[Doug]

Leading slot car site SlotForum International is teaming up with ToyPedia® to create a unique new resource for the slot racing community - an online database of every slot car and every accessory ever made!

The project will make use of ToyPedia's cataloguing technology, specially developed to create databases of collectable toys and models, and will cover everything from vintage Triang Scalextric and Aurora to modern high-detail models from SCX, Le Mans and the like. The database design allows for images of all entries, and their individual variants and operates as a wiki, so once items have been added, community members can add description, history details and images, as well as links to forum discussions or even external sites of note. The site's advanced filtering system will ultimately also allow for easy research as users will be able to view data by manufacturer, type of car, country of origin, driver, race and many other criteria.

SlotForum founder Doug Teggin said "For the first time ever, this project will allow racers, collectors and fans to transcend the printed page and harness the power of the internet to catalogue and research a truly complete database of everything related to the hobby. This won't be constrained by a page count and we won't have to wait for a second printing to correct those little mistakes that creep in everywhere, there's space enough for everything and corrections and additions can be made in real time."

ToyPedia Advisory Board Member Philippe De Lespinay adds: "This is also a fantastic opportunity to bring slot car racing to a whole new audience and make the hobby and information about it freely accessible worldwide."

Joella van der Boom, ToyPedia Volunteer Coordinator for Slotcars says: "The ToyPedia project has come on in leaps and bounds over the past few months and as part of our mission to cover the whole world of toys and models, we're happy to have SlotForum working with us to make sure our Slot car coverage is second to none."

About SlotForum International

SlotForum is an English language site featuring Slot-car News, Resources, Reviews and a dynamic Community Forum. The Portal site and associated Forums are dedicated to exploring, sharing, learning and teaching the skills, thrills and spills of Electric Slot-car Racing. SlotForum welcomes members from all over the world and encourage them to share their passion for the hobby. All scales and types of Slot-cars and all types of racing.

About Philippe De Lespinay

Philippe de Lespinay has been collecting vintage slot cars, die-cast and tinplate automobile toys for the past 40 years. He only collects toys or models of automobiles manufactured when the full-size cars were in production. He is the author of Vintage Slot Cars and the curator of the LA Slot Car Museum, a private museum dedicated to the preservation of the fabulous larger (1/32 and 1/24 scale) slot cars made in America in the 1960s.

About Toy Collector & ToyPedia®

Launched in 2008, Toy Collector is a web portal for collectable toy and model enthusiasts designed to allow collectors to share their passions via blogging, discussion forums, picture and video galleries. The site currently hosts over 25,000 toy-related articles and over 140,000 images. It offers resources like want ads and a yellow pages supplier directory and boasts the largest toy-and model-related event calendar on the internet. In addition to all this, the site features ToyPedia® - a Wikipedia-style online encyclopaedia of collectable toys which currently covers over 134,000 items and is growing constantly.

Currently, the project is supported by;
• 27 communities now including SlotForum International
• 650 volunteers
• 9 authors who have permitted the organisers to use text and images from 16 books as part of a ToyPedia Book Documentation Project
• 350 toy brands who have agreed to open their archives
• 11 leading auction houses including Bonham's and Christie's have allowed use of their images
• 21 members of the new ToyPedia Advisory Board who advise on organisation and taxonomy

For more information please go to www.ToyCollector.com

 

[911TT]

This sounds very impressive. There is going to be a lot of work adding all the known cars to the database though. I look forward to being able to look for a particular driver or model etc. and see what details come back. Thanks for the work that has gone into this, I look forward to seeing the results soon.

 

[zarko]

Will it be free access to all or people will need to sign up and pay to be able to view entire archive?

 

[Gareth]

Wow, this is one BIG undertaking that you are beginning on! I wish everyone involved the very best of luck and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished outcome.

Except for the fact that it'll make me want even more cars when I see them all grouped together like that!

 

[Ember]

Every slotty item, ever? Is that even possible?

 

[owensy]

an online database of every slot car and every accessory ever made - Really? Thats a lot of cars, accesories and info!

Good idea and I hope it works!

Stephen

 

[GlovemanP510]

an online database of every slot car and every accessory ever made - wow indeed (it's not April 1st again is it) because i really want this one to be true

Cheers Gloveman

 

[JEXY1]

I think it's a great idea and actually not as hard to complete as you may think (well at least to 99%).

There are lots of existing web site that already list thousands of cars and reference material from either private collections (like mine) or by submission (like UKSlotcars run by Adrian Norman) add to that the bigger traders who tend to have gallery sections on their web sites including more interesting items sold.

I have joined up, but notice there is no slot releated stuff on their yet.

I would be happy to allow links to my ref site, but the thought of uploading 1000+ pictures does not appeal - i'm stuggling to finish my site!

Best of luck

 

[Doug]

It is a free resource.

Data will be gathered from manufacturers, books and existing catalogues, experts, collectors and members.

Meet some members of the Toy Collector team at Gaydon (UK Slot Car Festival) this week-end. They will be there to answer questions. If you feel that you would like to contribute, please come along.

 

[Charles*Seattle]

Hi Doug,

This is great news. I assume that those of us not able to go to the local meet (UK Slot Festival) will be able to get information as to how to contribute. I hope there will be some way to deal with and collect information on some of those cars whose origins are still a bit of a mystery. This is very exciting and thanks to everyone who came up with this project for slot cars!

all my very best,

Charles

 

[TSRF]

I would like to point out that the LASCM contribution to this listing will be limited to its focus of interest, I.E. vintage kits and RTR models offered to the public from 1908, the date of the first recorded production electric model racing car getting its current not from an on-board battery but from a rail system (and no, it is not the Lionel cars...) to the last models of what is considered the "Classic Era", I.E. the end of the 1972 year.

The LASCM listing that will be found at the closing chapter of the new book, "Electric Dreams, a detailed history of the world's greatest hobby" will only include actual kits and RTR models in the 1/24 and 1/32 scale (no HO scale as there are plenty of other books catering to them), but not separate parts, as there were well over one MILLION separate parts offered by literally hundreds of companies in the 1960s during the slot car racing bubble. In fact a parts listing will later appear on an interactive website accessible to the book's customers.

The listing in the book will only cater to American models or models inspired by American slot cars but built in other countries such as Japan, Germany, Brazil, Italy... and not the more toy-oriented European models by Scalextric and other British, French, German, Italian or Spanish companies. There are plenty of other sources for these and there is no room in an already crowded book for duplication.

This listing will be shared with Toy Collectors and Toypedia after the book's publication and will be the most extensive ever printed on that subject, with dozens of models truly unknown by most collectors, who will be very surprised to discover models of slot cars they never knew existed. We believe that we have now found over 99% of all kits and RTR models ever issued in the day. In any case and after years in the making, this long-promised book will be issued in time for Christmas 2011.
We hope that it will be great fun for all.

Philippe

 

[sealevel]

Excellent news. It is good to see cooperation for the furtherance of the hobby.
Will Adrian Norman be contributing from his extensive listing of slot car items?

Cheers!

PS When will a link be available?

 

[montoya1]

Will this include all scales? what about ISRA cars?

 

[TSRF]

QUOTE what about ISRA cars?

What are ISRA cars? The only ones I know of are hand built from chassis kits fitted with very efficient but rather horrid looking vac formed bodies.
Because they are hand built, how could they be listed??? Only PRODUCTION items can be listed, maybe the chassis kits will make it some day...

Are there other "ISRA cars" we should know?

 

[Doug]

According to the people at Toypedia, everything can be effectively listed. Even a guy who makes one car can list himself as the manufacturer and his car as the product. This would work for wing-cars, Thingies and scratch-built models. Obviously if a standard chassis was used or a body, then these would link together.

 

[MPJBud]

Hey ho,

They are obviously a little way off being ready to go live. I registered, but received no activation email, attempting to request a new one via the website generates an SQL Error. No response from their Support email to 2 emails.

I guess it means I can spend more of my time on SF then.

Martin

 

[sacesta]

Wow, this is terrific news!

 

[TR7_Driver]

A very worthwhile project, nothing like setting the bar high. Be interesting to see if it is actually achievable.

 

[TSRF]

QUOTE According to the people at Toypedia, everything can be effectively listed. Even a guy who makes one car can list himself

I am sure that Toypedia meant "commercially available", or at least I hope so...

 

[Scott B]

Best check our registration of Toyotapedia is still valid....