Hi Guys, I usually check in here every day but don't post very often. A couple of years ago I made a 36 x 80 door track (figure 8 4 lane Tyco track) with my two sons. Since then we've moved into a larger house ( mother daughter) with a basement. (Didn't have that before) Well, as you can imagine, what the first thing we said when we moved in!!! So, little by little we've been making a 4x12 layout (4 lane) nothing fancy, some turns and it splits into a chicane made of 90 degree turns ( I have so many of them anyway). My dad had a huge amount of old O scale plasticville buildings that he gave my kids, (They are now 10 and 12) I covered the table with dark green indoor outdoor carpet. So, I am in the process of screwing down the 12' straightaway, it is made up of all older TYCOPRO 9"track and 4 conversion tracks I got new in the card from Ebay. Some of the tabs were broken on the older tycopro tracks but we didn't care, just a little extra tweeking to get them right. The track has no borders yet, it's not even screwed down yet, we were just "testing" the track to make sure all 4 lanes have power.

So much for the testing part, my two sons were on the outside two lanes for the better part of 3 hours, laughing, having a blast. Now, here I am fretting over the tracks lining up etc, ( the autoworld t-jet cars are very picky, the magnet cars don't care). And I realized that the track doesnt' have to be perfect or anything like that, my kids are just having a blast with what we have.

Now we started out with some a/w johnny lightning t-jets for the sliding action ( no guardrails just cork borders) but with the larger track we might start switching over to magnet cars, it just seems to work better with the tyco track. We'll get the track tuned, and finished as time permits.

The best part of this is they have a brand new Wii. And it's right there in the basement with them, and there it sat, turned off, my kids just having a blast with the track. It brought back memories of my brother and I , the only time we ever really got along was when he'd set up his track and we'd race. If I ever figure out how to post pics I will, eventually we will have some scenery etc. They are going to have some friends over in the up comming couple of weeks and my wife wants me to get the track done enough before they all get here so it will be something else for the kids to do!!! (Now, how many of you have a wife like that!!!)

Well, enough of the long post, just wondering if I do switch over to magnet cars, we have a couple of old Tyco 440's they like, but what do you guys recommend that's a good magnet car. I am wondering if the Newer Autoworld magnet cars are any good. I kind of need something decent out of the box as much as possible. Thanks,

Dave:wave:

ther's lots of good choices for magnet cars.i have a couple tomy srt cars,and they just rip on layout i put them on.the bodies are very durable,so they are great for kids.i have had some very young kids play with my srt's,turning my track into a missile launcher,and even the four year old didn't break them,so that's what i would suggest.tomy,tyco,aw,lifelike,all make good affordable cars that are pretty much bomb proof...have fun,i enjoyed your post!

For around $15, X-Traction UltraG cars run well out of the package and take a beating.

For just a little more, the new LifeLike cars are reliable and appealing to those familiar with NASCAR.

Tomy made some generic stock cars for their Super G+ chassis that run well. You can find those for under $20 in deals from budshocars.com and others.

You can probably find Tyco 440X2 or HP7 cars on auctions at reasonable prices too. HP7 cars aren't as fast but they handle well and are easy to maintain.

If you can find Marchon cars, I'm sure your kids and/or their friends will like those. They have extremely strong traction magnets and require very little driving skill. slotcarworld.com has good prices on Marchon chassis ($4.50) and has a couple of cars for sale.

In general, magnet cars wreck just as often as non-magnet cars... they just wreck harder. Be careful with that scenery.

Thanks for the replies, I had a HP-7 Z-28 when I was a kid, it was my favorite, my brother alway had G-Plus cars. I am going to look around. For now, they said they like the T-Jets, but their friends might do better with magnet cars. They just spent a couple of hours with me helping me to screw the tracks down, next is the borders and guardrails. Thanks again, Dave:wave:

I have to second TK on the AutoWorld "X-Traction Ultra G. I got my first one a couple of weeks ago, and I got to say, this is the best chassis to come along since the Tyco 440x2. On 18 volts, I think a LifeLike T chassis or even a AFX SuperG+ would be a bit much for a 12ft layout. If you and your kids like the sliding action of the older cars, but want just a bit more traction, I would recommend these chassis....
1. Tyco 440x2, super durable, very little maintenance, comes in wide or narrow and you can use any Tyco body. These are still being produced by Mattel at $2.98 a chassis.
2. AutoWorld Xtraction UltraG This is like an old Magnatraction, but with an extra traction magnet. Great out of the package, has a more realistic torque band. You can use any old AFX Magnatraction and Tomy bodies.
3. LifeLike M chassis. It's the older chassis, still available. Sand the tires for better traction. Great drivability.

There are other great chassis depending on what your looking for, but for right out of the package, low maintenance, average skill fun, it's hard to beat these chassis.

In general, magnet cars wreck just as often as non-magnet cars... they just wreck harder. Be careful with that scenery.

Rich

For no-maintenance and ease of use I'd recommend the new NASCAR cars from Walthers -- they have no pick-up shoe springs to get lost in a big wreck and are plenty durable.

For no-maintenance and ease of use I'd recommend the new NASCAR cars from Walthers -- they have no pick-up shoe springs to get lost in a big wreck and are plenty durable.

I agree, they are hard to beat and what I keep around for rookies on my track.

Gary
AKA LeeRoy98
www.marioncountyraceway.com

It was nice reading your story, especialy the part about you brother.

When we were kids I bought him a slot car for Christmas...put it in a box, inside a bigger box and so on, it was great. He had a great big box to open that year.

I lost my brother right after I "temporarly" left this site, i'll NEVER ever forget that Christmas!!!

Enjoy the moment...:thumbsup:

I agree, they are hard to beat and what I keep around for rookies on my track.

Gary
AKA LeeRoy98
www.marioncountyraceway.com (http://www.marioncountyraceway.com)


Definitely a good car for rookies and kids that have one speed. :eek: rr

Great story. I love the part about the Wii sitting there. I have nothing against video games but there is so much more to life and other/better things to do than stare at a TV and get carpal tunnel from a toy.

Great story. I love the part about the Wii sitting there. I have nothing against video games but there is so much more to life and other/better things to do than stare at a TV and get carpal tunnel from a toy.

Well, it at first was getting a little out of hand, now we limit just how much time they spend with it. It seems to make the boys a little moody, for lack of a better word. Today we're working on borders. Just 3M double sided tape and cork. Then I just have to reverse one more power pack and then it's race time:woohoo:

Dave

I can relate to the "moody". I don't know about the newer games, but the PS2 has a warning in the instruction booklet about this exact thing!! People who have even mild cases of epilepsy shouldn't ever play these games. People who don't have any form of epilepsy will still have problems... The brain perceives the game as reality and adrenaline flows, but doesn't get burned off, causing all kinds of behavioral issues (I noticed this not only with the kids, but myself as well). After a 2-3 hour session, I would be agressive as all get out, which is not anywhere near my normal passive behavior. Add in the carpal tunnel troubles, and I decided it was best for me to not play with the PS2 anymore. I haven't touched ours in 2 years, and have no desire to. Of course, parking myself in front of the 'puter all day ain't much better!!:rolleyes:

UtherJoe

Don't get me started, bought another one for the boy this XMAS under protest.