Stupid COVID. We are getting a new track, opening in the next few weeks.
Stupid COVID. We are getting a new track, opening in the next few weeks.
Alright stupid question time. I have a bazillion feet of TYCO HO track from my youth, but all my cars are far too gone to fix (stored badly, shame on me). What's my best option on buying some new cars that are GRM priced? I have not idea if my kids will be interested in slot cars, so I don't want to sink much money into it.
In reply to slefain :
You may be surprised at how easy the old ones are to fix. Also, if the bodies are good you can but replacement chassis, often for cheaper, to put under them.
Scale Auto sells new AFX cars on eBay for fairly cheap. Auto World sells new cars direct for reasonable, the "Ultra G" is basically an old school pancake motor AFX with a single traction magnet. You can often find those at Hobby Lobby and use a 40% off coupon.
I like Life Like for the kids. Not really in production anymore, but they made a bazillion of them and you can't find NOS stuff on eBay for CHEAP. They are also super easy to keep running.
Happy Thanksgiving with a HO Slot Car Pumpkin Pie!!
I have gotten into the slot car production business.
These are gravity cast resin 1/87 Rebel Machine bodies, sprayed and then hand painted, and I made the decals myself. For a thunderjet style chassis. I'm making 20 of them.
I have started manufacturing my own line of custom slot car bodies. I had a 1970 AMC Rebel Machine cast in HO scale to for a Thunderjet chassis.
Resin is hard to work with. I had to fill a lot of bubbles and voids and wash the mold release off.
Next was Tamiya fine surface primer.
Next comes Tamiya bright white spray paint.
Then hand painting the blue on the rockers and hoods.
Then the black for the windows, grille, and rear filler panel.
Chrome bumpers, trim, and headlights. Red on the taillights.
I bought some vintage model decals, scanned them, retouched them, scaled them, and then printed them on decal paper.
Decals went on the cars!
They turned out great!
Do it 5 more times.
Final step is Tamiya clear coat.
Now they are ready to sell.
Now I have 14 more to do.
They did turn out great!
In reply to Saron81 :
Thanks!
In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :
Nice work, Michael, the front grill(s) look especially good.
Those are beautiful!!
My 4 year old returned to the store some broken electronic mechanical doll she got for Christmas and ended up with a train set instead (!! how cool!) which got me to thinking how i've always wanted a slot car set! I told my wife I was going to go buy one and didn't even say it's for the kids. So I've been looking here on GRM about it and MAN no wonder my parents never bought them back in the 80s! Even with Chinese slave labor nowadays those things are expensive!
But anyway, Javelin, yours are fantastic! How did you come across the mold in the first place? I'm clearly too much of a cheapskate to buy anything that nice, but what are you charging for those?
If I ever got into slot cars I would 100% need to get my girls' cars. Happily Mallory is just a decal away and there are Shelby Cobras and Lotus Elise bodies for $30ish on eBay
--and also, I imagine I'm stuck into one scale for forever, so 1:32 is what I'm seeing a lot of on ebay, is that the way to go?
--oh and should I forget about all these old ones from the 80s and 90s on ebay? Just go with a new one? I take it "digital" means something, along with how they have to have adapters?
In reply to P3PPY :
I see fairly small, inexpensive sets for sale on FB Marketplace pretty consistently. Dunno if you're looking to try one just to see if it goes well or if you're wanting to dive in with both feet, though...
In reply to stroker :
Oh man you bring up a good point. I often get in the mindset of “if I’m spending money on it I should only spend future-proofed money by getting what I can expand on” and then analysis paralysis or sticker shock sets in.
Thanks, I’ll go blow $40 on a starter set and see if we even like it
In reply to P3PPY :
!/32 has been a universal scale for 60 years, and is best if you have enough space for the track. If you are space limited the "HO" scale is the way to go. Scale in quotes because it is really larger than true HO. Javelin's bodies are HO. Digitals seems like a great idea, but from personal experience with both Carrera and SCX, don't do it. Analog Carrera track is the best quality and most universal regarding ease of car tuning. but Scalextric gets you into a smaller space and works well. I have 4 lanes at 52 feet per lap. Back up a few years on this thread to read more detail, and check Carl Heideman's recent thread on his new track.
Well for $40 from Marketplace i ended up with some Anki Overdrive thing that requires Bluetooth connections. And they have terrible battery life, but it is used and all. :/
Meh. The girls like it well enough the first round but they cars are not fast enough to get off the track (or it limits the speed in corners.
i already have plans to sell it. Waiting to hear back on a regular slot car Daytona 500 track from 97. I’d better sell this one first and not for a huge loss
The cars you have probably work. Clean the pickup shoes with a pencil eraser if you have nothing else. Test the chassis with a 9 volt battery.
Chassis look like this?
In reply to P3PPY :
Sorry, I meant to reply to Slefain about the chassis with his Tyco track.
In reply to noddaz :
Ha well don’t mind me
I bought and opened a sealed 50-year-old model car kit to build a custom slot car...
In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :
Sweet! Those Slot.it chassis are nice, I have one that I started putting a Mercury Cyclone body on. Had some issues with the track width and set it aside, I'll get back to it someday.
Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:I bought and opened a sealed 50-year-old model car kit to build a custom slot car...
I am jealous! 1/32 kits are had to find and a 1/32 Javelin is that much more difficult!
Have fun!
Speaking of slotcars, when worlds collide...
noddaz
I watched a pretty good video on YouTube about the rise and fall of Aurora/Revell/Monogram. Seems to me like with the advent of 3D printers, there's an opportunity for someone to do the plans for all kinds of kits...
In reply to stroker :
It is already happening. Also adapters to put Slot-It motor pods into other brand cars.
TurnerX19 said:In reply to stroker :
It is already happening. Also adapters to put Slot-It motor pods into other brand cars.
And 3d chassis to make out dated slot cars run like modern slot cars!
Scott
You'll need to log in to post.
