Future of Scalextric

[Paul-346202]

I believe Scalextric need to make some important changes:

Change the track texture to compete with other manufactures.

Further develop ARC pro to include progressive breaking and ability to have auto brakes and brake profiles.

Develop magless cars that work out of the box, no need to compete with NSR or Slot.it but just give a good experience.

New track pieces and a focus on scenery for the hobby and toy market.

Address the closing gap between toy and hobby cars. You can buy a hobby grade car for less than a Scalextric car.

What are peoples thoughts?

[Andy P.]

Well new track surface would be prohibitively expensive. The "Start" line tried that and eventually they went back to the Sport.

One of the brilliant things of the Scalextric system is that you can use readily available converter track to hook up to Ninco and SCX if you want their rougher surfaces... Carrera would require some mucking about...

Development in ARC PRO (and ARC AIR) is something I really wish more time and money would go into. There are a few niggly bugs and there is still a huge amount of potential there as the "Magic" ARC app has shown. To be fair though progressive braking would not be high on my list. It would be ON the list, just not high.

Magless I get but one might argue anyone can take a a magnet out and get nearly any car to work to a point. One could just as well say that a good magless car can have a magnet banged in and it would be even better. When you know the 5-figure amount required to develop a car though you can see that they have to strike a balance of mass producing and decent handling. There is a video out there with Adrian Norman about what it costs to make a car. I think it was the McLaren P1 and they had sunk 50kGBP before even getting the CAD work done ...

Scenery is making a come back. I like that borders and guardrails are being included again. How far they will go though is uncertain as Hornby is always running the ragged edge financially...

I race at a club, all stratchbuilt 1/24 scale magless on a wood track. I get shunned because I don't sand my tires to within 0.0001 mm of the regs or shave weight off to within 0.01 grams of the minimum weight. It is hard to draw the line between "hobby" and "toy" . Personally that is why I like slot racing as it can be many things to many people...

[Paul-346202]

Well new track surface would be prohibitively expensive. The "Start" line tried that and eventually they went back to the Sport.

One of the brilliant things of the Scalextric system is that you can use readily available converter track to hook up to Ninco and SCX if you want their rougher surfaces... Carrera would require some mucking about...

I think Policar has emerged as the future track option for someone looking for the best racing experience. The good thing with Scalextric track is that it is fairly cheap and is the most compact. A cheap option is to just paint the track. It would be a substantial cost but worth exploring I think. I actually really liked the Start track. I think it comes down to marketing.

Development in ARC PRO (and ARC AIR) is something I really wish more time and money would go into. There are a few niggly bugs and there is still a huge amount of potential there as the "Magic" ARC app has shown. To be fair though progressive braking would not be high on my list. It would be ON the list, just not high.

Yes there is a lot of potential with ARC. The Magic app is unfortunately a lot better than the official app which shouldn't be the case.

Magless I get but one might argue anyone can take a a magnet out and get nearly any car to work to a point. One could just as well say that a good magless car can have a magnet banged in and it would be even better. When you know the 5-figure amount required to develop a car though you can see that they have to strike a balance of mass producing and decent handling. There is a video out there with Adrian Norman about what it costs to make a car. I think it was the McLaren P1 and they had sunk 50kGBP before even getting the CAD work done ...

It is expensive but how do other companies deliver on this, some companies are producing cars that can run magless, with lights and some detail for less than a Scalextric car and have better spec parts.

Scenery is making a come back. I like that borders and guardrails are being included again. How far they will go though is uncertain as Hornby is always running the ragged edge financially...

Yes it is good to see, maybe Scalextric could work in partnership with some companies to deliver some more scenic elements in sets. As an example a set with some figures or some pits. I do think they would sell well.

I race at a club, all stratchbuilt 1/24 scale magless on a wood track. I get shunned because I don't sand my tires to within 0.0001 mm of the regs or shave weight off to within 0.01 grams of the minimum weight. It is hard to draw the line between "hobby" and "toy" . Personally that is why I like slot racing as it can be many things to many people...

I don't think it is that hard to draw a line, hobby is something designed for performance out of the box or highly detailed with some performance. I just think Scalextric are missing out on a large portion of the market, especially as people that race the cars spend a lot of money consistently over many years. There is no doubt Scalextric have improved the detail but they have kept the performance and magnatraction the same for many years.

 

 

It seems like the slot car market is growing but Scalextric are struggling to appeal to the hobbyist. It is frustrating as I want them to succeed in the hobby space.

[Andy P.]

when you say "hobbyist" do you mean people who race in clubs ?

Or what exactly?

[Paul-346202]

when you say "hobbyist" do you mean people who race in clubs ?

Or what exactly?

 

 

People that race in clubs, people that are building large layouts at home, collectors wanting to collect highly detailed models, people interested in scenery.

 

 

I know Scalextric have tried the PCR chassis in the past but I think there is a market between entry level toys (scalextric and Carrera) and NSR, SRC, RS, Slot.it, etc.

 

 

There is a huge increase in people on social media like Instagram running performance grade cars at home. Ninco I think had a good balance of cars that were between either. Policar also offer entry level cars that can run without magnets and have slot.it parts. They then have the next level which is high detail models which can run magless which fit just under slot.it cars.

[Andy P.]

I don't disagree with you but the financials are more precarious than many know. I am not a Hornby employee but I do have contact to them and I have access to all publicly available information.

Scalextric is not the biggest money maker for them. I think it is 3rd behind Trains and Airfix (I could be wrong though, my teenage children tell me I am wrong all the time!).

Once could argue what is more important:

Offering performance parts or spare parts in general?

Offering cars that need some assembly or sets that include more borders and barriers/guardrails?

I am not saying it can't or won't happen but it would take a lot of homework and a lot of data...

I wish it weren't so but then again I hope for things like world peace....

[Richard001]

Hello Everyone,

Kids want play value and volume sales from that side fund the needs of the older hobbyist. The kids I know want some flexible track as they have for their lego trains. I also would get some for my offroad visions of a 'rough and undulating' road.

[Andy P.]

Hello Everyone,

Kids want play value and volume sales from that side fund the needs of the older hobbyist. The kids I know want some flexible track as they have for their lego trains. I also would get some for my offroad visions of a 'rough and undulating' road.

 

 

Such "offroad" track is available from SCX and Ninco that you can combine using readily available adapters..

I did it with NASCAR cars and it looked epic!.

[Paul-346202]

I don't disagree with you but the financials are more precarious than many know. I am not a Hornby employee but I do have contact to them and I have access to all publicly available information.

Scalextric is not the biggest money maker for them. I think it is 3rd behind Trains and Airfix (I could be wrong though, my teenage children tell me I am wrong all the time!).

Once could argue what is more important:

Offering performance parts or spare parts in general?

Offering cars that need some assembly or sets that include more borders and barriers/guardrails?

I am not saying it can't or won't happen but it would take a lot of homework and a lot of data...

I wish it weren't so but then again I hope for things like world peace....

 

 

I think Scalextric have their place in the market, maybe not best to compete too much with NSR, Slot.it etc.

 

 

I think some improvements in scenery range and some improvements to ARC pro would be the right direction to go in. I still think having a more performance focused line of cars would be popular if they can get it right.