Microscalextric questions

[wilfy100]

Hi,

Today I bought a Microscalextric American racer set from a charity shop. It seems to be complete apart from missing the instructions. It seems to work fairly well with only needing the occasional push from the "hand of god" to get things moving. The lap counter can be a bit hit and miss though. I wonder if anyone could help me with the following questions.

Does anyone know if the instruction sheet can be downloaded at all.

Would I be right in thinking the track can be extended, I imagine it would be good marketing to have track extension sets available. Is this the case or can I join two sets together somehow.

Is the braided pickup strip available as a spare part.

Are all of the micro cars quite basic in detail or are there better one around.

I am now on a mission to pick up some more Micro Scalextric sets so I will keeping a lookout at car boots and charity shops. It is kind of history repeating itself as I still have my Tri-ang Minic Motorway set from my (First!) childhood. Sadly with that the copper contact wheels are worn and give poor running. Any help with the Micro set would be much appreciated thanks.

 

[Blagard]

I know very little about the micro sets but instructions that should help you are at the link below. It may not be for your specific set but the it is I am sure for a Micro set and the car part is common to them all.

http://www.microscalextric.wickedlemon.co.uk/instructions/g1075.pdf

 

I would think you can combine sets to a degree but layouts will be limited by the track parts available.

There are loads of braids on ebay so no prblems there.

[Andy P.]

As a former school teacher I would argue you have not asked any questions because you didn't use any question marks!  :-)

Sorry.. sometimes I am a but pedantic... :-D

As Blagard says, spare braides can be had from anywhere. The are the same length as the standard 1/32 scale cars' braids.

There are no track extensionsfor Mico. You have to buy used or other sets and combine. There are really only 2 curve radii whereby the "standard" curve comes in 2 different lengths i.e. 90° and 45°. There is a hairpin curve but it is not a perfect fit for inside the "standard" curve.

You can use any H0 or HO scale cars on the track but micro tracks' rails sit higher than other brands so they might "stick" more because of higher magnetic force.

[Blagard]

Note to myself. Check for typo's before  clicking "Reply" and check again later!

 

I once sent an email to a school teacher about some work she wanted doing. It came back spelling corrected and rephrased to get the grammer correct. It did make me smile, but the truth of it is, I failed English "O" level and knew I would, so I worked hard on English Literature to get that instead. My brain is hard wired for the sciences and practical things. Anything to do with the Arts side I am hopeless, so the Literature pass was more to do with sheer hard graft over and above what a pass should take!

[wilfy100]

Thanks for the help, Yes I do struggle with spelling and grammar, spell checkers are a big help but they can make you lazy in not getting it correct first time. The only thing that annoys me is that our language is slowly being "Americanised" and websites that have tight character limits (not here though) so you can't say what you need to say (the modern soundbite syndrome).

I have bought some replacement braides from a well known auction site, I am not sure in practise if it makes any difference but I went for the genuine tin plated ones rather than the plain copper. The plain copper braid looks just like de-soldering wick, I suspect you could use that at a push, but genuine ones were cheap enough so no need to worry there.

I have looked at the instructions from Blagards link, the concern that arises from that is it states that the body shell clips in place. On my cars have the shells have been superglued on. I think I should be able to release the guide blade plate if I am carefull to renew the braids, but if all else fails then I could use some debonder to remove the superglue and get the shell off. I have the proper debonder, but I have been told that acetone (nail varish remover) will work. You would need to very carefull with the acetone as it can dissolve some plastics (I believe it is in the Tamiya plastic weld kit glue). Even further off topic surgical spirits (isopropyl alcohol) can be used a "Kicker" to instant set superglue.

I have got a bit carried away (as I do) and bought some extra track (as well hopefully a second set if it does not get bid up). I think the extra track can be integrated, youtube shows some massive micro tracks. I have found in the past that with model railway track, the fixed shape sections, that carefull planning is needed. I think the micro track will be easier though.

Would anyone care to comment please regarding the cost diffence (new and second hand) between Micro Scalextric and the full size version. While it is an unfair comparison the full size version is 2 times bigger but the cost seems to be 4 or 5 times more expensive. Is this the case, or is the Micro more aimed at kids and the full size for enthusiasts. How accurate a replica are the full size scalextric cars in terms of scale dimensions and details.

 

 

[Blagard]

I think the superglue must be a previous owners repair as I am sure scalextric don't use it!

 

The micro sets are very limited and basic and intended as an relatively inexpensive way to play with scalextric for kids of any age! - It is certainly not aimed at the enthusiast.

 

The 1/32 scale cars are there or thereabouts I don't think they are perfect 1/32 scale as they have to be a practical size for the track as well. The details vary as there are often basic cars that can take abuse and then the same type of car with lots of detail based on a real one.

 

There is no doubt if you are careful that you can buy excellent full size secondhand track cheap. The main things to look for are no corrosion of the rails or warping track due to lack of care in packing it away. Stay away from classic track as it is not ideal for modern cars with it's shallower slot, poorer steel and different connectors. The sport/ digital track is the current and best to go for.

 

There is also a huge amount of supporting details for 1/32 scale with almost everything to scale down a real circuit. Browse Youtube to see what I mean. e..g. one link below

 

[Andy P.]

If you decide to move up to 1/32 scale you really have to get good condition track otherwise it is a source of frustration. Also I would shy away from "classic" Scalextric track (with 2 loops or spoons on the end) as it is shallwoer and more madern cars "bottom out".

[wilfy100]

Thanks for the help, especially for info about what to avoid. I think I would like to move up to 1/32.

Is it possible to tel how modern a set by the style of the box, what I mean by that is with model railway I can have a good understanding of how close it is to the new modern standard by just looking at the box art style and the type of packageing inside. I found a copy of the ultimate book of Scalextric 7th edition (50p from a market stall) but that was published in 2008. I has good set/car lists though so I will study that.

I assume digital would probably be the most reliable (it would have the modern type of track?) but roughly how much would digital push up the cost. Is modern analogue track the same as in a digital set? Is it like model railway where newer models have the socket to plug in the digital module and can be bought with the digital module installed or added later on.

Could anyone suggest a set in the lower price range (I would look at secondhand as well as new). I have seen some 1/32 starter sets that use the micro controllers, I think possibly the proper 1/32 controllers might be better.

I don’t think I can’t justify a major large outlay, if nothing else I have limited free time (dreaded shift work). Some of the prices are scary. I think I would like to start with a simpler set and then add some extra track and possibly cars as time goes on. Clearly I need to take some time to try and get some understanding before I commit to buying but even the micro set has shown that it would interest me.

I think I need to try and get a good balance between cost and interest/entertainment. I would appreciate any help with this, I know some of my questions fall into the “how long is a piece of string” category though. Thanks for all the replies. Cheers Ian

[Andy P.]

I buy most of my stuff second had or at swap meets.

I have picked up a few complete sets though  and it is usually obvious on the packaging what type of track is included.

Most pieces can be bought individually with the exception of the "super long" straight and a half (available in sets like the continental cars set as lap counter and/or powerbase strip) and the 90° R2 (standard) curves. For those you have to buy some of the newer sets.

You should get a nice mix of R3, R4 and I would even argue R1 curves (the 22.5° ones make fore nice little chicane like squiggles) You will also need some standard, 78mm and 87 mm straights to make everything match up.

If you are racing with kids you will need guardrails. Scalextric classic, SCX or even Ninco will work. I prefer SCX as they make 45° R2 length guardrails that clip together.

I personally use ARC AIR or ARC ONE in combination with a dual power plug Sport Powerbase (see the adding brakes https://slotcarp.wordpress.com/#Conclusion ) :

I shy away from Classic track it is shallower and tends to be rusty and bent most of the time.

 

[wilfy100]

Thanks, I know I will be going up to 1/32 scale but just a few thoughts about my current Micro setup.

Bought a sewcond hand American racer set from a charity shop. It needed a little bit of maintenance on the cars but basically ok. I have to say I am rather doubtfull of the bridge idea, I set it up exactly as the illustration on the box showed but you could see there was stress on the track joints. The track was trying to bend at the joints to accomodate the the height difference of the raised section of track. I will not be using the bridge supports.

The old triang Minix motorway was far superior in this respect, having properly shaped track sections designed for the bridge and a set of supports that plugged in firmly and supported all of the raised track.

The micro scalextric track is simple to set up and fun to use, even the domestic planning Authority (my wife) wanted to have a go. I have bought some extra track from Fleabay. These are in new condition and the conductor strips are noticeably taller that on the track from the set. I don't think the set track has worn down conductors as they would not wear down all totally uniformly. I have a second Fleabay micro set in the post to me.

I will then have enough track to build a large layout. I also have bought two extra cars sold as non working. I need a guide peg plate to replace one on one of the set cars. I am hopefull that I can get at least one car working but they look to be in good condition so they will provide spares if nothing else.

So far for everything I have spent £56 for everything, I am ok with this as it is interesting and entertaining, and nowadays how far would that go with most hobbies.

 

[West Six]

Like me as a newcomer to the format you seem to be getting hooked!  We found a full Micro set at a charity shop for a tenner so with that and a new set from Argos we too can make some nice layouts.  I got some new braids for the charity shop cars and this really improved their performance no end. The Micro supplied bridge supports are terrible, and some of the cars hit them, so we dug out the old Lego stuff and made some new supports from that, and this works fine.  Lego also works nicely to just provide a bit of extra support on corners.  I then got carried away and then made some trackside control rooms as props out of the Lego!

[Andy P.]

There is also a "crash and bash" Micro set that allows you to put Lego-compatible bricks on the cars ;-)