Hi all. Not sure if this is the right forum to start in, but I didn't see any of the others were a better fit.

I'm looking to get a starter set for the kids birthdays but have no clue where to start in terms of scale, brands, digital/analog, future expandability, etc...

I was looking at the Life Like Nascar 4-lane set as it seems to give a lot of bang for the buck, but I have no idea what scale this is or if it can be added to or upgraded down the road. I also see alot of Tyco stuff on ebay for relatively cheap, but most of it is bulk track without transformers, controllers, cars, etc...

Also looked at some of the 1/32 SCX stuff, but may be a bit more than we want to spend to start.

My oldest is going to be 6 and he already races Legends R/C with me. He asked for an oval to race at the house which obviously I can't provide...(wife wouldn't take well to a 300' run line oval in the back yard :freak: ), but this may be the next best thing. I'm figuring to set something up on about a 4x8 sheet of ply and have it hoist to the garage ceiling when not in use.

I'm open to used as well, but for the first layout, I'm looking to stay under $150ish range.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated and thank you!

Well, If that's your budget, try to find a TOMY Super International set. It will give you four lanes and all the other stuff to set a nice HO layout up. It's suggested layout won't fit on a 4 X8 sheet but you'll have enough track to design your own 4 laner that will. IMO, this will give you the best bang for your buck. If you don't like it after awhile, this will be easier to get rid of instead of the LL or TYCO.

Welcome and have a ball! :wave: rr

Here's a site to show you some pix. There are other retailers online that sell this set, may even be cheaper. Get ahold of Google and search all over the web.

:)
http://www.ncphobbies.com/tomy9939.html

Well, the 4x8 was just a simplicity thing, but I can make it about any size since I have a garage that never sees 1:1 cars ;)

I am a bit concerned that HO scale may be a bit small...I'll have to actually go look at the scales in person during racing tomorrow night.

If the size pans out, that looks like a great deal for the price.

Hi,
Opinions on this will vary, but from everything I have heard, the Tomy International set seems to be very popular as a high-end introduction to HO slots. You may find however that the cars are too fast for your liking, especially if you have a 6 year old. Many adult racers find some of the fastest cars not to be to their liking and prefer cars which are designed with a lower top end. Some prefer magnet cars like those in the Tomy set (the magnets create downforce on the steel rails), while others prefer non-magnet cars.
I would suggest you check out Greg Braun's site before you buy anything. Greg put together a beautiful site filled with lots of information. The website is http://www.hoslotcarracing.com/.
I started a thread on another board (HO only) in which I asked "What would you do if you were creating a starter set?" In my opinion, the best car to use as an introduction to HO slots would be the Tyco HP-7. This chassis is very simple, has only a few parts and runs well right out of the box. It has magnetic downforce, but not as much as most magnet cars. It can easily be worked on. The HP-7 is still available but hasn't been made for at least 10 years.
After that, you can try all the other types of cars.
The layout needs to be large enough so that you don't get bored. A 4x8 sheet is a good starter size.
Of all the track types, most people would choose Tomy AFX track. Right behind that in terms of popularity would be Tyco/Mattel. Personally, I choose Tyco and the newer Mattel track. It can usually be found for less than Tomy and be bought in bulk lots. The third style of track is Lifelike. Although I am not a fan of the Lifelike track design, it's biggest shortcoming is the lack of track variety. All three track types will run almost all HO cars.
If you want to start cheaply, Toys-R-Us online has a Lifelike 4 lane set for only $25 (about $40 after shipping). It's an amazing buy and even if you decide to change track types later, you still have 4 cars.
Contact me directly if you are interested in starting with Tyco/Mattel. I have thousands of pieces of new Tyco/Mattel track for sale and can get you started with everything you need. I can't beat $25 for a 4 laner, but you can do a lot more with Tyco/Mattel than you can with Lifelike.

Thanks...Joe

Hey there, welcome to the hobby....

First off, buy nothing from ncphobbies, customer service is terrible and they are expensive. The Tomy set can be found on ebay for much cheaper usually, case in point:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-AFX-Super-International-4-Lane-F1-HO-Slot-Car-Set_W0QQitemZ320137631141QQihZ011QQcategoryZ2619QQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

As for a 4 x 8 being too small, my first layout was on a 3 x 8 and I had a blast, check GrandCHeapskates link above, Greg Brauns site has a bunch of layouts that will fit perfectly on a 4 x 8.

He is also right about the cars being fast, but if your boy is racing R/C with you he probably has some decent reflexes, but cars are cheap and it's certainly fun to run some different styles and see what everyone likes best.

HO is a great scale as you can pack in more track in less space, before you know it, you'll be wanting to add a nice power supply and some better controllers, then you'll be hooked. :)

Wow, great information all around. You have given me quite a bit to research on.

Is there a way to slow down an HO car? i.e. in R/C to get him comfortable, I set the end points on his radio to about 60% until he was comfortable and then gradually increased until he was up to full speed after a few weeks. Something like this would be great and would keep him from getting frustrated out of the box.

After talking with the other half a bit, we may actually push this to Christmas to give me time to build a nicer table and storage system in the garage, so it looks like I'll have plenty of time to figure this all out and start off right.

Tyco made a terminal piece called a "Turbo Boost". It had 2 yellow levers on it that you could adjust to lower the power to one or both lanes. It comes in handy for beginners, especially when you're running magnet cars. I don't know how easy they are to find though.

If you think it's something you're going to get into, you can get yourself a variable power supply, for under $100. I do this with my 3 year old, he gets a super G+ car, but instead on running at the standard 18 volts, I will dial it down to 12 volts or so. He has fun, the car stays on and it does no damage to the car or track.

The only thing you would need to do is solder wires to each lane, or even buy a pre-done 15" track piece from Greg Brauns site if you're lazy like me and then hook it to your variable power supply and your set.


Wow, great information all around. You have given me quite a bit to research on.

Is there a way to slow down an HO car? i.e. in R/C to get him comfortable, I set the end points on his radio to about 60% until he was comfortable and then gradually increased until he was up to full speed after a few weeks. Something like this would be great and would keep him from getting frustrated out of the box.

After talking with the other half a bit, we may actually push this to Christmas to give me time to build a nicer table and storage system in the garage, so it looks like I'll have plenty of time to figure this all out and start off right.

If you're already into R/C, you may already have a power supply that you could use. I use a 12 volt supply that I also use to power my battery charger. Mine actually measures around 13 volts, but the wall packs that come with most sets are usually 17 to 20 volts. They can vary quite a bit. I also "detuned" a stock controller for my grandson by wrapping electrical tape around the handle so that it wouldn't go to full throttle. Just enough so that he still had to use the throttle, not just keep the trigger pulled and never crash.

Mattel has controllers that have a 3 level power switch on them. They came with the Batman Returns sets, and a few others. I'm sure they could be found cheaply on ebay. I keep one around for when an inexperienced driver wants to run cars. I set the switch for meduim and away we go!

Mattel and Tyco are the one in the same now... so they'll work with a Tyco set up. Even if you do decided to get a Tomy set, you can just swap out the plugs from it and add them to your Mattel controller.

I'll have to take a look around for those controllers. Sounds almost exactly like where I should start him without having to slow down the entire track like the variable power supply would end up doing.

Good idea on the trigger limiting as well. I could tape a piece of battery positioning foam from one of my cars and tape it in place. As he gets better I can put a smaller piece in. I do want him to get familiar with having to let off in turns and not dumb it down so far that you can full throttle the whole layout.

Looking pretty heavily at that Tomy 4-lane international setup. Seems to be about the best bang for the buck so far.

Mattel has controllers that have a 3 level power switch on them. They came with the Batman Returns sets, and a few others. I'm sure they could be found cheaply on ebay. I keep one around for when an inexperienced driver wants to run cars. I set the switch for meduim and away we go!

If you ever want Tyco/Mattel controllers, let me know. I can sell you 4 for $6 plus shipping - I have a ton of new ones. Either with or without the 3 level switch.

Thanks...Joe