Joined
·
3,065 Posts
Well, we're under an ice warning today. My runs at work were cancelled, so I'm just hanging around the house today. I came back Friday from my last road trip to find a Hot Wheels Battle slam set sitting by my computer. My wife picked it up from a garage sale for $5. I poured it out to inventory the contents last night. She had already pulled the cars out & set them on my desk. They appear to be your run of the mill, narrow chassis 440x2s, with battlebot-looking bodies.
I was pleasantly surprised to find some different pieces, the likes of which I've never seen before (not that I've really been looking). It appears that Mattel has made a few little improvements on the track. One thing I noticed is that the tab-lock system is a little different than the older Tyco pieces. It is a little thicker and they have eliminated the weak little strip that can break off and create a hole in the middle of the track if you're not careful when disconnecting the pieces from each other. The joints are more solid and the rail ends are bent at a 90 degree angle, which seems to make for a little smoother track union. On some pieces, the slot is deeper. The plastic that houses the slot on some pieces is square & a little thicker than the comparable Tyco track, which is rounded & thinner looking. Track rigidness has never been a concern for me in past layouts. The slot depth has been a problem with some cars though. Another interesting thing is that there are some single lane track pieces, as opposed to the normal 2 lane variety that is common with most tracks. I don't know if these will prove practical for new layout variations, but they definitely open up a few more options. There isn't enough of the single lane curved sections to really do much with at this time, but it has rekindled my interest just a little bit. I would like to acquire some more of the single lane curves for experimentation. Some kind of a shoulder might be needed to keep the cars from falling overboard in the turns. There's an adapter piece that connects it to the 2 lane pices.
The 2 lane curves have a double rail like the old Cliff Hangers sets. This might be OK for some of you, but maybe not if you don't like the cars with traction magnets. I don't have much use for the 4 way intersections or the Battle Cage/single lane loops. One thing that I don't like is the addition of raised letters moulded onto the surface of the track near the outer edges of each piece. I suppose that if this was an issue, it could be smoothed out with a dremmel and a grindstone or sanding drum.
I've been kinda sitting out of the slotcar hobby for a while now. I have been lurking and trying to keep my finger on the pulse of things though. I thought about selling out and persuing other interests a while back. I did let most of my diecast go. I've been kept busy with my new job over the last year. I just can't bring myself to getting rid of a significant portion of my slotcars. There are a few of the new AW cars, as well as a few of the last of the JL line that I would like to have. I've considered selling some of my shelf queens and replacing them with some Bowties & AWs, but I guess I'm getting off topic here. I just thought I would check in and share a few observations for those of you like myself who run on Tyco track.
I was pleasantly surprised to find some different pieces, the likes of which I've never seen before (not that I've really been looking). It appears that Mattel has made a few little improvements on the track. One thing I noticed is that the tab-lock system is a little different than the older Tyco pieces. It is a little thicker and they have eliminated the weak little strip that can break off and create a hole in the middle of the track if you're not careful when disconnecting the pieces from each other. The joints are more solid and the rail ends are bent at a 90 degree angle, which seems to make for a little smoother track union. On some pieces, the slot is deeper. The plastic that houses the slot on some pieces is square & a little thicker than the comparable Tyco track, which is rounded & thinner looking. Track rigidness has never been a concern for me in past layouts. The slot depth has been a problem with some cars though. Another interesting thing is that there are some single lane track pieces, as opposed to the normal 2 lane variety that is common with most tracks. I don't know if these will prove practical for new layout variations, but they definitely open up a few more options. There isn't enough of the single lane curved sections to really do much with at this time, but it has rekindled my interest just a little bit. I would like to acquire some more of the single lane curves for experimentation. Some kind of a shoulder might be needed to keep the cars from falling overboard in the turns. There's an adapter piece that connects it to the 2 lane pices.
The 2 lane curves have a double rail like the old Cliff Hangers sets. This might be OK for some of you, but maybe not if you don't like the cars with traction magnets. I don't have much use for the 4 way intersections or the Battle Cage/single lane loops. One thing that I don't like is the addition of raised letters moulded onto the surface of the track near the outer edges of each piece. I suppose that if this was an issue, it could be smoothed out with a dremmel and a grindstone or sanding drum.
I've been kinda sitting out of the slotcar hobby for a while now. I have been lurking and trying to keep my finger on the pulse of things though. I thought about selling out and persuing other interests a while back. I did let most of my diecast go. I've been kept busy with my new job over the last year. I just can't bring myself to getting rid of a significant portion of my slotcars. There are a few of the new AW cars, as well as a few of the last of the JL line that I would like to have. I've considered selling some of my shelf queens and replacing them with some Bowties & AWs, but I guess I'm getting off topic here. I just thought I would check in and share a few observations for those of you like myself who run on Tyco track.
