain how are Carrera viewed?

We do occasionally have to get practical and most slot car companies know where their bread is buttered and the marketing budget no doubt gets apportioned accordingly.

There is the question of brand awareness aswell.

Moped

 

[moped rider]

Those prices do sound very reasonable and for somebody who is well into Carrera and has limited space then it looks like a no brainer.

Remember that to purchase all the parts and electrify a point on an HO model railway costs £15-20(22€-28€) and then you have to spend time wiring it up.

So for almost similar money you get the chance to do similar things on your slot car circuit to what you are currently able to do on your train set.

Does anybody remember Tri-ang Minic Motorways from the 60's. I was a great fan and had all sorts of junctions and pits all over the place. It was all done by hand switching but what you could do is take short cuts and whatever and creat a race strategy although it was still 1 car in 1 lane stuff. These are the sort of things kids got up to in those days and those days may well return in a slightly different and more hi-tech form. I just wish in hindsight I had kept all my Minic stuff (loads and loads!) but sadly it was cleared out by my dad who tipped it whilst I wasn't looking as it was taking up a lot of room in the garage!

That Carrera pit junction could have all sorts of uses and not just for pitting. I can see one or two strategic short cuts being put into circuits that maybe could be used by youngsters for example when competing against adults on the family circuit.

Moped