So my son and I have started taking our Carrera track and a few cars to the local Sunday night youth group meeting at our church.
So far so good. Most of the kids there (junior high through high school) have never seen slot cars before. We have no lap timing set up, no lap counting and are running 5 lap crash & burns as a format. First racer to 5 laps wins and stays on the track, and if you wreck you are done, next racer please.
So far the best pair of cars to run (that I have...) is a pair of Fly GT40s.
They stick to the track pretty well for newbies and they have good speed.
There are a few things I need to change or upgrade.
1)Power supply. I am thinking of a 10 or 12 volt supply to slow the cars down a bit. (Both GT40s are missing bits and peices now... :lol:)
2)Track borders, guardrails are nice but I like sliding action!

The kids seem to be having fun, my son and I are having fun so this is a good thing so far.

Scott

That is awesome! My wife and I are Youth Directors at our Church and we have talked about this before with the Youth. They seemed kind of interested and did the usual shrug of the shoulders followed by, "I don't know?" I have wanted to do something like that with the kids for a while, even back when I was into R/C. But this bunch just does not seem too interested. Maybe as we get more guys (since our group has about a 1:5 ratio of guys to girls) this will change.....I'm kind of hoping and praying so. HA!

Glad to hear it is working out for your Youth group! That is totally awesome!

PD2:thumbsup:

Girls race too. My neighbor's daughter and a couple of her friends always head to the track to race whenever we have some function (cook out, get together, so on). In fact they did some team racing where they raced against their brothers or other male family members. They get just as competetive once they start sliding those cars around the track. :) rr

Girls race too. My neighbor's daughter and a couple of her friends always head to the track to race whenever we have some function (cook out, get together, so on). In fact they did some team racing where they raced against their brothers or other male family members. They get just as competetive once they start sliding those cars around the track. :) rr

Oh sure and my daughter loves to race the slot cars we have too! In fact, she likes going to the slot car track with me to race against the others there. But she grew up around a mom and dad that love cars and speed and what not, so she has a slight biasis. HA! She really love F1/Indy/CART racing. She likes some of the LeMans P1/P2 and GT1/GT2 stuff, but her favorite is F1/Indy/CART cars.

PD2:thumbsup:

Scott,
You got a track! Great!
If you want we can use my track in conjunction to yours.
Have you thought of a battery to power your track. The power is consistant and lower than the Carrera wall wart.
Maybe we can get together and come up with some walls for you.
Frank : I'm so alone in Annapolis :dude:

Good to know there are Brothers In Christ on this BB.

I've thought of starting a church racing series between neighboring churches.

Yours in Christ, Gonzo

Scott,
You got a track! Great!
If you want we can use my track in conjunction to yours.
Have you thought of a battery to power your track. The power is consistant and lower than the Carrera wall wart.
Maybe we can get together and come up with some walls for you.
Frank : I'm so alone in Annapolis :dude:

I don't have a "track" per say...
I have a box of Carrera track that I haul over to the church on Sunday nights and set up on the church's folding tables. No organized racing at all so far.
Of the two hours that I am there the kids get about 1/2 of it for track time...
*sigh*
But it is a start I guess...

Scott

I am a houseparent for an Christian organization that operates group homes for children. We raise them in a family Christian environment.

Currently, I am very into RC car racing, and have always had a fondness in my heart for slot cars. My dad bought us a few sets growing up.

We had tried going the ultra cheap method of buying no-name brand slot car sets and trying to modify the controllers. I found they were always very inconsistent and the cars would fly if anywhere beyond mid-throttle. This made racing with little kids impossible.

Yesterday, on a whim while at the RC/Slot race track I picked up a Scalextric Mini Cooper. WOW!!! What a difference. The cars are still way to fast for the little kids, but they are learning VERY quickly. The controllers are much more consistent and work well with their little hands. When I say little kids I mean from 3-7 years old. Currently that is what we have in the house.

What I need, is a source of basic, inexpensive cars that I can buy and present one to each child. That way they have "ownership". Many times with ministry, kids can be harsh on things if they are not "theirs". Does any one know of a good source for inexpensive 1/32 slot cars? Even slow shipping is not an issue and this can give the kids something to look forward to and learn patience.

And if anyone has any donations.. The gift will be tax deductible and we will send you a receipt for your gift.

Thank You!

PS: I might start a thread with this exact same post.

I am a houseparent for an Christian organization that operates group homes for children. We raise them in a family Christian environment.

Currently, I am very into RC car racing, and have always had a fondness in my heart for slot cars. My dad bought us a few sets growing up.

We had tried going the ultra cheap method of buying no-name brand slot car sets and trying to modify the controllers. I found they were always very inconsistent and the cars would fly if anywhere beyond mid-throttle. This made racing with little kids impossible.

Yesterday, on a whim while at the RC/Slot race track I picked up a Scalextric Mini Cooper. WOW!!! What a difference. The cars are still way to fast for the little kids, but they are learning VERY quickly. The controllers are much more consistent and work well with their little hands. When I say little kids I mean from 3-7 years old. Currently that is what we have in the house.

What I need, is a source of basic, inexpensive cars that I can buy and present one to each child. That way they have "ownership". Many times with ministry, kids can be harsh on things if they are not "theirs". Does any one know of a good source for inexpensive 1/32 slot cars? Even slow shipping is not an issue and this can give the kids something to look forward to and learn patience.

And if anyone has any donations.. The gift will be tax deductible and we will send you a receipt for your gift.

Thank You!

PS: I might start a thread with this exact same post.

Railroader,

As far as an inexpensive, yet durable 1/32 slot car, to me there is one brand that comes to mind - Artin. Artin makes decent to good, durable 1/32 slot cars that would be perfect for this age range! This will give you an idea of tracks and cars and the prices:

http://www.slotcarworld.com/Artin.htm

If you want to stick with the Scalextric line, keep looking at and purchasing what we commonly call the "kids" line or "basher" line of the Scalextrics. These are all of the Scalextric cars that are made from the Hot Wheels partnership. The cars typically have blacked out windows with no driver or interior detail. They are supposedly made a bit more durable for kids that may be a bit rough on them. Here are some examples:

http://www.scalextric-usa.com/index.php?CURRENT_PAGE_ID=135&PARENT_ELEMENT_ID=1457

http://www.scalextric-usa.com/index.php?CURRENT_PAGE_ID=135&PARENT_ELEMENT_ID=910

http://www.scalextric-usa.com/index.php?CURRENT_PAGE_ID=135&PARENT_ELEMENT_ID=1438

http://www.scalextric-usa.com/index.php?CURRENT_PAGE_ID=135&PARENT_ELEMENT_ID=1546

http://www.scalextric-usa.com/index.php?CURRENT_PAGE_ID=135&PARENT_ELEMENT_ID=888

Hopefully that gives you some ideas. I'd say between those two types of cars you will have what you are looking for.

Good luck and God bless!
PD2:thumbsup:

You might look at SCX 1/43rd scale sets.

Very resonably priced and good runners too.

Gonzo

railroader some good suggestions there!i have found a few 1/43 tracks for only a few dollars at salvation army,and value village.i picked up a carrara go set for ten bucks like new in box!that's a100 dollar value up here!garage sales,craigslist,etc..are also good places to check.why not post on craigslist looking for charitable folks wanting to get rid of unused slotgoodies?