Scalextric Conundrum

4630 Views 59 Replies 28 Participants Last post by Tropi, Apr 24, 2004

moped rider

Discussion Starter · Apr 21, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

QUOTE Comin soon:
MotoGP motorbikes,4wd Skoda rally car, Audi TT and Porsche Boxter and the exciting new vintage F1 series starting with the Maserati 250F and Vanwall are all due later this Summer.

Note the use of the words "the exciting new vintage F1 series starting with" in connection with this announcement on the Scalextric website. Clearly more of these are on the way.

My guess is that these vintage F1 cars will represent something of a conundrum for the racing set up folk at Hornby.

Are they to have vintage Scalextric handling or not?

That is the question.

We all know the cars are going to have magnets but are they to be small button magnets Lotus 7 style or stronger bar magnets GT40 style?

The curved shape of the chassis of these vintage F1 cars is not really condusive to a bar magnet is it so it looks like weaker button magnets will be favoured.

That should of course suit most folk here who prefer the more sedate slot car life with cars that have extremely narrow tyres.

The first cars in a new race series clearly set the tone for the future models.

I wonder if these will be the first SPORT cars to have 2 button magnets?

Moped

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Mr.M

· #32 · Apr 23, 2004

QUOTE (moped rider @ 23 Apr 2004, 09:27)with a feeling that you actually controlled the car
Who used to control it for you, then?

I spoke to Adrian about these at Toyfair and he told me that they will have a magnet, nothing too drastic, but mainly to counter the fact that they will be front motored.

I actually think that it's the magnet fans who get all upset and defensive. In a perfect slotter's world cars would be designed without magnet, and then have the option of fitting one for those that like them. I keep seeing this basic message repeated over and over by people on forums. Yet it's usually met with a load of ranting about people looking down their noses at magnet users.

Mr.M

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Mr.M

· #37 · Apr 23, 2004

QUOTE (jonny s @ 23 Apr 2004, 12:45)I`ve made up my mind. I`m gonna take up Kite flying!!

But don't get an XYZ kite, they're not realistic enough!

And those ABC ones are always losing their strings and don't go properly in home sky, only club sky!

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Mr.M

· #56 · Apr 24, 2004

QUOTE (Swissracer @ 23 Apr 2004, 09:45)Sure a Modern F1 car does not look right fishtailing round the track but also an Old Vanwall would not look right screaming round the track at a scale 600 MPH, glued to the track !
Amen to that.

And, if you think about it, the only reason the modern F1 will fishtail (or exhibit "tail out cornering" as Moped put it), without magnets fitted, is because the person controlling it isn't doing it very well.

The fastest way around any corner is at the absolute limit of adhesion, a limit which Michael Schumacher is very good at judging. But even he has to slow down for all but the slightest bends. Too fast and, depending how he reacted at the time, he would either go straight on or the back end would break away. He might catch it, HE probably would, but chances are it would spin right round.

A slot car can't do this! It will spin round so far and then bounce back after the guide gets to it's fullest travel, and, if the person in control keeps the power on, it will do it for quite a while. So for that sort of realism may I suggest a centrally mounted 360 degree rotating guide.

Sorry to those who find this patently obvious, but I hope this will convince those who seem to think that a car is out of control (or uncontrollable) unless it is fitted with magnets.

As the saying goes

" the most dangerous component of a car is the nut behind the steering wheel"

Mr.M

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