New HO Track system - Micro Scalextric 2019

Track system

The new Micro Scalextric track is a massive change. Most HO systems can chart their heritage back to the Electric Highways Model Motoring products that were designed in the UK and released here in 1959 - sixty years ago. Model Motoring became the best-selling slot car system in the world and the basic design of vertical rails on hard plastic track has become ubiquitous in the HO scene. Scalextric released the Marchon MR-1 system in 1994 and brought out their own version in 1995. Neither were the best HO track systems, by any means - the track pieces coming apart easily and conductivity was often poor.

The new system is visibly very different. It has the same width of 74.5mm (approximately 3-inches) and is made from rigid plastic. However, the rails are flat on the track surface, just like 1/32, 1/24 and 1/43 scale systems. Here are some dimensions gathered with digital calipers:

Track width: 74.5mm

Rail width: 4.0mm

Lane spacing: 37.6mm

Slot width: 2.25mm

Slot depth: 5.75mm

Curve radius: 223mm (approx 9-inches)

Straights come as 75mm (approx 3-inches) and 150cms (approx 6-inches)

Curve pieces are 45-degree (1/8 of a circle)

The track width, lane spacing and slot width are identical to the old Micro track. The rails are naturally much wider and the slot is deeper - 5.75mm compared with 4.1mm on old Micro track (5.25mm for Tomy AFX).

Another important comparison is the distance between the rails on classic HO track - 0.6 of an inch or 15.25mm. On the new Micro Scalextric track, this measurement falls a couple of millimetres inside the outside of the rails, not dead centre as we see here:

The plastic connectors that hold the track pieces are very solid and are sprung. The track goes together very smoothly and disconnects with a decent tug. However, in use they stay firmly in place - we did a lot of high speed laps on three different circuits and there were no track breaks.

The metal lugs sit above the plastic connectors, which keep them protected and makes the process of building the track easy. These lugs are long and should guarantee good electrical conductivity. If these get a little loose with frequent use (most similar connectors do), then there are metal tabs underneath to tighten the rails at the track joins and the metal lugs themselves can be tweaked easily.

Before I go on to look at the new Micro Scalextric cars, will old-style Micro Scalextric cars and other brands work on the new track system? Leaving aside the issue of power (the new sets come with 9-volt power supplies), the track geometry and flat rails do match up fine with traditional HO systems. The old Micro Scalextric cars with their braids work, but cars with hard metal shoes do not. I took an Auto World T-jet that I'd soldered braids on top of the shoes (for drag racing) and it worked with no problems.

So that is one solution. Another is the HO RacePro Slide Guide, that was developed to run HO cars on 1/32 tracks or copper-taped routed tracks. I don't know if they are still available, but something like the Slide Guide will be very useful if hobbyists decide to convert to the new Micro Scalextric track system.

New Micro Scalextric chassis

The new Micro Scalextric chassis has been designed for the new track. It has the same braids as before, although on a different and more robust braid plate. The most obvious difference when I looked under the car is that there is a small screw at the front. This holds the braid plate, chassis and body together and must be removed to see inside. Here are the new and old cars side by side:

And the underside of the new chassis with the braid plate removed:

The braid plate is much improved. It is more robust and recessed into the chassis. The braids are fixed into metal holders, which rest onto sprung contacts in the chassis. If necessary, both sides can be tweaked for a better connection. The plastic guide flag is similar to the previous chassis and may prove to be a weak point and could do with beefing up. The whole braid plate will be a spare part, although it won't take much for a skilled enthusiast to fix new braids into the metal holders. Of course, braids will wear much less on the flat track rails.

Inside the chassis, the big old can motor has been replaced by the more modern and efficient FN20 slim can. The motor is secured well into the chassis, especially at the back. A seven-tooth pinion gear drives a twenty-five-tooth crown gear - both gears have the smooth Micro Scalextric mesh that enthusiasts know and love. Two neodymium traction magnets sit between the motor and rear axle, sitting exactly above the new track rails and about 1.5mm closer than on the old chassis. I could not measure the magnet strength, but the downforce felt not too strong or too weak on the track - which was confirmed in racing action.

The front of the chassis has two snap-in axle positions for two different wheelbases - the longer one just under 1.7-inches and the shorter about 1.5-inches. The rear axle is fixed into the chassis, which makes the car as robust as possible for its intended market, but does make a rear axle swap a more laborious task. Scalextric are aware of the over-wide rear axle and that should be addressed by the time the first new sets and cars arrive.

In terms of body fitment, there are two tabs in front of the rear wheels in addition to the front screw. It is a very solid method and should eliminate the issues of tyre-rub that plagued the old Micro Scalextric cars.

Although I didn't try them out, I was told the new cars do run on the old track system. Their standard 9-volt motors apparently make them uncontrollable, but there are FN20 cans that could be fitted so they can race on regular HO layouts. The AFX Mega-G+ have a FN20 can, for example. Some enthusiasts might also like to get their hands on the Micro Scalextric FN20 to use in their own projects.

The 2019 Micro Scalextric sets

In a sense, that's all the boring stuff out of the way... The new Micro Scalextric range is all about fun. The Warner Brothers partnership has come at a good time for Micro Scalextric as the WB-branded sets certainly brought a smile to my face. It also looks like the design team have really enjoyed themselves - I was told that even something as small as the exact placement of the dimple on Peter Perfect's chin on the Wacky Races model had taken hours of discussion and research to get just right.

There are two My First Scalextric starter sets to choose from, both with 2.5 metre long figure-of-eight tracks layouts. The first has two of the futuristic-style cars first seen in last year's Sci-Fi Speedway set. The other is the Looney Tunes set with Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny driving a couple of super hot-rod cars.

Wile E Coyote and Road Runners cars will follow later in the year. The three Looney Tunes cars I saw (Road Runner will arrive for the London Toy Fair) were close to how they will look on release - and they do look fab. They have decent proportions for an HO slot car and are surprisingly lightweight. The cartoon characters themselves are not too huge and are made from flexible material. They are unlikely to tip the car over or to break.

The other two Micro Scalextric sets for 2019 are also Warner Brothers tie-ins. Top of the range with the biggest layout (5.7 metres) is the Justice League set, featuring Batman and Superman - with Wonderwoman and The Flash also offered as individual cars.

Although these four cars were not the production versions - they were hand-painted prototypes - they looked good. Each has been designed to represent the individual character, not just a generic body with different decoration. I can't wait to see them in their shiny finished versions.

In between Justice League and Looney Tunes come the 4 metre long Wacky Races set with the Mean Machine and Turbo Terrific. This is based on the 2017 reboot of Wacky Races, so although Dastardly and Mutley drive the 2017 Mean Machine, Peter Perfect is in an updated Turbo Terrific and Penelope Pitlane will appear in the modern Compact Pussycat - there will be no Slag Brothers...

Again, the two set cars were hand-painted prototypes. They looked wonderful and I can't imagine that I won't collect them all.

All these sets will have decorated tracks - the two My First Scalextric offerings will have grey track, the others black. Each will have cardboard graphics to place around the track. Perhaps most importantly, there is enough track in the Justice League set to build twelve different layouts - and nine with the Wacky Races set.

The proof of the pudding...

I felt I shouldn't smash up those very valuable prototype cars on the track, so raced some unpainted shells from the 2018 set cars fitted on the new chassis. The standard layout configuration for all three sets were ready to go, so I had the chance to run some laps with Martyn, who had been a great host.

As I've mentioned, the new system is powered by 9 volts via a mains power supply. The controllers are the same as those developed for the new 2018 sets - perfect for small hands and with four adjustable speed settings, just like the bigger controllers in the standard 1/32 Scalextric sets.

On the slowest setting, the cars went round the track and managed the loop-the-loop sections. Clicking up a notch and the cars went round quite quick on full throttle without de-slotting. The third setting also kept the cars on track, but on a big layout with long straights, would definitely need some throttle control. The 100% power setting has the cars flying off some of the corners of the big Justice League layout and occasionally on the medium Wacky Races track. The figure-of-eight was comfortably flat out, but most are...

The cars are very quick and well-matched, so it is a lot of fun to run laps - which is what it's all about. Here's a video of the cars going round the Wacky Races set on the third speed setting...


For those looking at running 18V HO slot cars (or 12V brass-weighted cars) on the new Micro track, there would be options of using other Scalextric power supplies - it looked like the standard 15V Scalextric and 19V Micro power supplies with the square connectors will plug in to the new Micro powerbase. Of course, another option is to solder up a bespoke power straight and use whatever controller hook-ups you fancy. With an adjustable power supply, you'd be able to race HO cars at 9V to 22V and anywhere in between.

I race gravity cars at 12 volts, the motors used in those either have an onboard resistor wired inline or some sort of "choke" is needed in the controller circuit to reduce the voltage. With one car I drop the voltage by 3.5 most of the time, so I am running it at 8.5 volts. Gravity cars either use braided pickups or wipers. The rails on the new Scalextric HO tracks look to be slightly recessed, so braided pickups would work for sure. Wipers that were adjusted properly should work as well. We run our gravity cars on routed wood tracks with flush or very slightly raised braid. For people that might want to run other makes of HO cars on the new track there would be several problems. The first problem would be the non-standard voltage. Just about all of the other makes of HO cars are designed to run on a track with narrow raised rails. With some cars a "Slide Guide" could be used on the Scalextric track. Adding braid to conventional pickup shoes is another option. With raised rails that could lift the front wheels off of the track, with flush or recessed rails it is not as likely to be a problem. With other makes of cars the Scalextric rails will be much wider, but also further away from the motor and traction magnets, it will be interesting to see what impact that will have on magnetic downforce.

I agree Rich - it will be very interesting what established HO enthusiasts do with the new track. There is so much ingenuity out there (and inquisitiveness) so there will be those who have a lot of fun getting cars to work well on the new track. There is also a weath of skills and experience out there to solve similar issues and I am sure there are those who will come up with novel solutions.

Of course, many will stick with what they already have. Our club will stick with AFX track, although we will certainly benefit from increased interest if the new system is sucessful and encourages people to make the smaller scale a long-term hobby. That's what Scalextric want - acknowledging that not everyone has room for a 1/32 scale layout in the home.

The final piece of my report is...

The future

A lot of investment must have gone into developing the new Micro Scalextric system and, from my first look, it seems like time and money well spent. Scalextric have four new sets that will provide a positive first impression of slot car racing, which is important to the company and to our hobby. There's a good chance that barely-used Micro Scalextric sets will no longer be such a feature of car boot sales across the UK.

Where we will see Micro Scalextric (and entry-level 1/32 Scalextric sets) is in more big retailers - like the sets that were seen in Aldi and Lidl before Christmas.

So what else is planned?

The Scalextric team are already a long way into planning the 2020 Micro Scalextric range. Of course, most of it is top secret. What I do know is that the current 'old-style' non-Warner Brothers sets will be replaced next year. Initially these replacements will have similar styles of cars - something like sixteen new moulds were designed and/or produced last year and all fit the new chassis. Beyond 2020, I understand that there is a good chance cars more likely to appear in 1/32 sets will be added to the Micro range. That means street and racing cars, I guess - which would fit very well with the new aim to make Micro Scalextric stand-alone alternative to 1/32 scale.

As for track, the plan for 2020 and beyond is to sell track expansion packs so it is easy to extend any Micro Scalextric set. Currently the track pieces in the sets are 150mm (6-inch) and 75mm (3-inch) straights, 45-degree 223mm radius (9-inch) curves and loop-the-loop set. Other track pieces will be added in time as the system develops. Of course we would all love to see curves available in a couple of extra radius sizes!

Micro Scalextric accessories were also mentioned, the specifics were not. Some spares parts will be available. A mechanical lap counter, Spark Plug dongle and even the ARC powerbase modified for Micro Scalextric could be looked at in the future...

A very big thank you to Scalextric for providing me with a preview - I can't wait until the first sets arrive in June. That's when the fun really begins!

Spark Plug dongle and even the ARC powerbase modified for Micro Scalextric could be looked at in the future...

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Well if I can take an uneducated guess how the Spark Plug dongle ( ) works it just needs the wires flipped around to work...

And we all know modding an ARC ONE powerbase to use a different power source is pretty easy... you just have to transplant to the sensors...

Wile E Coyote and Road Runners cars will follow later in the year.

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PLEASE let the Road Runner car be blue

.... and if the old bodies fit the new chassis, maybe the reverse will be true? The Looney Tunes bodies will fit the outgoing chassis, which run on the '60 years of HO slots' heritage track.

(Maybe just have to take that screw post out?)

Dare I say - IROC Looney Tunes racing?

Doug - The body mounting of the 2018 cars straddled the old and the new chassis. I'm not sure it would be as easy as swapping the Warner Bros bodies, but not impossible with a bit of work. However, there could be plenty of ways of running the new cars on our AFX club track as a club car race. Something like this, perhaps?

And yes, I've seen pictures of Road Runner's car and it is most definitely blue. More of a Bugatti blue

Simon - it was fun. You've certainly done a great job on those big 1/32 cars

Excellent!

Thanx for going the extra mile Andy.



A modular braid plate? The heck you say! You'll see one form or another in many of my scratchers. I can attest to their nifty-ness. The quick change aspect is brilliant!

Interestingly, what we dont hear in your video, is that characteristic electric knife sharpener racket of sprung hard-shoes on sharp edged thin-rail. All one hears is the satisfying shriek of the gear set spooling RIGHT up.

Notably a nice gear set, with plenty of shoulder on the both the pinion and the crown. Could you get us tooth counts please, if you find time?

Looks no wider than the Mega Gee Whiz, but with two WB choices. Assume the small winglets are body standoffs?

Curious about the pinion declination, likely to put the hot spot inside the chassis, away from delicate digits, rather than bellied in level and exposed?

Call me a Brontosaur, but I've always preferred the screw mount verses a snap mount for a number of reasons. In this case a master screw, where the whole ball of wax comes apart with ease. Again something I feature in my scratchers; solid and reliable, without being overkill.

As for the voltage difference, it's more in line with everything else. I'm all for bringing "the control aspects" under a common roof, even though 18+ volt H0 is my chosen scale. What it does accomplish, is that the vast majority of the available N20 series "mini cans" are a plop-and-go fitment; rather than being solely reliant on a hybridized 17 ohm spec motor from AFX, which isnt really available in the true sense ...is it?

At a glance the track jointing concept looks pretty robust. Gone are the crazy, drunkenly scribbled, track joints that look like the maw of a jack-o-lantern. The new track is most pleasing to the eye, Unfortunately, for the decades the cars have been scaled up to the proportional limit of the track (lane spacing) which hasnt changed since Play Craft. Given that its a new system, it would seem that now is the time for a correction. (dreamer)

Certainly things could be picked to ribbons, but Im delighted to see something different on the horizon.

Again, thanx for taking the time WC!

Thanks Bill. Yes, the gears are very standard 7T pinion and 25T crown. I remembered to count them (three times). The mesh is nice.

There are lots of things I would have liked to have measured, tweaked and tried - but I would have overstayed my welcome, probably by several days... I have a long list of things to dissect, as soon as there is a set that is mine to dismember. Hopefully June.

It might turn out to be a nice chassis for people to work on for fun or to race. It is designed for taking plenty of punishment, so is stronger and more rigid than AFX's Mega-G+, with no chance of the rear of the motor popping out (it is completely enclosed) and it has a better body mounting. The screw and the two tabs in front of the rear wheels makes it very solid. The screw is neat as it holds the braid plate very securely and that plate is 100% better than the old one. The guide blade could be beefed up a bit - that is probably the one weak point in the package. But the plate could be re-engineered by enthusiasts with a slot for a metal pin or a new plate 3-D printed. A new 3-D printed Slide Guide sort of thing would also be handy for those other HO cars out there that don't have braids. Having said that, the T-jet drag car I took with me has copper braid soldered on top of the shoes and it went round - albeit very slowly at 9V - before it refused to even contemplate a loop-the-loop...