Jim Norton
01-28-2008, 02:30 PM
An old slot car friend and I set up AFX's Long Beach set this past weekend and these are our impressions:
From the buyer's viewpoint:
The box art is great.
This is one tremendous set. Both in concept and product. I will dare say it is the best 2 lane ever offered as it is prototypical in nature.
My only suggestions are for red/white curve aprons, the re-introduction of Russkit controllers and 6" radius 1/4 curves. A set like the Long Beach has way too many 6" radius curves having to be made up of 1/8 pieces.
From a driver's impression:
One thing that added great enjoyment to this set was that we placed the terminal track on the opposite side as shown on the box. This placed the "technical" curves close to the driver and placed the long sweeping straightaway on the back. This long sweeping straight (16 or so feet punctuated by 2 18" radius curves) was unlike anything we had driven on the floor. It was great to enter the sweeping stretch and get through it as fast as possible. Unlike the traditional straight, we could not "floorboard" it. Rather, a technique had to be developed where you "feathered" the throttle. This made numerous combinations of how to speed through the sweeping straight.
We were concerned that the numerous 6" radius curves would present a problem. Not a concern at all as the cars handled them well. With short straightaways between the many 6" radius curves it was very enjoyable to "punch it" between the curves and out brake your opponent. This held true for the 2 Super G-Plus cars included in the set as well as the new GT-40s.
The Long Beach track layout was something to behold just laying on the floor. It was even more enjoyable to drive for experienced racers like us. My 5 year old son was even able to take a few competive laps!
This set is big (your wife will want the living room floor back ASAP!) and it is one really fun set to drive. Four thumbs up!
Jim Norton
Huntsville, Alabama
From the buyer's viewpoint:
The box art is great.
This is one tremendous set. Both in concept and product. I will dare say it is the best 2 lane ever offered as it is prototypical in nature.
My only suggestions are for red/white curve aprons, the re-introduction of Russkit controllers and 6" radius 1/4 curves. A set like the Long Beach has way too many 6" radius curves having to be made up of 1/8 pieces.
From a driver's impression:
One thing that added great enjoyment to this set was that we placed the terminal track on the opposite side as shown on the box. This placed the "technical" curves close to the driver and placed the long sweeping straightaway on the back. This long sweeping straight (16 or so feet punctuated by 2 18" radius curves) was unlike anything we had driven on the floor. It was great to enter the sweeping stretch and get through it as fast as possible. Unlike the traditional straight, we could not "floorboard" it. Rather, a technique had to be developed where you "feathered" the throttle. This made numerous combinations of how to speed through the sweeping straight.
We were concerned that the numerous 6" radius curves would present a problem. Not a concern at all as the cars handled them well. With short straightaways between the many 6" radius curves it was very enjoyable to "punch it" between the curves and out brake your opponent. This held true for the 2 Super G-Plus cars included in the set as well as the new GT-40s.
The Long Beach track layout was something to behold just laying on the floor. It was even more enjoyable to drive for experienced racers like us. My 5 year old son was even able to take a few competive laps!
This set is big (your wife will want the living room floor back ASAP!) and it is one really fun set to drive. Four thumbs up!
Jim Norton
Huntsville, Alabama