Hi fellas

[1976Cordoba]

Just saying Hey --

Been a while since I was in the SCI boards - A big cross-country move kind of killed the HO vibe for me personally (no basements here), had a lot of issues for a while with logins, and working a ton of hours has had me a little limited on building time. I've kept on dabbling with customizing slots as time allows and started the HO Slot Car Customizers pages on FB & MeWe to stay in touch with a lot of my customizing pals from the old H*bby T*lk days. North Texas Rich recently told me that SCI has been updated and reformatted so I'm having a look about and liking what I see. You'll probably be seeing me more often again.

To get my racing fix I started sim racing in 2017 and WOW -- graphics & force feedback have sure improved a LOT since the last time I video game raced anything in the late 90s / early 00s. Love the Auto World stuff on the slot side - they are single handedly keeping the hobby alive on a national scale, along with the many cottage industry hobbyists -- Great to see. Rich & I will have some 3D print TYCO stock cars coming out next year, so that's a little blend of computer tech & old school slotting I guess.

Slot on brothers.

'doba

[NicoRosberg.]

AFX are still active too, and a few others.

Good to see you back.

[1976Cordoba]

AFX are still active too, and a few others.

Good to see you back.

Thanks.

And while AFX is still active, I don't really give much credit to them for keeping HO going, honestly, based on their 1 or 2 repaints per year and maybe a set. Plus the insane cost of the MG+ -- not much value IMHO. Of course -- my $.02 cents worth, your mileage may vary. Not seeking a debate on their business model.

[Ntxslotcars]

Good to see you back Doba!!!
Lets git this whole thang rollin again!!!

[NicoRosberg.]

Not seeking a debate on their business model.

Which is fair enough, but I'm going to defend my friend.

He and the AFX gang produce excellent looking stuff, that is detailed and proportional.

Autoworld are fairly well known for their repaints too, right?

The last batch of Autoworld chassis I purchased would not run. Quality costs.

I can get AFX rolling chassis for about $4 more than Autoworld ones, and the cars MIP for about a buck more. I'll take that.

As well as those two guys, Hornby have completely revamped the Micro Scalextric line, JAG is now on his third new chassis, Viper just brought out 'hybrid magnets', Wizzard brought out a new chassis last year, we have a Porcelli making chassis again, Jim Miller continues to push what AM can do, and Barry Johnson has got into the chassis game. There is probably other stuff going on to that I have forgotten or am unaware of.

I would not say HO has a bright future, but it is certainly hanging on.

Can you tell us more about your AM stock cars?

[RichD]

One problem has been that the latest HO cars are supposed to conform to laws regulating the amount of radio frequency emissions that they might generate. Laws of that sort are relatively new in the US, but they have been in effect in Europe for some time. 1/32nd cars usually include some sort of RF filter. The new Mega G+ cars have closed can style motors with ferrite inductors connected to the commutator plus a circuit board that is connected between the shoe hangers and the motor terminals. All of those things are effective, my track has powered speakers that will pick up interference from most of my cars, but not the Mega G+ ones.
The extra parts cost more money and make assembling the cars more difficult.
The cars from the aftermarket makers do not come in sets and are not sold by mass marketers, so at least thus far have flown under (or possibly jammed!) the radar.

[Axle]

He and the AFX gang produce excellent looking stuff, that is detailed and proportional.

Personally, I was very disappointed with the current track that is sold by Tomy/AFX. A year ago I built a table, and tried to resurrect some Aurora lock & joiner track I've had since I was about 8. Eventually I gave up as it was just too corroded. I thought I'd save myself time and headache and just buy a new set.

The track manufacturing quality is terrible. The 15" straights are curved so much in the track plane it's hard to find pieces that fit next to each other to make a 4 lane setup, and the straight is not straight. Some of the rails are set in too far, nearly flush with the track surface. Some of the rails are not centered in the section, they stick out too far horizontally at one end and prevent the next section from mating fully. Some rails rise up as they reach the end of each piece, which makes a step in the rail when it mates with the next piece. The latches don't latch, instead the latch pieces stick up and really bounce the cars in the air. And since the latches don't latch, the sections all fall apart if you touch the track. There is flash down in the slot that will bring a car to a sudden stop. And so on.

I contacted customer support. After a 2 weeks I heard back. They said I should send pictures. I never did. How long would that take, documenting each of these issues and sorting through every piece? I bought that kit to save me time.

[bluesguy]

Hey 'Doba, welcome back! The more guys we get that go back to the old days at HT the better. The connection and posting problems are gone.
Have fun, post some slot stuff, rinse and repeat.

[Ntxslotcars]

Personally, I was very disappointed with the current track that is sold by Tomy/AFX. A year ago I built a table, and tried to resurrect some Aurora lock & joiner track I've had since I was about 8. Eventually I gave up as it was just too corroded. I thought I'd save myself time and headache and just buy a new set.

The track manufacturing quality is terrible. The 15" straights are curved so much in the track plane it's hard to find pieces that fit next to each other to make a 4 lane setup, and the straight in not straight. Some of the rails are set in too far, nearly flush with the track surface. Some of the rails are not centered in the section, they stick out too far horizontally at one end and prevent the next section from mating fully. Some rails rise up as they reach the end of each piece, which makes a step in the rail when it mates with the next piece. The latches don't latch, instead the latch pieces stick up and really bounce the cars in the air. And since the latches don't latch, the sections all fall apart if you touch the track. There is flash down in the slot that will bring a car to a sudden stop. And so on.

I contacted customer support. After a 2 weeks I heard back. They said I should send pictures. I never did. How long would that take, documenting each of these issues and sorting through every piece? I bought that kit to save me time.

Wow, this sounds all too familiar, and one of the reasons I aborted my last Tomica Racemasters build.
I spent the extra dough to get the 15" and 18" turns to build. nice oval, but they wouldn't lay together, no matter how you arranged them.
In fact, the 1/8 inch gap between tracks on each end became 1/4 gap if you pulled the track to one end.
Even with the outside lanes compressed, and inside lanes spread as much as possible, it was unusable.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...

On the right, Tomica...

On the left, 40 year old Aurora AFX quick lock...




I will say that I have been impressed with AutoWorlds recent improvements on track quality...

[MSwaterlogged]

Gentlemen, Our (Racemasters) customer service manager would like to correspond with you and see how we can solve your issues. If Axle and NTXslotcars would email Elyse at service@afxracing.com and let her know what is going on, that would be appreciated. As you know we stand behind our products and will replace defective items. -- Charlie

[Ntxslotcars]

Charlie,

Thanks for reaching out. All my stuff is in storage at the moment, so it probably wouldn't do me any good.
Axle may benefit though.