[Screwneck]

It suddenly struck me that this 1/32 slotcar forum has been treading old water for months. Nobody talks about what they've bought, or how new cars perform, or what advice can be given to help people who have suffered the marketing jargon 'kiss' of promised perfection and have spent a bomb buying a small plastic pile of junk.

So, just what's happened to the old spirit of celebrating new buys in the slotcar world?

If nobody is buying anything new and can't be bothered to share anything through discussing and debating from experience linked to something fresh and new, then surely this means that slotcar racing has hit a brick wall?

Berate me if you like, but where's the fresh air and room for championing and criticising new technologies and good and bad experiences?

 

[Harry_the_Spider]

I've only been playing with slot cars for about a year.

I've bought 22 cars, none of them brand new full price. Most are old stock but still BNIB SCX and AutoArt. For somebody who just likes to mess about with slot cars with his mates and their kids why would I pay £40 for the latest model when I can get something for £20 that is a couple of years old but has never been used?

 

[Wraith]

I can say for sure that I do buy new cars, have a look at the thread under 1/32 for cars brought this year.

Unfortunately, although I've been buying the cars I;ve had little chance to race any of them :-(

There are reviews of new cars on the forum made by members but I agree that there are far more cars released than reviewed although most of these are simply different liveries so the performance of the car would not differ.

It would also depend on the reviewer to whether the review would fit with your style of racing as a car that performs well on a digital track may not on a routed track etc etc.

The question is, Have you brought any new cars amd have you written any reviews, the forum is only as good as the information and discussions of its members, I for one would love a permanent track at home so I could spend the time writing reviews.

 

[JJJ]

I buy probably more new than used. In North America at least there are online stores that have great prices like Hotslots132.com, 132slotcar.us, powerslotcars.com, Electric Dreams, and more. Half the time I find the price of a new car better or at least the same as the price being asked for used in the Buy/Sell/Swap forums. And for specialty items, if you don't want to wait, you gotta buy new. Like, for example, I will be buying the new Polar Lights Black Beauty from the Green Hornet, a beautiful car.

I think it is important to buy new occassionaly to support the companies that try their best to please us with their new offerings. Gotta keep supporting them or we'll find new cars becoming a rarity.

 

[ewanmcken]

Cant remember the last car I bought.

I am cured.

Regards,
Ewan

 

[Dopamine]

What do you mean by "new", Screwneck? Plenty of people are buying and there's plenty of fresh evidence in the "bought by members" thread. However, if you want opinions, here is mine concisely, based on cars I've bought new over the last year, with a few illustrations thrown in:

Slot.it - fast and competent performers but dull, with little variety. Massively over-rated, especially the paint and body finish, the quality of which has now fallen behind many other manufacturers. If a lap record is your holy grail or only measure of quality, Slot.it will suit you just fine.

High quality finish? I don't think so. Slot.it Nissan R390 GT1

Carrera - good value, consistently well finished, provide hours of great racing when raced like with like, but won't break lap records. Nor will they break down; mine have proved to be some of the most resilient and tough slot cars I own. I was, though, disappointed with Carrera's Corvette C6R, the ride height of which is far too high at the front, with no simple way to rectify it.

Ugly front ride height. Carrera Chevrolet Corvette C6R

Scalextric - well finished, consistent performers that are reliable, but horribly magnet dependent. Expensive. Of all the new cars I've bought, Scalextric has had the highest incidence of out of round wheels. When they get it right, Scalextric produce gems.

Smooth, beautiful to look at, but hopeless without a magnet. Scalextric Mercedes GP Petronas MGP W01

Flyslot - lurches along producing flawed but pretty models. None of my recent purchases has worked well straight out of the box, but all are worth persevering with.

Add a few shims to stop the rear wheels fouling the chassis, and this thing flies. Flyslot Porsche 917K

Ninco - I've not bought anything released recently, but I've bought several new old stock cars. Ninco Pro-shock cars are close to the top of my list of fun cars to race. Superb straight from the box. It's such a shame that prices are so high.

If racing these doesn't make you smile, slot cars are not for you. Ninco Porsche 911 SC

SCX - The cheap Nascars that flooded the market were bargain of the year, and SCX continue to beat Scalextric when it comes to getting liveries right. I've no idea how much Scalextric saved by not buying a licence to reproduce Le Mans decals, but it cost them my custom. SCX quality is a bit hit and miss, but the performance of the most recent models is excellent. Remove the magnet and away you go, nothing else required.

Le Mans decals. A small detail, but one that means I won't buy Scalextric cars without them. SCX Audi R10

Revell/Monogram - Where else can you buy the range of cars produced by RevMon? Raced like with like, these are bags of fun and most need little or no work except to remove the magnet. They do have several problems though: the Lotus Cortina struggles for ground clearance if the magnet is left in situ, and the Lola T70 has as crown wheel the same diameter as the rear tyre, which is utterly stupid.

Small in stature, large in fun. Revell NSU 1300TT

Ground clearance? None that I can see. Revell Lotus Cortina.

More ground clearance? None here either. Revell Lola T70.

Pioneer - production issues mean nothing much is hitting the market, unless you count the never ending "J" code "F" code ultra ultra ultra mega rare collectors-aren't-totally-stupid Inaslot specials regularly cluttering eBay...

Avant Slot - pricey, but for me the discovery of the year. Excellent paint and decal finish, performance is great and an easy match for Slot.it, but the positioning of the driver figures still has some way to go to make them look realistic.

"Look Mum, I'm sitting on a booster cushion." Avant Slot Mirage GR8.

NSR, Racer and other boutique brands hold no interest for me, so someone else will have to describe those.

 

[dangermouse]

I find that with new cars you need to wait for them to be released and then there is a review or comments on the announcement of the car be available etc whereas older cars pop up on the forum or eBay and maybe require a bit of attention to getting them tuned so I look for tips or share what I have done.

Dopamine
" the ride height of which is far too high at the front, with no simple way to rectify it."
agree wasn't the best part of a great car. I fixed mine - followed a guide on Home Racing World - basically raised the bushes on the front wheels - wasn't too hard.
Before

After

cheers
David

 

[JJJ]

Great manufacturer reviews Dopamine. I may become a new fan of Revell thanks to your review and pic. I like that little Revell NSU quite a bit. I assume it is original since you are basically doing out-of-the-box comparisons, and I like those rims on the car.

 

[munter]

Yeah Dopamine...that was a good read.

Another tip for the Corvette front end...true the front tires or true them to a smaller diameter.

I bought the Carrera Capri 3100 blue and white livery.I got this cheap off a mate.
Your Corvettte might have a high front well the Capri has the rear so high it looks stupid.

Six hours of cutting, shutting and bracing and a new set of rims (BWA) and tires (P6) the thing is level and working well.

The last new car was a Mrslotcar Mazda and before that the Slotit Lancia and before that????.......nothing for a long time.
I do by parts though as I enjoy scratch building.

 

[Ember]

It's possible that the forum is merely suffering a bit of cyclic lag. Folks come. Folks go. Some are 'chattier' than others. People go through ups and downs in their lives which make it easy to spend time on a hobby, or not so easy to spend money. I'm in a lots of time but no money swing a the moment, the next change might take things the other way.

There's also the seasonal cycles to take into account. You lads up north are just coming out of the cold months and into the warmer ones. So, in many instances the outdoor activities take over from the indoor ones. It happens with each change of the seasons. The ebb and flow of forum posts continues.

Then there's also the question of whether or not one finds the current crop of new releases of interest. Even if I had the money available, I'm not finding a whole lot of temptation in what's currently on offer. In fact, I actually have a free car owing to me, and can't find anything I find worthy of the 'spend'. I don't have club racing commitments, so I don't have the need to buy cars to match to all the classes currently running or to replace cars that have died.

The last car I purchased was the Ninco E-type. Prior to that I think it was a cluster of 3 rally cars in order to source a suitable entrant for a proxy which started last October.

 

[ncng]

Yes, I buy new cars, more recently because of economy, I didn't do much the last 4-5 years,
I have been building/modifiying cars for the most part.

ncng

 

[DrH]

As i do not have a track at home but just race at the club (Nascot wood) i do not buy that many cars mostly tyres and other slot it goodies.

The last 4 cars have been slot it's and that is not just because we race them........... I have more than can be raced... Some bought because i like the look of them but mostly because they go so well.

The newer releases such as the Toyota 88C are superb, as slot it improve less and less is needed to have them run better and better.

Dave

 

[mattcrackers]

Over the last 2.5 years I've probably purchased around 80 cars, with 60/80 being new. I decided after seeing what was on offer from some of the suppliers this year that I'd only get a couple of cars this year and they will probably be released later this year. I did get one this year already and that was an NSR Mosler in the Gulf livery, and only because I have read plenty of good things about these cars. My attention now has turned to having a crack at scratch building so I now spend my money on brass,motors etc and spend more time building than buying. I'd love to get every car that I liked/wanted but decided that I really don't NEED too many more cars and will only get cars now that are in my opinion 'worth it'. At the moment I'm more than happy to plod along having a go at another side of the hobby than buying new slotcars but in time this will change and my interest will once again return to looking at a few of the new cars.

Matt

 

[StuBeeDoo]

I pretty much concur with Ember's comments above. I'm not one of the "chattier" (to quote Ember) members, I usually only post queries TBH. However, I have bought or been gifted 50-odd cars in the last year and there is at least one picture of each somewhere on the forum. Since the beginning of this year I've sold-off most of my race cars and am now concentrating on rally cars - in line with my 1:1 preference.

Recently, my purchasing has slowed to a trickle. I have a fairly rigid collecting regime and most of the cars left that I'd like to add to my collection seem to have never been made as 1:32 slots. I don't have multiple liveries on the same model. My wish list of available cars is now down to about 14 rally cars. That will give me a total of nearly 50, plus 6 race cars which are in storage. My birthday is coming up and I've been promised at least 4 cars off the list........

Other spending has to take priority now - like my 1:1 car that has been neglected since I went mad for slots. ........And, anyway, 50-odd rally cars should keep me amused for a while.

I suppose it would be a good idea if members posted their thoughts/findings on their purchases as it could help others avoid making costly buying errors. Having said that, I'm probably a little less "it has to be spot-on straight from the box" now that I have a little more experience. Having to "tweek" a car to make it acceptable (to me) is now part of the hobby, although it can be a tiresome part.

As always, just my 2p.

 

[zipp]

QUOTE (ewanmcken @ 27 Apr 2012, 21:33) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Cant remember the last car I bought.
I am cured.
Regards,
Ewan

Some memory problems are related to health issues that may be treatable. For example, medication side effects, vitamin B12 deficiency, chronic alcoholism, tumors or infections in the brain, or possibly the onset of dementia. Some thyroid, kidney, or liver disorders can also lead to memory loss.
Delivery of 3 slot cars a week should see serious medical conditions like these cured.

 

[matthew77]

I buy new slot cars when something I want is released. My last few cars have been old stock reduced in price (Ninco Xlot). I am awaiting the Ninco Lancia 037 and various other cars this year.

I only buy new cars if its a model I want, not fussed about F1 cars, cant explain why, just prefer Le Mans, GT, rally cars and Police cars.

I do take advantage of the sales when I can, hence the 4 SCX Nascars in my collection.

I buy more Scalextric and SCX these days, don't tend to buy much Fly and Ninco as I don't trust Flys build quality and Ninco prices aren't what they once were.

I would like to see more new car reviews as they are always worth reading.

Matthew

 

[driver#8]

In general I buy cars for our club classes - we run 8 each quarter - and usually not the latest releases. Too often with 'box stock' classes you find only one car cuts the mustard and so we've got an awful lot of classes where everyone rocks up with the same equipment. On the occasions where I've bought the 'wrong' car then had to hastily get back in line with the rest of the guys!

My collections are pretty much complete in terms of what's available. There are still some Penelope Pitlane cars I'd like to get, and some other old F1s that I'd love to see made, but there's not too much in the line-ups announced this year that has got me excited. A Raikkonen Lotus will be coming my way, although it will most likely be a shelf queen on Scaley's recent form. There are a few SCXs I'd like. But with so many club classes to cover it's hard to justify my own personal choices from the 'fun fund'.

Of those cars I've either bought or tried in the past year, however, I'd say:

AutoArt
Total guesswork on whether or not you'll get one with decent running gear. Best to buy cheap and factor in another 10 quid to make it usable. Best so far: Porsche 997 Carrera, which needed nothing but weight in the nose to make a nice non-mag drifter. Worst so far Peugeot 206WRC which needed all new components beneath the skin.

Avant Slot
Mighty motors and fine non-mag handling across the board. The wheels seem inclined to throw themselves at the far corners of the room however. None of mine - Peugeot 206 S2000, Mitsubishi Lancer Raid and Audi R10 LMP - has kept hold of its rear hubs for too long, but the rewards of careful fettling are brute force, good brakes and driftable handling. Peugeot gets the nod as pick of the bunch.

Carrera
Is it me or do the weighty Germans lack any kind of 'feel'? I know that any such thing is perceived but I never really know whether I've got it at the right speed for the balsawood tyres to hang on at the entry of a corner. Best so far: Ferrari F10 Alonso - although it can't live with Scalextric F1 pace.

Flyslot
I'm a big fan of the simplified 'Alpha' cars. Abarth Grande Punto one of the most pleasant cars to run in my fleet and looking forward to an affordable Code Lunga. The older cars still infuriate me with gorgeous looks and warp speed performance (mags in) but ridiculous running gear.

MRRC
Insane motors and questionable running gear beneath the nicest bodies in the business. My 427 Cobra has swallowed an awful lot of lead and is still massively uncouth, but at least stays in the slot now and manages to keep up with the Chapparals and Ford Mk.IVs fairly well. Epic power and no brakes whatsoever mean a totally different driving style to anything else out there.

MSC
The NSR of rallying - never mind the looks, check out the performance. Very well matched Metro 6R4 and Ford RS200 are leagues ahead of other classic rally cars. The Impreza runs Ninco and Avant cars very close in more modern classes.

Ninco
I've become a convert to the Ninco 1 cars now that I've found one that works properly. All the Corvettes seem to have trouble keeping their guides in the slot but the Megane, even with its weedy little motor, is one of the fastest cars I've got with the mag left in. Classics still very welcome too, although there's yet to be a 100% successful replacement for the NC-1 motor. Rally cars still the pick of the bunch for performance.

NSR
The hype is true. Both the Ford Mk.IV in our 1960s class and the Audi R18 in modern LMP show exactly why Salvatore's got all those titles to his name. It's become a bit of an ethical question at the club, however, whether to run them in regular classes or treat them as separate entities.

Revell
I've got the big Mercedes 220 but haven''t run it yet. Will do next week.

Scalextric
Modern F1s aren't a patch on the older stuff. Fiddly front wheels lever you out of the slot and useless stepped magnets don't grip, meaning that the old Mabuchi-motored cars generally see off their peakier FF-motored siblings. I will never understand why the FF motor has been put in such finely crafted classics as the Mini, Cortina, Beetle and Escort. They either go at F1 pace with the magnet in or not at all with the magnet out. Most Scaleys are pretty stonking for mag classes - especially the Aston DBR9 in GTs.

SCX
I hope that the brand emerges again soon and that nothing gets changed in how they go about their business. For me absolutely the best in terms of value and how they run with minimal trueing and glueing. Range of cars that seems tailor made for me and admirable non-mag handling.

Slot.It
Putting aside outright pace, for which NSR has got Maurizio's measure, these are still the most desirable and raceable cars on the market.

Teamslot
I got tempted to a couple of old rally cars going for a song - Renault 5 and Quattro. Really wish I hadn't. Not very pretty and the massive potential of the motor limited by square wheels and lumpy running gear.

 

[Jango]

I still buy new cars (around 70% of my purchases), alongside some second-hand ones. I just don't buy as many as I used to a couple of years ago. Having kids will tend to do that to any hobby!

After a couple of months out of the market - I'll have the budget for two or three cars next month. I'm waiting for a number of new releases to finally emerge before I splash the cash.

As I don't currently have the room to set up a track, my cars tend to be shelf queens. A situation which should change in the next 12 months when I take over the loft. Until then I can't really review a car other than on its aesthetics!

There are plenty of people still buying new cars, look here and often members will give handy bits of info on the cars they've bought. I often find it's helpful to see some different photos of cars other than the ones the online retailers provide, particularly if - like me - you do all your slot shopping online.

I agree with a earlier post, however, that everyone has the means to post a review on this site. I don't tend to as, to be honest, I don't really know enough about performance etc to write a meaningful, detailed review. I tend to just say 'Look at what I've just got - isn't it pretty. Goes pretty well too!' (Unless it's a Fly, then it probably didn't go at all!)

 

[FZSsemans®]

havent bought much lately, just because I dont have the money. (or better, there are more important things right here right now)
@Dopamine: great review on brands!!

 

[loosesalute]

Good question from Screwneck. & great answers from Dopamine & Ember.
As much as I like to collect modern slots I tend to only post my vintage buys on SF because a) they`re a bit different,

you can see pics of new releases in catalogues or elsewhere on SF (by other people).
Cheers
Kev.

Where did that yellow face come from????