Wow! The guys at AFX did it again! We finally have the Mega-G 1.5 available and ready to race. It was worth the wait! Now we get all the slick new performance numbers we saw in the MG1.7 in a shorter wheelbase version. There are some other major changes so stay tuned as we take a good, long look over this new speed demon from AFX!

Well, here we are, coming to the end of the year, the weather’s turning cold and the season is right for setting up the slot car track and shaking off the cold with a few hot laps. Just in time for all this wintery indoor activity, Auto World has released the second series of their very popular “Racing Rigs”. This time around they added the Peterbilt semi truck and dump truck, along with a new trailer design with a new rear door layout and a depressed center. Lots of detail this time too. These make a really nice addition to the previously released GMC Astro 95.

When you get down to it, nothing compares to the grit and competition level of bullring dirt track racing. The cars are close, cool to watch and on the verge of being out of control, drifting through the turns, wheel to wheel, with a rooster tail of dust trailing behind them. Life-Like Racing has added this exciting category of racing to their already successful line of NASCAR themed slot cars. These new Outlaw Sprint cars come fully decked out with front and top wings, nerf bars and roll cages, along with some brightly colored, eye catching paint schemes. These might just be the motivation for me to paint a track brown and start building some catch fences....

Gentleman...Start your engines!!!! Yes, that’s the official call just before it all breaks loose on the pavement. Race tracks all across the country now host NASCAR Sprint Cup racing and the flash, speed and glory that goes along with it. Life-Like has captured that atmosphere with their NASCAR licensed Fast-Tracker cars and race sets. Today we are going to take a look at the High Speed Rivals race set, one of many offering Life-Like has brought out this year.

Saturday night and everyone has come to the bullring to watch the local gladiators fight it out in the mechanical steeds, dirt flying, fenders crunching! A loud pounding crunch and as the cloud of dust settles only one warrior is left running, the challengers doomed to the crusher if they are beyond repair! Across our great country these events are a Summer weekend staple in most towns or tracks nearby. Local competitors build and test their best ideas in the racing world’s version of Survivor.

As August brings us the final chapters of hot Summer nights, local racing and the climax of the NASCAR race to the chase, we also have the new Auto World XT Series 7 release to enjoy. The new cars are mounted up on the Auto World X-Traction Ultra G chassis, a pancake design with a little extra gripping power from a Neo-dot traction magnet located in the lower rear of the chassis.

Breaker one-nine, Breaker one-nine, can you make some room in your rockin’ chair for four mean heavy haulers???? That’s right, here they come, the first release in a series of four 1974 GMC Astro 95 COE (Cab Over Engine) semi trucks from Auto World. There are 4 distinct paint jobs on each and two different van body trailers and two different tanker trailers.

Just when you thought everything that could be rehashed Auto World steps up to the plate and slams a homer with the new 4-Gear X-Traction chassis. This is a much improved version that incorporates the mounting tabs that are found in the standard X-Traction chassis. No screws and posts like before. Now when I first heard about this design and received a prototype to preview, I was a bit skeptical that the bodies would stay secured with that much length in the wheelbase.

The great thing about the slot car hobby is the vast variety of subject matter we have available to us, regardless of what scale we fall sway to. For the most part, 1/32nd scale has held the crown and the kingdom for the most realism in the reproduction of our favorite pastime. In the HO world, to get the extreme details of interiors, drivers and motors, most often a customizing skill was needed and a lot of patience.