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Hi Paul - the new Scalextric Club sends out the club car and the 2020 catalogue. There is no magazine. If you haven't received the catalogue, do contact Scalextric Customer Services. Although most of us received our car and catalogue at the beginning of January, I understand that there have been a few issues with the courier company. The 2021 club car will be announced in May this year. Expect more news about other exclusive club offers. I hope that helps.

Hi Eric_8 - welcome to the forum! The C8217 is not a digital power base, it is the older Scalextric Sport standard powerbase. It should only deliver power to the cars when the trigger of one the hand controllers is pressed. However, if a non-standard hand controller is used it is possible to get a short circuit that by-passes the controller, delivering full power to the track. I suspect that might be the case? The standard Scalextric Sport controller plug is a 3.5mm stereo jack, wired like this: brake to the point, track to the middle section, power to the section furthest from the tip. I hope that helps. Just for reference: a non-digital car will not go to full power on a Scalextric Sport Digital system - it will sit stationary and hum on the AC (alternating current) power. Unless, of course, there is a diode in the circuit between the track and the motor rectifying the AC current - I believe that is the case with the 360-degree drift cars.

Hi James - welcome to the forum! What you're trying to do is very possible, but isn't straightforward. It is much easier to use the app with just the three drivers set up - using the red, green and blue helmet icons - and then changing any settings when you set up a race. If you do want to keep more specific drivers and cars set-up in the app and then swap them to different colours, you must get used to toggling the drivers on and off in the app. Set up the race for three cars in the race menu (if that's how many you have racing) and then, in the driver set-up screen, toggle all the drivers off so they are greyed out. Then you can toggle on the three drivers you want in strict order - red, green and then blue. The app should allocate newly toggled-on drivers in that order, but it can get glitchy. Be prepared to toggle off and try again. Also be prepared to shut down and hard stop the app - then relaunch and try again... As I said, what you are trying to do is possible, but the app doesn't always like it! I hope that helps. I am writing a guide to racing ARC Pro with the ARC app: https://slotracer.online/arc-pro-guide/

Hi Michael - welcome to the forum! All Scalextric cars are compatible with the Start sets. There are still Start cars being produced - they are robust cars, so great for beginners. And they are very good value. You can see the range here: https://www.scalextric.com/uk-en/shop/by-brand/start-by-scalextric.html There is also the Super Resistant range that is a bit more expensive, but are still tough and robust: https://www.scalextric.com/uk-en/shop/cars/super-resistant.html The cars you have are probably quite easily fixed - what exactly is wrong with them? If you have the set instructions, there should be useful information to get them going again. Or there are tips here: https://www.scalextric.com/uk-en/support/car-maintenance I hope that helps.

Nic Hamilton BTCC VW please! https://www.touringcars.net/2020/02/nic-hamilton-returns-to-the-btcc-with-team-hard

Hi Red Rebel. The ARC wireless controllers should connect easily to the ARC Air and ARC Pro powerbases when you follow the instructions in the respective Quick Start Guides. Essentially, the procedure is: Turn controller off > Press & hold button on base (LED flashes) > pull and hold trigger > turn controller on > release trigger. Solid LED should show controller is connected to that colour. If you have ARC Air, you can only connect to Red or Green. The procedure is on pages 8 and 9 of the ARC Air Quick Start Guide. If you don't have the original booklet, you can download the Guide here: www.scalextric.com/uk-en/shop/sets/app-race-control-arc/arc-air If you have ARC Pro, you can connect to any of the six colours. The procedure is on pages 8 and 9 of the ARC Pro Quick Start Guide. If you don't have the original booklet, you can download the Guide here: www.scalextric.com/uk-en/shop/sets/app-race-control-arc/arc-pro The ARC Pro set controllers and the individual ARC controllers sold as C8438 will work with either ARC Air or ARC Pro. The ARC Air set controllers will connect to an ARC Pro powerbase, but don't have a lane change button. They will bind with the powerbase and will run a car, but can't change lanes unless they are modified. See here: www.scalextric.com/us-en/forum/arc-air-to-arc-pro-controller-upgrade/ I hope that helps. If you're still having problems, give us more specific info about what you're doing and what is/isn't happening. Also whether you can bind other ARC controllers to different colours.

Hi Bobbybolognie - welcome to the forum! The standard Scalextric gear ratios (F130 S-Can & FF050 slim can) are... Inline: 9 / 27Sidewinder: 11/36 If you want to change the ratio by changing the pinion, it's important to find a pinion the same diameter as the standard one. Also, the motor shaft on the FF motors is 1.5mm and on the F130 S-Cans 2mm. Pendle Slot Racing would be a good place to ask - and I'm sure they have suitable spares in stock. I hope that helps.

Hi Michael - welcome to the forum! I am a big fan of 1/64 scale (HO) slot cars for many of the reasons you outline. Here in the UK, most of what's been available for the past 25 years has been the old Micro Scalextric range, which was based on the pretty average Marchon MR-1 system. As an entry-level system, the old Micro Scalextric track was rather temperamental and unfortunately ruined a few too many Christmas days - not a good first experience of slot cars and not good business! Scalextric - and their parent company Hornby Hobbies - have invested in designing a new 1/64 system from the bottom up. The new My First Scalextric and Micro Scalextric sets and cars first appeared in the summer of 2019 - just a few months ago. More sets, cars and accessories will be released this year. I really like the new system (see here: www.scalextric.com/uk-en/forum/new-micro-scalextric-track-system/ and here: www.scalextric.com/uk-en/new-micro-system-sets) and it did really well over Christmas, both in terms of sales, awards and - most importantly - customer feedback. The Scalextric team have done a great job so far. Although I do like last year's Micro Scalextric cars very much, I was excited to see some 'proper' cars in the 2020 catalogue. We have the Aston Martin DB5 and Jaguar XF appearing in the James Bond 'No Time to Die' set, plus the first appearance of the Scalextric Rasio C20 hypercar in 1/64 scale (in the Batman vs Joker and Ryan's World sets). I am sure there are more great cars to come. The James Bond set also come with plain black track - and the three accessory packs are in plain black too. Another nod to grown-up racers perhaps? My suggestion is to give the new Micro Scalextric range time to develop. I'm sure it will remain mostly aimed at younger racers, but Scalextric have said they want it to become a viable option to 1/32 scale for those with smaller homes. I don't expect to see working headlights as standard, but who knows? The new cars are really well detailed, so I hope that continues with future releases. I do expect to see some electronic gizmos - like Spark Plug - developed for use with Micro. As for 1/64 scale digital. I have seen 1/64 cars fitted with a tiny decoder and running on a 1/32 Scalextric digital layout. It is possible. Technically, running digital cars on traditional HO track would be difficult - there is a lot of arcing and that is the nemesis of digital chips... However, technically, the smooth flat rails of the new Micro Scalextric track do make a digital format more possible. In practice, the cars are very fast - my question (as a 1/32 scale digital racer) is would you want several of them competing on the same lane? Maybe, maybe not. Probably the biggest obstacle is cost of developing such a system - it would be an enormous initial investment for the company and that would be passed on to the consumer. Digital Micro would cost as much - and possibly more - than the standard 1/32 digital system because of the necessary miniaturisation. The experience of Carrera with their Digital143 system is that most people go straight to the standard Digital132 and 124 systems - the 1/43 scale digital range is hanging on in the catalogue, but has not expanded. However, that's not to say that highly-skilled enthusiasts won't continue to play with the 1/64 scale digital concept.

Dave - I believe lap counting and timing is firmly on the Scalextric team's 'To Do' list for Micro. In the meantime, I have been using 'Lap Tracker - Auto Timer' on my iPad. See here: www.scalextric.com/uk-en/new-micro-system-sets

Hi Milkman rob. The lane changers will only 'flip' open or closed when the sensor is triggered by the Infra-Red LED of a digital chip. When a digital car passes the sensor, it will either open or close the flipper, depending whether the lane-change button on the controller is pressed or not. Unexpected lane changes can happen if you are following a car too close when it lane changes (the flipper doesn't have time to re-set) or if the flipper is open and the LED fails to trigger the sensor to close the flipper. The first issue is solved by hanging back from the car in front by six-inches or so. The second issue might be because the lane changer is immediately after a corner and the car is not straight; the sensor in the lane changer is dirty (give it a blow and/or a wipe with a clean cotton bud); or the LED in the car is dirty (cotton bud) or damaged (try another car or chip). To diagnose the problem, I'd suggest trying different cars and manually push the car over the sensor and see if the flipper moves. It might also be worth trying different controllers. It is just possible that the lane change button is a bit glitchy? One final thing to consider is power... The lane changers are powered from the track, so the track connections do need to be good and - on a long track - power taps are necessary. Is the problem lane changer a long way from the powerbase? Depending on what digital powerbase you are using, you might also be on marginal power - one P9300 power supply will run three cars, two are required for four to six. Although the lane changers only draw a small amount of power for a split second, it might still be a factor. I hope that helps.

Hi Dave. That's the older system - it's not on the 'new' set list, has vertical rails and the track connections don't look like those in the opening post of this thread. I guess you have a choice: Keep the old-style set and use the tips here: https://www.scalextric.com/uk-en/forum/tips-for-getting-the-most-out-of-micro-scalextric/?p=1 to get the most out of it. There are plenty of old-style sets and cars available to extend your set, mostly on eBay.Return your old-style set and start again with the new 9-volt 'second generation' Micro Scalextric system. All the compatible sets and accessories are listed in this thread. Plenty more products are planned for the future and the new range is good value. In my opinion, the new system is vastly superior. For anyone starting out, I'd recommend the new system. I hope that helps.

Thanks for posting the pictures Iain - your questions are answered here: https://www.scalextric.com/uk-en/forum/trackbusters-1984-30539/

Hi Dave - welcome to the forum! The 'new' track system was first released in May/June 2019. It is the system described in this thread. The 'original' version - produced between 1995 and summer 2018 - is not compatible with the new track system. The most obvious difference is that the rails on the new track are flat and the on the older track the rails stand vertically. The new track system is 9-Volts rather than the old 18-Volts. Both the mains and battery-powered sets run at 9-Volts. The updated list of the 'new' version 9-Volt Micro and My First Scalextric sets is as follows: 2019 sets G1150M - My First Scalextric G1140M - My First Scalextric Looney Tunes (Daffy Duck vs Bugs Bunny) G1143M - Micro Scalextric Justice League (Superman vs Batman) G1142M - Micro Scalextric Wacky Races (Mean Machine vs Turbo Terrific) G1149M - Micro Scalextric Law Enforcer Aldi exclusive - Micro Scalextric City Collision Lidl exclusive - Micro Scalextric Rocket Raiders Lidl exclusive - Micro Scalextric Arctic Assault 2020 sets G1141 - My First Scalextric Looney Tunes Battery Powered Set (Daffy Duck vs Bugs Bunny) G1154M - My First Scalextric (Battery powered) - due Summer 2020 G1155M - Micro Scalextric Batman vs Joker (Battery powered) - due Summer 2020 G1160M - Micro Scalextric Ryan's Police Chase (Battery powered) - due Summer 2020 G1162M - Micro Scalextric James Bond - No Time To Die (Battery powered) - due Summer 2020 There are also four Micro Scalextric accessory packs in the 2020 Scalextric catalogue: G8043 - Micro Scalextric Mains Powered Track Piece (UK only) G8045 - Micro Scalextric Track Extension Pack - Straights & Curves G8046 - Micro Scalextric Track Extension Pack - Stunt Loop G8047 - Micro Scalextric Spare Guide Pack (8 guides and braids, plus one screw)

Hi King Steuie - thanks for posting the pictures. From left to right you have: Aurora/Tomy AFXMarchon MR-1 (also sold as Scalextric Micro MR-1 between 1994 and 1997) andTyco (also included in Mattel sets) Marchon MR-1 and Tyco/Mattel lane spacing is almost identical. Aurora/Tomy AFX is narrower. Adapters are available for Tomy to Tyco track. There is no adapter from Marchon MR-1 to either Tomy or Tyco that I am aware of, but - as Andy P suggested - a DIY adapter is going to be possible with Tyco and Marchon because of the near-identical spacing. I hope that helps.

Hi Cav Scout - welcome to the forum! The design of the ARC Pro powerbase means that a track layout is limited to two lanes over the powerbase - if laps are to be counted on all lanes. That does mean 90% of a layout could be 4-lane (or 6 or 8-lane), but over the powerbase, it must squeeze back down to two. That is not ideal for racing. Personally, I much prefer just two lanes for digital racing. It makes a very realistic road course - usually with one lane through a corner being the preferred 'racing line'. Overtaking becomes an art, requiring patience and skill - as it does in real racing. On a real oval, there are usually two grooves - sometimes cars might go 'three-wide' on a re-start, but that is rare. In a real Nascar race - or at a local short track - there will be 20-40 cars on track and drivers must negotiate their way through traffic. Contact happens - rubbin' is racing. So I think for six-car digital oval racing, two lanes also makes sense. If you have a 20ft by 20ft space and you want to build an oval, I would suggest you try building a few different two-lane ovals with different corner radii. See what is most enjoyable to race on - bigger is not necessarily better. You might then decide your project should be flexible - a permanent main straight with pit lane, grandstands etc, but with the option of a paperclip-style oval (Bristol, Martinsville), a longer rectangle (Indianapolis), a triangle (Pocono) or tri-oval (Charlotte, Daytona etc). You would also have the option of a road course. With Scalextric track, you do not have to commit to one permanent design. You could create a whole Nascar season in that 20 x 20ft space with all the challenges of the different circuits. That might keep the racing fresh and exciting. I hope that answers your question and gives you some ideas.

Hi SNB1973 - welcome to the forum! Those 1980s Think Tank, Fuel Tank and Sound Track were amazing. Sadly, I never had them myself, but absolutely loved the look of them in the Scalextric catalogue. If everything still works, you have a fabulous 1980s classic retro Scalextric set-up. I'm not sure I would change it. In a pre-personal computer era, those modules provided many of the features of modern-day race management systems like App Race Control. The track you have is the old-style 'Classic' track. It was replaced by the Scalextric Sport track system around the turn of the millennium. All the subsequent sets - including digital - use Sport track. This gives better electrical connectivity, has a less grippy road surface and a deeper slot. Cars from the past ten years have a deeper guide, so can bottom-use on the older Classic track (nothing a little sanding of the guide doesn't solve), but otherwise the newer cars (and most other manufacturers' cars) will work fine on the older Classic track. As for designing the track, the original Scalextric 101 Circuits booklet contains some great plans and can be found here: https://slotracer.online/library/scalextric/scalextric-101-circuits.html To fit Silverstone into your space, you may need to squash it a bit. I think the best way is always to use actual track pieces to see what fits - but using track design software like Ultimate Racer 3.0 can be very useful. Finally, some info abut ARC Pro and digital. This is a system where you can run up to six cars on two lanes, with lane changing and a separate pit lane. Cars must be fitted with a digital chip. ARC Pro also has a traditional one-car-per-lane analogue mode for running non-digital cars. Although it is possible to use a mix of Classic track, Sport track and Scalextric Sport digital track pieces (lane changers etc), the older track can get a little glitchy. The digital command signal is carried in the track rails, so any connectivity issues could cause problems with the digital cars. It is usually best to swap to Scalextric Sport to build a digital track. As I said before, I would be tempted to stick - at least to begin with - to your original Classic track and all the wonderful 1980s electronic modules. I think you will have a fabulous retro Scalextric fest! All the 80s cars are still available second-hand and - if you need to add more track - Classic track (make sure it's in very good condition) is available and cheap. Or you could get a C8222 Sport to Classic adapter and add new Sport track pieces. If you wanted to try ARC Pro digital at some point, maybe get the entry-level ARC Pro Le Mans 24 hour set, have a play and see if it adds more to the Scalextric experience than you have already. Have fun!

Hi Phil. I have never had a problem like this with previous versions of the app on my iOS devices. However I do have a very similar issue on my iPad 9.7 (2017) running iOS 13.3.1 with the latest version (v2.5 B24) of the app. I do not get a blank white box. When I hit Options and Share Results at race end (or Options in race Results - via More Stats), I get a black and grey line just below the screen header - and no sharing options pop-up screen. I deleted the app and tested a fresh install - and got the same bug. That is always worth doing, just in case of a faulty install. I will be reporting this possible bug to the Scalextric team by email, together with screen grabs. Perhaps you could do the same via the Scalextric Customer Service link (details right or below)? Using app version v2.4.3 B23 on my iPhone 4s, I get the share options fine. The options available depend on what apps are installed on the device and whether they are toggled on or off in the ARC app. To do this, choose 'More' which gives you a list of apps available and the choice to toggle them on or off. I hope that helps.

Agreed gorp. Without additional information from halliday, we are all making a lot of assumptions 😀 Re. braking... All modern Scalextric cars come with traction magnets as standard. Even without a brake circuit to give dynamic motor braking, lifting off the throttle does stop the car quite quickly due to the magnets - especially on a small home circuit. In eaither case, the key to slowing down is lifting off the throttle. Some of the smaller set layouts - together with the Super-Resistant cars with stronger magnets - the cars can be almost flat out. Add in a couple of extra straights from a track extension pack, the speed increases and cars come off easier. If the track extension pack is the hairpin, then you really have to learn to slow down.

Hi Uain. It's often a good idea to contact collectors and dealers for an estimate of price - especially for a rarer set or car, which this set certainly is - and how best to sell it. The National Scalextric Collectors Club (NSCC) would be a good start. Some reputable UK dealers include Phil Smith (scaleslotcars.com) and Julie and Mark at Scale Models (scalemodels.co.uk). Good luck!

Hi Jensen76 - welcome to the forum! There is - in my opinion - quite a lot of uninformed 'expert' opinion about ARC Pro on the internet. ARC Pro is the current Scalextric digital system, released in November 2017. The C7042 Advanced 6-car powerbase is about ten years old. Out of the box, ARC Pro is a complete digital system, the C7042 is more basic. However, the old curved lane changers (which have not been available new for 6-7 years) are not compatible with the original 2017 ARC Pro powerbase. Subsequent versions of the powerbase will work with the curved lane changers. It all depends on when your powerbase was made. All pit lanes and straight lane changers are compatible with all the ARC Pro powerbases. There is more info here: https://slotracer.online/arc-pro-guide/upgrades.html The C7042 is the basis for an excellent digital system, but you need to add various third-party add-ons, which can be costly. I have written about this here: https://slotracer.online/community/showthread.php?tid=1056 I use ARC Pro at home and the C7042 plus all the add-ons at my local digital club. ARC Pro is still quite new, so is at the start of its development phase - I suspect enthusiasts will develop upgrades and add-ons over the next few years. There is already the Magic app for ARC, which is a nice alternative to the Scalextric app. I hope that helps.

Hi Rupert - is it a surge (i.e. momentary acceleration to full power), or the car just not slowing down? The surge is usually due to a very brief loss of digital signal that causes the chip to go into analogue mode (and on the constant 15volts digital, that = full power). This can happen due to a break in track power or arcing (loose track connection, short over a lane changer, messy braids etc). If that is happening just before a corner, the car will go straight on. If it happens with some cars but not others, it may be the braids need tidying up (kept straight and pushed into the guide blade - and not trailing beyond the rear end of the guide) or it might be the version of the chip in that car is more susceptible to surges. I do find using INOX MX3 (just a couple of drops on the car's braids at the beginning of the day) helps cut arcing and minimise surges - but only if the braids are kept neat. If the car is simply not braking, it might be the type of motor in the car. The slim-can 'FF' motor found in most Scalextric single-seater cars (plus the Ford GT GTE, Ford GT40 MkIV, Ford Cortina, Ford Escort, Holden Torana, classic Mini Cooper, VW Beetle and VW camper van) has less braking effect than the standard 'short-can' Scalextric motor. So your 'lift-off' point needs to be earlier - or learn to use the brake button (the lower 'X' button) on the ARC controller. I hope that helps.

Hi Imac1977 - welcome to the forum! Oh yes, Track Busters was a bit of an outlier for Scalextric. The cars could work on either lane and could change lane at a manual lane change piece controlled by the big yellow buttons. It was a one-off. There are some details here: http://www.scalextricguide.com/item_details.asp?itemid=1710 I hope that helps!

No. I can't think of any other Scalextric cars with front steering. The Formula One (and Indy cars) that came before and afterwards didn't - and a straight axle was preferred through the 70s and 80s and to the modern day. Of the cars I am aware of, the 1990s SCX F1 cars did have steering, as do the Fly and SlotWings classic F1 cars. The very fast and highly-detailed SRC McLaren M23s also have front steering - although I understand SRC will opt for a straight axle for their new Hesketh because of performance concerns. I guess the straight axle is a safer bet - the steering is more complex and if it goes askew (in manufacturing or after an impact), then it hinders performance. I have seen quite a few Fly F1s with wonky front ends. But when they work, they do look great. The Scalextric FJ mechanism is simple and not particularly refined - compared with the SCX, SRC and Fly models - so it works well. As you say, if the wheels are barely touching the track, it is better for the braid contact in any case. Glad you are having a lot of fun with them - the FJs still have plenty of fans, nearly sixty years on!

Hi SteveinFrance - welcome to the forum! Quite a few F1 models from various manufacturers have had steering. It certainly looks good, but any off-straight wheels are going to be an issue at high speeds. As far as I'm aware, the Scalextric Formula Junior steering mechanism is unique in the way it is operates and is considered very effective. It can break, but JS Chassis Design do produce a 3D-printed replacement that is more robust. They also produce a replacement chassis that takes modern running gear. I hope that helps.

Hi Wilko84 - welcome to the forum! I'm pretty sure all the Mighty Metro sets were figure-of-eight layouts. I found this, not instructions, but a clear track plan: http://www.scalextricguide.com/item_details.asp?itemid=1740 I hope that helps you get things running!