[Keeto]

Carrera slot guide for Scalextric track​

Would you be interested in a permanent solution?

Yes	45	95.74%
No	2	4.26%

What price would you EXPECT to pay per guide?

£1	18	38.30%
£2	11	23.40%
£3	3	6.38%
75p	15	31.91%

How many guides per pack?

10	43	91.49%
15	1	2.13%
20	3	6.38%

Would you be willing to do prototype testing with several of your Carrera cars?

Yes	30	63.83%
No	17	36.17%

 

[Keeto]

As from this THIS THREAD and a few others I've seen on the forum and from my own personal experience I've decided to see if I can't get a permanent solution to this problem.
But I need to see if there is enough interest in doing this fix/mod before doing anything else.

The idea is simple. You remove the standard Carrera guide blade and put the modified version in, allowing your Carrera cars to run on Scalextric track and pass over cross overs and turn through radius 1 turns without ANY issues.
No drilling.
No gluing.
No filing.
No sanding...in actual fact NO modifications.

People that has had experience of this will know that even the Carrera provided "Scalextric Compatible Guide" that is supplied with Carrera cars, that are exported to the UK, does not work 100% on Scalextric track, especially, Sport Track.

If there is enough interest in fixing this I will endeavour to get this issue sorted once and for all.

Many thanks.

 

[wayne]

it would be interesting to see and use they also a nightmare on wood layouts too

 

[Philip P]

Good idea I think.

I would love to have a replcement for the older style guides that had to be cut down (2000 - 2008ish?).

Keep us informed!!

Cheers,
Philip

 

[tofuboy]

Fantastic idea,

hope there's enough interest to make this worthwhile!

Any ideas on timelines??

 

[zarko]

Bold move and it has my backing for sure! Would be happy to test for you too.

 

[Keeto]

QUOTE (tofuboy @ 26 Oct 2011, 17:58) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Fantastic idea,

hope there's enough interest to make this worthwhile!

Any ideas on timelines??

After prototype approval the first batch can be ready in 2 weeks....I need 1000 units (10 per bag x 100) guides to make this worthwhile. So that is either a 100 people x 1 bag or 50 x 2 bags - you get the picture.....and yes I know this is a very niche problem that I'm trying to fix but I've survived cancer so that was my main challenge in life so far...this is a walk in the park in comparison.

 

[Dopamine]

I'm reluctant to be negative to what is a very good idea, but honesty will probably help you more than a load of promised purchases that don't come to fruition.

I see price being the main sticking point. As the modification to existing guides is so simple to do with the minimum of tools (a bit of sandpaper), the price would have to be a lot lower than 75p each for me to be interested. I'd buy 20 guides for future use, maybe more, but the cost would have to be comparable to that of sandpaper. £5 inc p/p for 30 guides would be the absolute maximum for me, and I doubt that that would make production economically viable.

Again, I'll say that it's a great idea and I don't like being negative, but experience tells me that only a small proportion of expressed interest actually turns into hard cash.

 

[Keeto]

I appreciate any input so thanks for that Dopamine. But there is no way something this niche will be sold retail less than 17p per guide. I think the only people capable of doing those kind of prices per component at retail level are the big players.

Here we will have to pay for the convenience of:

1 - "Plug and Play"

2 - Not filing or using sandpaper/dremels/proxxons..

3 - Time saved from not doing the above.

4 - Knowing that the guide will work 100% with your Scalex track and you don't have to go back to no 2 to loose some more of no 3 - sometimes several times.

It's that classic balance of time/money...

You are 100% correct my main concern is: "a small proportion of expressed interest actually turns into hard cash"...I think the only way to show real interest will have to be to take pre-orders...putting your mouth where the money is. Otherwise this will go nowhere.

Also I'm not planning on making money from this. I want to get a high quality mod done to fix a problem that has been mentioned several times on this forum and that is it....I just want to cover all bases and break even. Meaning we'll all pay more at the start but as soon as we break even the cost will come down.

I want to approach it more like a communal (forum) effort, which brings me to the next point, anybody out there that's a bit of a CAD 3D guru and willing to help with some drawings?

 

[scuderia_turini]

I said that I would do testing - but it would be on Ninco track.

 

[Wraith]

A replacement guide would cost. Least 50p so hell, 75p is spot on. I'll take 5 packs of 10

 

[Minardi]

Interested. To be sure, It is a solution for the latest Carrera Evolution cars, right ? (2008-now)

 

[Keeto]

Minardi, yes the first one will be for the current Carrera cars ("new" chassis).

 

[Keeto]

QUOTE (scuderia_turini @ 26 Oct 2011, 23:33) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I said that I would do testing - but it would be on Ninco track.

Great! If it works on another track system!

It will be the Carrera guide that works on Scaley and Ninco track then.

 

[Wraith]

If you can get someone to test on wood you will have a much bigger market, hopefully enought for you to be able to go ahead with this.

Di you double check the minimum order quantity?

I know there would be a huge initial outlay for the mould, I for one would be prepared to pay up front to ensure this apps, I'm sure most people would be happy to pay at least 50% up front on the first order to make this happen.

 

[Keeto]

QUOTE (Wraith @ 27 Oct 2011, 09:26) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Did you double check the minimum order quantity?

Minimum for the first run will have to be at least a 1000 guides.

 

[Porsche Racer]

I hope this idea comes to fruition. I'm very interested as I hate fiddling with the Carrera guides to get them to work on my Scalextric track.

 

[Keeto]

Just a quick update.

I'm currently negotiating with a design company at this stage.

Watch this space.

 

[floydfan]

I only have two Carrera F1 cars (Red Bull & BMW Sauber). They are both fitted with the alternative guide supplied by Carrera but, despite some filing, still do not work well on SSD track. The guide often fouls the dead section of a straight lane changer and a racing curve crossover (C8203).

Floydfan

 

[j-c]

I am unable to vote as I don't want to pay more than 75p per guide and I would only need about 2 or 3 guides as they are interchangeable.

At the moment I spend a few minutes sanding down and cutting a guide and it works fine.

I don't know why I should need to buy 10 or more guides for just a few cars.

Also as we tend to fettle with cars to true and glue the tyres, oil the bearings and do other pre-race prep, surely spending a few minutes sanding down a guide won't be a problem.

Sorry to sound negative on an idea, but I race a number of Carrera cars on Ninco track and the guide preparation has never caused enough concern to wonder if there is a ready alternative.

j-c