Not Trains! Shock Horror - My Other Love Slot Cars

I've always had an interest in slot cars, but just with trains finding time/space to setup a permanent track has always been a problem.  However as of these days I find I have a car garage and a car that doesn't fit in it, so my thoughts have been moving towards building a Scalextric based slot car track up in there - a real proper one with scenery and everything and on an elevated table round 3 of the inner walls of the garage.  What sparked this was a recent search on eBay (non-slot car related) that threw up some Scalextric listings and (again) highlighted to me how cheaply you can pick up 2nd hand sets.  So after winning a couple of auctions I've accumulated a load of track and even a digital set so I can either go analogue or digital or maybe two tracks side by side, for both types of cars.

But I digress, I thought it may be worth sharing some of the things I've picked up, any oddities that I've come across and see how my collection continues to grow (I already had a good number of cars which I've bought over the years.

My first post is what came as a surprise to me, of late Hornby (owners of Scalextric) have been modelling 'TV and Film' automobiles, there is of course the James Bond cars, Batman, Fast & Furious and various others including the Blues Brothers.  But the one that caught my eye and I decided to get when I finally found a discount on it from Amazon was the 'Pink Rolls Royce' belonging to Lady Penelope from Thunderbirds.  I don't know about my colonial friends, but anyone from the UK will remember this iconic car as it looks as futuristic now as it did when Thunderbirds was first aired in the 60's etc...

Anyway, I saw, I ordered and I have just received it.  The thing that blew me away though is how huge the car is in comparison to more standard Scalextric cars - I mean they are all 1/32 scale including the Pink Rolls Royce, but it is huge - even bigger than the old style American cars such as the Blues Brothers car.

So, here's a couple of pictures of it alongside a Subara Impreza rally car for comparison, both 1/32, but the Rolls Royce is nearly double the length and probably at least 50% wider.  How realistic it would be to use this car on a track in a race is debatable as its not really designed for that and I should imagine on narrower pieces of track or alongside other big cars there would be some inevitable 'bumping'.  But regardless even if it only ever goes out on an occasional weekend run alone or a show journey it does look glorious.





I should add these pictures don't really illustrate the difference in size as much as when you see them in the flesh as in these pictures the Subaru is physically closer to the camera in both shots so that makes it look bigger than it is if they were to stand side by side.  But this is just because they were quick shots to share and I've not actually had the Rolls out of its display case yet!

[Super]

I absolutely love that Pink Rolls Royce Nigel. I love different, might this model be from an actual car? I am anxious to hear about your possible dedicated train/rc car room. The track must be pretty big for the 1/32 slot cars and I would imagine needs lots of space especially to accommodate curves....right? Do you already have plenty of track and all the transformers and remotes?

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Hi Super,

It is pretty cool isn't it. The model is based purely on the original Gerry Anderson model from the series Thunderbirds which was made back in the 70's in the UK and is famous across the world. Gerry Anderson was another Gene Rodenbury in terms of designs of future tech that didn't exist when the show was made even if Thunderbirds like most of his companies shows used puppets instead of actors for the characters. If you look at a lot of the tech designs in Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, etc... they are now reflected in a lot of current tech, especially aircraft for example. Although sadly so far we don't have a real 'International Rescue' with the Thunderbirds lol! But to answer your question, no the pink Rolls wasn't modelled on a real car, although you can see some of the design in the latest Jaguar electric concept cars - except the latter are far uglier than the Rolls

The 'room' I'm intending to use is quite big as its my car garage. As my existing real car won't fit in it (too wide for the door way) I'm not using it for anything else so it seems as though I may as well build it in there rather than let the space go to waste. Scalextric tracks can be pretty large, but they can also feature hairpin curves which fit easily into about a 2 foot space so I don't anticipate it being a problem. I have to see if I can find an app for track design rather than just wing it as then I'll know what tables I'll need to build to put it on. Track and power systems are not an issue, second hand Scalextric sets are easily and cheaply available on eBay in the UK. Many are purchased for kids as a Christmas present by a father who probably remembers them as a kid and the joy they gave him as a kid. Unfortunately (or fortunately for me) today's kids are so dumb and only interested in their phones and online games that often they play with it once on Christmas day and then a year later the sets are up for sale on eBay effectively brand new. I've managed to pick up several sets that will yield more than enough track than I'm likely to need, so I can pick the best ones and discard any damaged or worn ones. As for control systems and controllers, I've got several analogue power bases + transformers as well as a couple of digital power bases and transformers along with more than enough controllers. So on that front I'm good to go.

Some of these sets I picked up for no more than £30-40 plus shipping. To give you a clue, if you buy a single car brand new they are in the £40-50 range. In a set you get enough track for at minimum an oval, often a figure of 8 with bridge as well as a pair of cars suited to the theme of the set as well as the necessary power/controller stuff. I already had quite a few cars, but I've also picked up some extras of those second hand as well, even non-working ones are a doddle to fix and at worst in most cases the only things likely to be missing may be wing mirrors and rear spoilers. But many of those are easily sourced as replacement parts or in my case I'm going to take existing ones and make some new ones myself - create a mould out of silicone and then cast new parts in resin which I can colour to suit the model intended for. If I can't find a source part I can always model one in CAD software and then print one using one of the SLA resin printers.

[Super]

Exciting times Nigel. Will there be room for a train layout or two also as well as storage & displays for your other many collections and machines? Maybe a work bench , big screen TV and Coffee Bar? 😁

If the garage was that big I'd put my car in it lol  Unfortunately like most property in the UK our garages are smaller than you would get across the pond and if you have a bigger saloon odds are it won't fit.

Having said that I will likely end up putting a loop of train track in there somewhere, maybe as a background piece to the racing track...

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Meanwhile...  Another 'odd' addition to my Slot Car models are this pair of racing trucks, made by the Spanish company 'Fly' they are fully compatible with Scalextric track and are incredibly impressive and highly detailed, easily comparable in looks to the collectible diecast vehicles out there.

These two are pre-used (but mint condition) models I purchased off eBay, I actually managed to get these two for a fairly reasonable price as they are highly sought after and usually quite expensive even 2nd hand.  As well as the high detail levels they also have working lights as per most of the detailed slot cars these days...

what an awesome, slightly new direction , nigel!! looking forward to photos of your set up as time progresses

[Super]

Hi Sunhuntin...Happy New Year! ☺️

what an awesome, slightly new direction , nigel!! looking forward to photos of your set up as time progresses

First thing I need to do is get a replacement garage door, the old one is damaged due to age/corrosion.  Once done, then I'll be looking to build frames and boards to put the track on, then I'll start on the race track

BTW - Happy New Year!

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Something else I picked up off Amazon the other day on a whim, a lego type set that is also a slot racing set.  The cars are really small though, 1/87 scale which is even smaller than the normal AFX/Autoworld/Micro-Scalextric cars which are typically 1/64

The unbelievable thing though is that the cars even so small even have working headlights, who would have thought it possible a few years back?!? To give you a clue of the size they are about as long as a standard poker card is wide as shown in some of these pictures...  I've also attached a couple of pictures that illustrate issues with the track QC where the slots narrow causing issues (see later video for actual problem it causes)...









The set isn't perfect though, quality control seems to be an issue as some parts of the slots the inner slot seems to be a bit deformed as some have points where the slot narrows which fouls the car guide pin stopping them in their tracks (no pun intended) but I feel this can be fixed easily with a small screw driver or craft knife to adjust things.  This video demonstrates the issue;

[Super]

Interesting, I don't think I have seen something like this before. Is that a USB Micro B port in the 3rd image? What would that be for? In the video I didn't see any headlights although it may have been due to the camera angle.

Hi Super,

That is indeed a USB port in the third image and is the section of track that provides the power to the circuit.  The two jack sockets either side are for the hand controllers (typical slot car controllers with a plunger on top and a 'full speed' button on the front.  There is also a screw control on the bottom to limit the top speed if kiddies for example are using them to prevent too many spills.  Although the cars do also have 'magnatraction' type magnets so they stick to the track pretty well.  There is something like 18 pieces of track including the power section and a lap counter, I just used 6 to demonstrate it working.  You also get a bunch of bricks to provide scenery (trees/flags etc...) as well as enough to build a building, start gantry etc...  Of course you can also use any other Lego so it is ultimately expandable.  You can also add another set, in fact there is a second set with different cars so I may well get that too in the longer term.

As for the headlights, they do work, but only tend to come on when you are running nearly flat out, I suspect this is because with USB as the power source you are limited to 5v and if they are in series on the mini circuit board there's probably not enough power until you are really pushing the little cars which I wasn't in the video.  Regardless the set is a nice little novelty and something that could interest kiddies into the world of real slot cars if exposed to it.  It currently sells on Amazon at £49,99 but there is also a 10% discount voucher claimable reducing it to £45.  Not that much these days...