[zendragon]

With the ever increasing cost of our 'cheap hobby', I was wondering 'what is the deciding factor for purchasing a car', is it to race or just to sit as a shelf queen, and again at what point do you decide.
For myself I buy cars to race, not to look at, and object to buying cars then have to spend monies on them to be competetive.
Do you have a price beyond which you are buying as a shelf queen and below it a racer?.

Ducking below the parapits

Zen

 

[Mr Modifier]

Having bought a few beautiful cars that I couldn't bring myself to race for fear of damaging them I suddenly had an epiphany. I realised (cue shaft of sunlight down from the storm clouds and the sound of a choir of angels' voices soaring to the heavens) that I had a lot of cash tied up on the shelf that could be used to buy cars for driving.

I'm selling all my shelf queens (see the Swap Shop) and the money that releases will be used to buy more cars that are less fragile and better suited to digital carnage.

Those cars that don't sell on here or Ebay will get raced, bashed and battered and bits will fall off and I won't care.

That, after all, is the whole point of slot cars.

Shelves are for books and model cars without motors.

Move over Zendragon - I need to borrow some of your parapet and I'm bringing tin hats!

 

[Julian_Boolean]

No shelf queens here, though I was a bit sad when all the spot lights came off my Team Slot Quattro last night when it had a floor based excursion - and it only cost me £10 brand new.

 

[Philip P]

Could I ask "what qualifies as a shelf queen?"?

I thought that the car should be "mint" to be a true queen but now I am begining to wonder. I do not belong to any club and do not race competitively but every one of my cars has some track time on my home track. Some cars more than others, but they all hit the track at some point. Some do not have a drive for many months (or even years) so are they shelf queens?

Sorry to hijack the thread slightly but I have often wondered about this!

Cheers,

Philip

 

[greenman62]

No shelf queens... ever!

I build my cars to run, not to sit on a shelf and look pretty.

The above were built for proxy races... below was built for the fun of it...

All are run regularly

Now... I'll counter with a question for you...

What would be worse... a car damaged while enjoying it racing... its intended purpose... or a car knocked off the shelf where it resides... unused?

Besides... as the late Professor Fate said, "...They're all doomed..."

Greenman62

 

[DrH]

Zen,

No shelf queens for me............

Sold all i had on the bay last year and put all the money into some new speakers for my home cinema

I have enough cars for each class at the club (well maybe except F1)

However as slot it keep putting out new cars I cannot seem to help myself............. however they will see the track

DrH

 

[Slots-O-Fun]

Shelf Queens to me aren't cars that are too good to race but that are to bad (at running) to enjoy. I then have to spend the time getting them right and that is not my thing.

 

[Dopamine]

QUOTE (zendragon @ 9 Mar 2012, 13:25) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>'what is the deciding factor for purchasing a car'
I have deciding factors:
1. It must be visually appealing or quirky. If it's not, then
2. It must add to a particular section of my collection, e.g. Le Mans 24hrs, Nascar, Rally, F1. If it doesn't
3. It must be cheap (below £20 inc postage).

Every car I buy gets driven and raced eventually, but like many enthusiasts my collection is now so large that some cars might only be driven once every two or three years and raced even less frequently. Does that qualify them as shelf queens or racers?

QUOTE (zendragon @ 9 Mar 2012, 13:25) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>For myself I buy cars to race, not to look at, and object to buying cars then have to spend monies on them to be competetive.
One thing I won't do to any of my cars is spend money changing tyres or other bits and pieces to make them run faster. Instead I race like with like and enjoy the variety that that gives.

 

[zendragon]

Greenman

Lovely models and I have no idea what the cost would be to make them, so I am sorry to say they dont qualify, I was trying to find out at what point cost dictates what becomes a shelf queen and what is raced.
Thanks for some beautiful pictures
Respectfully

Zen

 

[Mr Modifier]

QUOTE (greenman62 @ 9 Mar 2012, 15:44) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>No shelf queens... ever!

I build my cars to run, not to sit on a shelf and look pretty.

And BOY are they pretty. Greenman62 that Alfa is GORGEOUS

It reminds me of my Marlin Roadster I had about 25 years ago (they modelled the front end on the Alfa).

Is it a kit or did you scratch build it? Whatever it is you did a great job

If it's a kit I want one.

 

[Mr Modifier]

QUOTE (Philip P @ 9 Mar 2012, 15:19) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Could I ask "what qualifies as a shelf queen?"?

I thought that the car should be "mint" to be a true queen but now I am begining to wonder. I do not belong to any club and do not race competitively but every one of my cars has some track time on my home track. Some cars more than others, but they all hit the track at some point. Some do not have a drive for many months (or even years) so are they shelf queens?

Sorry to hijack the thread slightly but I have often wondered about this!

Cheers,

Philip

Hi Philip - I agree with your initial thoughts. I always thought a shelf queen was too posh to drive. So even if a car has only been around a track once with no damage it is used and loses its shelf queen status.

Or are we wrong?

 

[FZSsemans®]

QUOTE (Mr Modifier @ 9 Mar 2012, 19:38) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hi Philip - I agree with your initial thoughts. I always thought a shelf queen was too posh to drive. So even if a car has only been around a track once with no damage it is used and loses its shelf queen status.

Or are we wrong?

that's my idea too, some cars are driven fun visual fun, almost every car I own has done its lap. I dont mind watching that car being used. But Some cars are too nice run in a race where things might break. Now is the question, is that a shelf queen, after it's had its maidenrun? I say yes. And even badly wounded cars can come on my shelf as a shelfqueens' sister

Sometimes I redo the shelf by colour, or brand.........changing the collection is nice too and keep them all in plain sight

 

[Dopamine]

QUOTE (Mr Modifier @ 9 Mar 2012, 18:38) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>So even if a car has only been around a track once with no damage it is used and loses its shelf queen status.
Agreed. Once used, it's second-hand and no longer a shelf queen. This seems to be a concept lost on the increasing number of eBay sellers who describe their cars as "Mint, New. Test laps only." Any guilty eBay sellers reading this, please stop this nonsense.

 

[alan1302]

Buy what I like to put on the track...I have never ever seen the point of buying a slot car to put on a shelf...slot cars are for racing.

If you wabt a pretty car for a shelf get a diecast as it will the majority of the time look better

 

[matthew77]

Shelf queen? Aren't they diecast models?

Although I don't race, I run all my cars in turn (over 500 of them). I built a small but fairly scenic track to run them on. If I like a car, I will buy it so long as I have the cash and my wifes permission (the key to a happy marriage!). I won't buy a car that I won't run as a "shelf queen" doesn't appeal to me as thats not what the cars are designed and built for (you may as well buy diecast).
I will be happy to spend upto £50 for a 1/32 car and more for 1/24.

I have some collectible cars, but I still run them as I enjoy trying to get good lap times on my track and watching them slide around the corner!

I see my cars as a hobby, not an investment.

Hope I aint bored you all

Matthew

Oh, Greenman, those models are brilliant!!

 

[Dopamine]

What is all this nonsense about diecasts? Aren't they model cars designed to be pushed along the floor by children, yet here we have grown men telling other grown men what to buy. I'll bet a substantial amount of money that a significant number of you "buy a diecast" advocates buy 1:1 road cars that you've never driven at even 85% of their maximum designed ability, let alone 100%, but nobody tells you to buy a basic 1 litre shopping car instead of the manufacturer's "performance" version. If it weren't for the collectors buying a significant portion of slot manufacturers' product, we'd all have far less to choose from, so let's stop this snide belittling of collectors, shall we? Please.
/rant

 

[MrFlippant]

If it has a motor in it, it goes on the track.
I would personally appreciate it if those who bought cars to leave them in their boxes on a shelf somewhere to please stop. You're just making it harder for people who want to put them to proper use to buy them.

There are plenty of die cast cars out there for looking at.
I don't care how much a car costs. If I buy it, for whatever reason (see Dopamine's post

), it gets put on the track and run hard, to the best of its ability. Parade laps? No such thing. That means a brand new NSR or Racer gets run just as hard as a Scalextric crash resistant car.
Honestly, if you're not running them, what's the point of buying a slot car?
This isn't the dawn of comic books, here, people. You're not going to sell a slot.it in 50 years for a million dollars, even if it's a limited edition. This is a society of collectors. No one throws anything away, especially if it has the remotest chance of increasing in value, even by a couple bucks.

 

[greenman62]

QUOTE thumbsup.gif Greenman thumbsup.gif
Lovely models and I have no idea what the cost would be to make them, so I am sorry to say they dont qualify
Thanks for some beautiful pictures
Respectfully
banana.gif Zen banana.gif

I gotta disagree there...

When was it that "time" was not equated with "money"?

The Led Zeppelin McLaren was 3 years in the making. If any car could be classified as "Shelf Queen" worthy it would be that car. A number of my cars are one of a kind... from castings I made from my own masters.

The cost in "sweat equity" in any one of my most rudimentary reliveries would surpass the cost of your average hand built Racer slot car (~$250. USD)... of which I have 2 which are raced regularly.

Hey, it's your question you can accept or reject whatever you want... I just respectfully disagree

Greenman62

 

[Rakete]

Sorry guys... I have some shelf queens.

Sparing the "if you want a shelf queen buy a die cast" argument - I like slot cars for what they look like AND what they are. I've owned diecast models, plenty of them, sold them to buy slot cars. If there is a car I like but I don't want to bash, I buy a second car. Not 5 or 10 speculating on increasing value, one. It sits on the shelf to display to others who stop buy what they look like at their best, with all mirrors, antennae, box and wings in tact. I love running my cars. But I love them more when they are run and retain their model quality by having all their parts still attached and looking good. This is how the hobby works for me, and I respect that you may enjoy it differently.

Regards,

-- Rakete --

 

[dodge]

Sorry I got to agree with Dopamine, Yes I do collect sclextric cars and Fly but I race my other models , NSR, Ninco, Fly Racing and slot-it

but to respond to QUOTE You're just making it harder for people who want to put them to proper use to buy them. Have you heard of pre-order?
Its the collectors that keep the manufactures in business.....

But to respond to the initial question on the post, I tend to race the more expensive models as these are more competitive...