Hi, everyone - this is my first post to any forum anywhere! So please forgive any protocol deviations! Also, I know these questions have been asked before but often this was before ArcPro was released.

So, I bought a Scalextric Digital GT Pro set in around 2010, My pals and I really loved it and I added the C7042 APB. Then life got in the way and I only occasionally brought it down from the loft.

I now have 2 kids - 5 and 3 (too young really I know) and my little boy saw the box in the loft so we had to get it down. Now I’m hooked again (in lockdown there isn’t much else to do!)

The issue I have is that the C7042 is quite unreliable and keeps rebooting (it’s still on firmware 0.84) but I need to use it to slow the cars down for the kids and tbh 50% isn’t  really enough for them.

I’ve not updated the firmware because I don’t have a PC and the cable is £30 although I love the idea of running SSDC or similar and it appears I can get my MacBook to run Windows with BootCamp at no extra cost.

So - here is the question: Spend £60 on a cable and SSDC and use my C7042. Hopefully I won’t need to spend any extra on Windows etc.

Or - Buy an ArcPro power base and use that with my existing track? Yes £120ish is more expensive but the technology is newer. I guess I’d have to factor in 4 wireless controllers and a straight lane changer (although my curved lane changer has just packed up so I’d need one for either option)

At first glance it seems obvious to go the C7042 route but I’m a little concerned about spending more money on outdated tech. How reliable are the C7042s? If mine packs up and I can still get another, they seem to be around £160 at the moment. The ArcPro with the Magic app would probably do everything I need but it also seems nuts to just ditch the C7042!

To add even more confusion I’ve just picked up the Carrera Digital Night Contest set cheap on eBay. 

It seems a lot more ‘solid’ than Scalextric and you can control speed direct from the Control Unit but there is no ‘race mode’ or lap timer! Of course it’s a lot bigger and we don’t have loads of space but the cars ’sound’ great on the track! - I’d need to spend about £200 to get it where I’d want - an extra lane changer, 2 extra cars and controllers, the bluetooth box to use app control. (The original set cost me £90)

But that seems nuts as we’ve already invested in the Scalextric system!

Any thoughts, ideas, advice, experiences would be much appreciated!

Thank you!

I dabbled in slot racing in the late 60's early 70's and was a regular Saturday morning visitor to the Model Racing and Drag Centre in Westcliff to pay for an hours track time. After MDRC closed I was an occasional visitor to Wonderland and helped Reg Chapman revive Estuary Equipe for a short time but I was never able to afford a competitive car so when Estuary Equipe closed I packed up.
 
 In 1988 I opened my own model shop in Southend and was involved in a failed attempt to rescue the Tottenham King track from dereliction at Wonderland following which George Land at Parma put me in touch with Neil Simmons, the son of Laurie Simmons who had owned MRDC and had also built the original Wonderland Blue and Yellow tracks.  
 Neil had been operating tracks at several Butlins camps but in the late 80's Butlins decided to discontinue the slot tracks and Neil had an AMF Queen which we planned to set up to run a club in a former mess hall in Shoebury barracks.
 Neil got a job where he worked long hours and I moved my shop to Brands Hatch which meant neither of us had any spare time and although we moved part of the AMF Queen to Shoebury we eventually abandoned the venture leaving several track sections in Shoebury as Neil could no longer store them.
 
 For almost 20 years I forgot about slot racing again until I saw a posting on another forum which incorrectly stated that I had abandoned an AMF track at an army base in Kent. I posted a correction on the forum and got a message from well known slot car builder David Lawson, who I had worked with in the 70's, saying that Southend Slot Racing club was based 10 mins drive from my home and he suggested I go along one night. 
 I turned up expecting to spectate but was given a loaned car and controller and was informed that I had 10 mins to practice before the first race. I have been racing again for about 5 years now in both modern hard body and vintage club nights.
 I have competed in Double Trouble at Rockingham, several CSCRA events and last years Policar GP at Gaydon. My performances haven't exactly set the slotcar world alight but I enjoy competing and building cars and hope to continue for a long time yet.    


 If any club racer out there has been dubious about entering events outside of their own club but doesn't feel that they are good enough please take the plunge. I have been made very welcome at vintage. Policar and CSCRA events although I usually land up battling for last or near last with a few other regular competitors. No one will expect you to be the best racer in the world but they will appreciate you turning up to support their events.

A preview of the upcoming 1/24th release expected in the shops in November.

Ford ran two different throwback schemes on its cars at Daytona.
The #66 GT LM ran in the red-and-white stripes seen on the Motorcraft-sponsored Roush Mustang that scored a GTO victory at Daytona in 1985.

Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, even the mechanics got into the spirit by growing throwback 1980s mustaches for the race...

The flag-bearer for Ford’s international racing efforts the last four years, the GT earned its place in the history books in 2016 when it won France’s 24 Hours of Le Mans GT-class in its maiden effort — 50 years after its legendary GT40 forefather shocked the world by beating Ferrari for the overall win at the 1966 race.

Since then, the mid-engine, carbon-fiber GT — the most advanced sports car to ever wear the Blue Oval — has raced across the globe in the IMSA Weathertech and World Endurance Championship winning 19 races and taking home the prestigious IMSA Manufacturer’s Championship in 2018. It has also helped sell 1,350 production model GTs for princely sums starting at $500,000 to buyers eager to own a piece of history.

Sadly the Ford GT program came to an end in Dec 2019.

This is the original 1985 styling that inspired this livery:

   

The press release version of the Ford GT

   

The 1:1 view of the cars as it was in 2019:

   

   

Views of the model as shown at Nuremberg this year:

   

   


As stated - expect to see them in November at your favourite supplier.

Whats your favourite image that scrolls along the top of the forum?

I'm new to the forum and am in constant awe of the scrolling images of the beautiful photography of the cars!

By far my favourite is the Porsche 935/78 in John Player Special livery, awesome car and stunning photo!  Makes me want to get one for my collection!



Whats your favourite and why?

       

C4078 Ford GT GTE Keating Motorsport Le Mans 2019

The Wynn's sponsored Ford GT GTE has to be one of the most striking slot car releases of the year. Purple & orange is an unusual combination and the car certainly stood out at Le Mans last June - the privateer Keating Motorsport GTE Am entry completely upstaging the factory GTE Pro cars and their cute historic liveries. The car was also headline news...

   

It was the first Ford GT to compete in the pro-am LM GTE Am class at La Sarthe - American team owner and gentleman driver Ben Keating sharing with Dutchman Jeroen Bleekemolen and Brazilian Felipe Fraga. It was the car's racing debut. After an advantageous post-qualifying Balance of Performance tweak, the #85 Ford dominated the GTE Am class - leading the class for most of the 24 hours and proving a big fan favourite as it crossed the finish line 45 seconds ahead of its nearest rival. Controversy followed... An investigation into fuel delivery infractions saw the organisers penalise the Keating car 55 seconds, dropping it to second in class. Further post-race scrutineering found the fuel tank was 100ml too big and the car was disqualified. A crushing end to the weekend...

   

Being a big fan of the GTE Am class, I am delighted Scalextric have produced this livery. It really stood out at the 2020 range launch in January and one of the cars that was begging to be photographed...

       

Although other manufacturers have produced (or will be producing) the Ford GT GTE, I like the Scalextric version. It isn't perfect, but has a very sleek stance and this new livery shows off the lines well...

       

One thing I don't like about the Scalextric model is the use of the slim-can FF motor. All the other Scalextric GT cars have the standard Mabuchi S-Can (either in-line or sidewinder) and have a level of performance that are more-or-less comparable. The FF motor makes the Ford difficult to handle with or without traction magnets - skittish at low revs and with minimal brakes. It doesn't surprise me that a lot of new Scalextric customers buying the otherwise excellent ARC Air World GT set complained that the Ford was faulty - whereas it was just the FF motor. One fault that has cropped up with some of the previous Ford GTEs is a weak motor bracket. Not something I've seen, but...

If the FF motor doesn't work for you, some intrepid enthusiasts have fitted an S-can - either by a DIY fitment of a separate motor pod into the Scalextric chassis or by using a 3D printed chassis. Nacional Racers 3D and ProSpeed Slot Racing have replacement chassis available on Shapeways. I wouldn't be surprised to see Slot.it produce one at some point.

If the Wynn's livery gets you excited, it originated as a tribute to the Hotchkis Racing Porsche 962 car that raced in IMSA during the late 80s. The livery was used by the Riley Motorsports team on their Mercedes-AMG GTD entry for the 2019 Daytona 24 hours, driven by Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Luca Stolz and Felipe Fraga. It was a cracking livery (due to appear in the new Scalextric ARC Pro Platinum GT set this autumn) and not surprising it was re-worked for Keating's Ford GTE Am at Le Mans.

The C4078 Keating Motorsport Ford GT GTE is available now at the Scalextric webstore (here) priced £40.99. Expect it to arrive with your favourite Scalextric retailers any day.

Thanks to Hornby Hobbies for the pictures and for the invite to the 2020 Scalextric launch back in January.

   

Auto World have become the mainstay of the mass-produced HO slot car world. The company releases a handful of slot cars each month and about half a dozen sets a year. No-one else comes close. Although their cars don’t always thrill me and some customers complain about poor quality control (much improved these days), Auto World do offer something for pretty much everyone. The core of Auto World’s slot car range are re-liveries of late 60s and early 70s Aurora bodies – all fitted to the weird and wonderful Aurora ‘pancake’ chassis. However they have also added new bodies and some wonderful themed ranges over the past fifteen years.

This latest Thunderjet Ultra-G release - number 29 - is fairly run-of-the-mill, featuring new liveries on a 1940 Willys Custom Panel Truck, a '57 Chevy Suburban, a '58 Plymouth Fury and a '67 Corvette Hot Rod. However, I do really like the liveries - they look great and any of these cars will fit perfectly on an HO drag strip or cruising round any HO layout this summer.

       

The Willys van is pretty sharp, the second image showing the Thunderjet Ultra-G chassis underneath. The layout of the chassis is almost identical to the 1960s Aurora Thunderjet 500 (aka T-Jet) "Tuff Ones" chassis, with the addition of a small neodymium button magnet just ahead of the left rear wheel. The magnet aids traction and certainly helps stabilise the car under acceleration on a drag strip. My preference is to remove the magnet for circuit racing, but keeping it in for the drag strip. The tape measure is in inches, by the way. These 1:72-ish scale cars are small, but not that small.

   

The '57 Chevy Suburban is a nice model and those flames are hot!

   

The Auto World Plymouth Fury is a favourite of mine. There have been some classy street liveries in recent years and the blue flames certainly take it up a notch. White-walled tyres are a cute.

   

The final model is the most balls-out of the four - a '67 Chevy Corvette with a big chrome blower on the hood.

These cars will be available individually very soon and are listed as pre-orders in the Auto World Store now - priced $31.99 each.

Just announced for next month are four big-league NHRA Funny Cars (John Force,  Matt Hagan, Robert Hight & Ron Capps) and a very cool-looking "California Cruising" set - perfect for the summer. I'll post pictures when we have them...

Auto World cars and sets are sold widely in North America. Swiss HO enthusiast Stephan Ziedler stocks some Auto World cars at his site www.h0slot.ch. Thanks to Round2 for the pictures and news.

   

The latest issue of Slot Car Magazine has just been published. Available already as an eBook at Lulu (link here), the paper magazine will be arriving at Pendles anytime soon (link). With Model Car Racing now online-only and Slot apparently taking a breather during lockdown, Slot Car Magazine could be the only English-language slot car mag around this summer...

This is what's in the July edition

• Ferrari 312 B2 by Marc Abbott - Ickx took the car to victory in the 1971 Dutch GP, but have Policar captured the winning formula?
  
• Star From The East by Andy Pinchock - The concluding part of the Prefo brand... a story from behind the Iron Curtain.
  
• Alpine Renault A110 by Hub Habets - Hub test drives this little gem from SCX and reveals how to gain extra time on each stage.
  
• Käfer Kapers by Tony Di Pastina - Take a Beetle, bolt on a rear end from a Porsche 935 and you have a Group 5 monster (and a less practical family car).
  
• Building To Win! by Marc Abbott - So we have Senna, a Lotus, sponsorship by Camel, all modelled to perfection by Kostas Dzingovic.
  
• 1970: The Birth Of Pro Stock by Andy Player - Auto World legends of the quarter mile burn up Andy’s scale drag strip.
  
• Tennessee Bird Walk by Andy Player - Stock car racing Carrera style – Andy Player experiences his own days of thunder.
  
• 1987 RAC Rally Lancia Delta by Marc Abbott - Yikes! Another good-looking Martini livery to drool over. A classic rally car from Team Slot.
  
• Karting Xtreme by Marc Abbott - 1/18 scale and fast... Has Marco Guerrieri produced a kart of gold?
  
• Police 4 by Ric Woods - Would you believe it? You can never find a cop when you need one and then four turn up at once.
  
• Nissan Skyline by Marc Abbott - Is the new Gr5 from Racer Sideways as “thick as a brick”, or do we have a race winner on our hands?
  
• Born To Run by Marc Abbott - Lockdown hasn’t stopped SRC from turning out some limited (boxed) editions of the Porsche 914.
  
• Policar BRZ by Gary Skipp - Cheap but not nasty – Perhaps one should consider the merits of a low-cost formula for close racing?
  
• The World Of Dilworth - You have a problem? Maybe Dilworth’s Problem Page is the answer... or maybe it isn’t
  

The ebook costs a very reasonable £1.50 and the magazine just £4.50 - exclusively from Pendle Slot Racing.

I was looking for some tyres for different cars. There are measurements like 20x10 I can see but how do I know they will fit on the wheels because there is a size missing for the dimension of the ridge in the middle of the wheel. I have many spare tyres but see the inner wall ridge size are different widths and do not interchange. There need another size to be given on a spec doesn't it? Maybe like 20x10 plus x8 (as width of ridge)? So I can not find any tyres to buy even on the well known slot site for all the sizes have only two meansurements. There is Paul Gage tyres also except no choice for Scalextric and some other cars I have measured with caliper.

Hi all

Some awesome tracks on here so thought I'd share what I'm working on.

After digging out my 12+ year old scalextric to show my kids some alternative entertainment other than phones, tablets and consoles the slot car bug has come rushing back to my veins!

2 of my old tracks that I had to destroy before finishing:



My latest project has to be modular for 2 reasons...

1. I don't have a space for it to be permanent so it needs to be dismantled and stored away
2. I need to finish a project!! 

So here's where I'm up to so far









The British Weather has put a stop to the project at the moment but sunshine looks good for next week where I'll work on the plastic track section on to an 8x4 sheet of mdf.

Terrain will be simple but to a decent quality.  The track design is fast and simple enough for my kids to race non mag without de-slotting too much.

As its modular I have the option to add more technical sections in in future.

Total length is 25' with the back straight measuring 21'.  The big curve at the back is banked but doesn't show clearly in the pics.

Thanks for looking in :)

Stuart

Just picked myself up a nice used BRM Escort. Still in the post but can't wait to see it.

One question though. Can it too be raced side by side with other small BRM 1/24 cars on 1/32 Scalextric track?

I assume so as it can't be much different in size to the Opel Kadett and new Alfa but strangely it's the one car that Pendles site does not specifically say can.