Slot Spares

Ron Sharer asked:


The slot car is well known by everyone in some form or another. The 1950’s and 1960’s were a time when people were able to enjoy all the new and exciting things being introduced for consumption. Along with new music styles and fads like the hula hoop and slinky, there was the arrival in full force of commercial slot car racing.

Companies like Revell, Monogram, Cox and Strombecker, took detailed models of popular stock cars, Indy cars, formula 1 cars and sports cars, added rudimentary chassis with motors and the hobby of slot car racing was officially was established.

Home sets were sold by the tens of thousands at Christmas time, in HO scale, 1/32 scale and even 1/24 scale. Of course, racing with family and friends on a plastic track is fun, but soon the desire to compete on a larger scale becomes a huge business opportunity.

Commercial raceways in 1963 consisted of small ovals or figure 8’s in the back of hobby stores. Four and six lane layouts were common. All slot car tracks were custom made. There were no standards so no two layouts were the same and the number of lanes were as high as ten. It wasn’t until American Model Raceways went into production of a full line of beautiful Formica sided tracks, that an 8 lane standard was settled on.

As the popularity of slot car racing increased, more companies were formed to meet the rabid demand. Early cars adapted toy electric motors and HO train motors for propulsion. Soon Mabuchi motors of Japan began producing motors made for slot cars.

Prior to 1966, emphasis was put on scale appearance and detail. A slot car was fundamentally a model car with a motor adapted into it. Manufacturers employed master mold makers who would examine photographs at all angles of every new race car being campaigned even some vintage models. Some would even get permission and licensing from the car owners and could precisely measure the actual car then reduce those measurements to 1/32 or 1/24 scale.

The early tires used on slot car were actual rubber, just like on real cars. The tires were molded with the shape and all the detail right down to the Firestone logo. These slot cars were top heavy and really slid around. Getting one around a track with any pace took a very good driver. Most of the people who do slot cars back then or today are not good drivers. Just like Tiger Woods is the best golfer or Michel Schumacher is the best driver, some people have an inborn skill to be good at slot car racing and most don’t.

In 1966 the whole focus of the hobby changed. Going fast and making the slot car easier to drive became the new priority. The beautiful and accurate scale appearance of the slot car would become the casualty.

Today, those early very scale slot cars are by far the most collectible. Some rare slot cars sell for well over $1000. Not bad for something that was $8.95 new.



Fun Games

Ron Sharer asked:


The year was 1967. Slot car racing had officially abandoned scale appearance in favor of speed. This was a natural progression but one that would have long standing consequences.

The motor of choice until this time was the Mabuchi 16D, a motor popular for its balance of low weight and power. From the factory, these motors were not competitive. To make a competitive motor the internal armature would have to be altered. The easiest way, was to have some of its windings removed to decrease it’s resistance which was called de-winding. The best modification, was to remove all the windings, and replace them with thicker gauge wire with less turns. This was called rewinding and it became a cottage industry of it’s own. Small companies would rewind the armatures, epoxy it all in place and even balance it. As these armatures utilized lower gauges of wire, the term “hotter” was coined.

Hot arms draw more current through them. More current means more heat. The component of the armature that accepts the electricity into the armature is called the commutator. Mabuchi made theirs out of plastic with 3 copper plates. Yes, plastic melts, so soon the need for a better commutator became necessary. The endbell of the motor that holds the motor brushes that contact the commutator was also plastic. That needed a better replacement also.

Can you see where slot car racing is going next?

With speed becoming the appetite of the slot car racer, manufacturers in America set up shop full time to produce high quality components that could withstand the high power requirements. Motors used high temperature endbells and thick steel motor cans for more reliable magnetic fields. Companies like Mura and Champion of Chamblee made these, as well as armatures designed by real engineers and scientists to reduce heat and increase performance. The research done during 1968-1969 was lost and forgotten about by the mid 70’s. Even today, motors being produced costing over $300 are technologically inferior from a science perspective, to the 1969 motors.

The slot car viewed from above, still appeared as a recognizable race car. It was from the side that it was not at all realistic. The wheels were much too small, and the profile much too low. Unrealistic spoilers started to appear. From a drivers standpoint, these cars were really fast and stayed in the slot very well, even for the average participant.

This speed and handing came at a cost. The price of a slot car had escalated, reducing the number of kids who could participate. The loss of detail resulted in a lower appeal for the new prospect seeing slot cars for the first time. Where before everyone could relate, now fewer and fewer were interested.

The writing was on the wall for slot car racing. The fad had ended and this hobby would never reach this level of popularity again.



Hot Wii Games

Alina asked:


Almost everyone has played with diecast toys when they were a young child. Diecast vehicles are pretty reasonably priced for a lot of the recent ones in stores and for some of the older ones that are common. You can often find them in the local supermarkets, and even a lot of grocery shops have a rack or area where you can find diecast model cars.

In this day and age there are loads of different companies and retailers and they make diecast vehicles of every kind, there are cars, airplanes, construction vehicles, boats, military vehicles, and more. 1:18 scale is one of the most accepted scales for diecast car collectors. There is an extensive range in this scale with price linked to the details and number of working parts.

Some of the top pick Diecast Model Car producers:

Auto Art: Auto Art produce a massive line of scale models, more than 450 of them in 1:18 scale. Other scales they produce include 1:12, 1:43, 1:64 as well as 1:24 and 1:32 slot cars. Auto Art mainly produce current model cars including some racing models and they range from £25- £40 in 1:18 scale.

Classical Motor Cars: They create 1:18 scale classic European cars with varying detail. They also make cars in 1:12 and 1:24 scales. 1:18 scale diecast model cars range from £50 to £125.

Exoto: Exoto specialize in highly detailed collectible race cars from the trendiest racing series. The diecast model cars incorporate opening doors, full suspension and detailed engines. They produce diecast model car series like Grand Prix, Racing legends, Can Am First Heat series, Hum Vees. The prices range from £50- £250 (1:18 scale models).

Kyosho: Kyosho are another wide ranging producer of 1:18 scale cars. They mainly produce racing model cars and airplanes. The prices range from £25 – £40

Maisto: Maisto is a mainstream producer of diecast model cars. They produce current model cars and race cars including GT Racing, Special Edition and Premier Edition model ranges. The price starts from £15 – £45 for most of 1:18 scale.

New generation of diecast vehicles, with finer detail, better running gear, and better colour finish, leads up to the present day, where millions of precision diecast imitation models are made, at quite reasonable prices for the collector with manufacturers Corgi, Burago, Hotwheels and Solido being the most sought after in the UK.

For more information, feel free to contact MATARO



Fun Games

Kadence Buchanan asked:


Model cars are basically a miniature representation of actual cars, and they are normally a to-scale model of the real cars. Model cars are normally made of die cast metal and most companies dealing in die cast metal offer a lifetime warranty for their model cars. Model cars are of several types, and the best types will have quite some intricate details and movable (but unbreakable) parts, just like the original cars.

Model cars are prepared from all kinds of material, right from wood, plastic, resin to die cast metal. The die cast metal model cars are supposed to be the strongest of any kinds of model cars. They are strong and sturdy and take a lot more of wear and tear than other model cars.

The First Model Cars

While model cars are mostly seen as toys and gifts for children and teenagers, they were never designed or marketed as children’s toys. In fact, some models today are collectors’ item and more expensive than any other toy in the market.

The first die cast model cars were prepared by Banthrico in the late forties. These model cars were, of all things, made especially for the banking industry. Basically, these model cars were miniature banks, and they were given to people who opened a new account in a particular bank. The cars had a slot at the bottom, through which the bank account holder could put in their loose change.

The most popular car models at that time were the Buicks, Lincolns, Packards, Chryslers, Dodges, Cadillac, Ford and Chevrolet. Miniature cars, or model cars, as they are popularly known, have a common scale of 1:25th, however, some model cars are prepared at a larger scale of 1:20th.

Stepping into the Modern Age

Maybe the first usage of modern model cars was in the automobile industry, when AMT and its sister company produced 1/25th models of the popular coaster and friction models. These models were mostly used as a toy for children who used to come with their parents to the automobile shop to buy cars.

Die cast models are manufactured in various scales, like 1:18, 1:24, 1:48 and 1:43. Today, a die cast model car is created with a great amount of detail, as compared to when die cast models first burst on the scene. There are several details that vary from model cars of different scales. The die cast model cars created in the 1:18 scale are mostly the ones created as the collectors’ editions.

The prices of die cast model cars vary from model to model. Obviously, the price increases with an increase of details and even graphics. Some die cast model cars are so detailed that they will even have the decals and other designs that are seen on the original models.

Today, there are several ways in which you can buy model die cast cars. Most toy shops will have all the major types of model cars, and you can get quite some relevant model die cast cars. Also, there are several websites that cater to people who wish to collect die cast models of cars. These websites are known to offer the rarest of die cast model cars.



Man Bling

Riz Davis asked:


The beginnings of the remote control car can be traced back to the 1940s, when small, nitromethane-powered engines first entered the market. At the time, the only way to control an engine-powered model car was with a tether. While these cars were fast, they merely ran in a circle from the tether. In the late 1960s, the first miniaturized solid state radio control systems were introduced, allowing model cars to have servo-controlled steering, throttle, and brake functionality that could be remotely controlled from a transmitter unit.

Several early commercially viable remote control cars became available by 1966, produced by El-Gi (Elettronica Giocattoli), a company from Reggio Emilia, Italy. Their first remote control car model was a 1:12 Ferrari 250LM. This was followed by their 1:10 Ferrari P4 model, which was first shown at the Milan Toy Fair in early 1968. Between the mid to late 1960s, a British company called Mardave also began to produce commercially viable remote control cars. Their first products were nitro- or gas-powered cars which were sold in the early 1970s.

During that period, several commercial products were manufactured by small firms in the United States. Most of these companies started out as slot car companies, then moved into the remote control car field, which was becoming more popular. Early kits were 1/8 scale nitro-powered aluminum flat pan cars powered by a .21 or smaller engine, with the bodies made of polycarbonate.

In 1976, the Japanese firm Tamiya released a series of highly detailed but mechanically simple electric on-road car models. Although more expensive, these kits and radio systems sold quickly. Soon, Tamiya began to produce more purpose-built remote-controlled model cars, and were the first to release off-road buggies with real suspension systems. This allowed remote control cars to be driven virtually anywhere, not just on bitumen and smooth surfaces. It was this development toward the off-road class that brought about much of the hobby’s popularity.



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