I wonder if someone could market a slotcar set that didn't come with controllers or a power supply.
That's right. Just track and cars. Power supplies and controllers would be purchased seperately.
Just think of the problems that could be avoided with the Gov't safety watchdogs.
Just a thought.....
Scott

The only problem might be that there would need to be people in the stores who actually know something about the product. This isn't very common at TRU or Wallmart. Otherwise lots of folks might be dissapointed to get their set home only to find out that they have to go back and buy the controllers & power supply. This would really annoy some folks at Christmas time. There is a similar problem with the RC stuff at places like TRU. Now more and more RC cars come with the batteries & chargers included. If these items were sold seperately in hobby shops where there are knowlegable people, it would be a great idea. The trouble around here is that even the local hobby shops don't stock much slotcar stuff, if any.

Sure, this would be a way of getting round the 'lectricity thing but it would be strictly for consumption by slotheads. Captian Fred summarized it nicely.

I long advocated for JL to put together a "sidekick set" that consisted of 2 or 4 similarly themed cars plus some added little things like racing pylons, maybe a garage and grandstand, plus some spare parts. Perhaps even put in a set of high resistance controllers. This would be packaged with "Slide Action Racing for Use with Your Tomy or Mattel Race Sets" prominantly displayed on the box. Even a 2-car or 4-car themed blister pack of similarly themed cars would be a good first step.

Face it, JL never was a real slot car company. They were a diecast company that sold slot cars under the diecast selling model. Try finding a parts list for either JL chassis and ordering a part off the list. Sure, the pit kits offered replacement parts for the items likely to wear out. But because the JL parts in the pit kit were usually parts that you replaced with better quality aftermarket parts, the pit kits were fairly useless. I never bought a one even though I have a lot of JL cars.

I long advocated for JL to put together a "sidekick set" that consisted of 2 or 4 similarly themed cars plus some added little things like racing pylons, maybe a garage and grandstand, plus some spare parts. Perhaps even put in a set of high resistance controllers. This would be packaged with "Slide Action Racing for Use with Your Tomy or Mattel Race Sets" prominantly displayed on the box. Even a 2-car or 4-car themed blister pack of similarly themed cars would be a good first step.

Don't forget the snap-on turn borders for 9" and maybe 12" curves. Tyco made them for 9", Aurora had them for 6" and 9". THAT'S how you make it a "slide-action" set, eliminate those $@#%#&* guard rails that come with every standard track set...


Face it, JL never was a real slot car company. They were a diecast company that sold slot cars under the diecast selling model.

Think we should be more optimistic about Round 2?

I am, but then I always was a "half full" kinda guy... :D

BTW, once upon a time, Atlas made a track-only set designed to enhance their standard sets. It was called the "N-Larger Set". According to the brochure/layout manual I have here, it included:

10-9" straights
2-9" chicanes
1-9" terminal
4-6" straights
1 pair 9" change-a-lanes
6-9" radius turns
1-3" road-and-road crossing (this was COOL... intersection collisions!)
1 set roadway piers (risers, I guess, or whatever you'd call them)
1 set guard rails

Not quite the same as what you said, Scott, but another interesting idea if anyone is listening...

--rick

i just dont think a track set would be so easy to do but doing other things like the slide outs for all the radius curves that would fit on any set would be nice and maybe some high resistance controlers that are cheap but if ya could have a track system i say have a layout that you buy one set for the inner lane and it be the two lane system and then you buy the outer lane set so when u get both sets you have a four lane setup and you can do it as you get the cash and with the one layout you can have like a online raceing series like they tryed once before

I love AFX's idea of the mini-sets. I really didn't need all those extra cars in the back to the future release. 2 cars, with maybe a clock tower model would have been awesome.

Cars and Little People with a diarama fro slots Fantastic Idea. If the figures are cool a lot of people would buy these for the people. Now there is a neat way to do repaints that I would buy.

Roger Corrie
Virginia Beach, VA