How to make your Hot Wheels track junctions BETTER! Practically seamless...

A "How To" on my method for improving Hot Wheels track from the bumpy blue lock tab variety to making it practically seamless.
⇊ Click below for more links! ⇊
This method will work for 2ft OR 1ft sections of track. Narrow track width cars and Johnny Lightning cars with speed ring tires HATE the blue lock tab "speed bumps" on todays Hot Wheels orange track. This method gets rid of those pesky locking tabs and gives your cars the surface they deserve!
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[@Chris_Hood]

So essentially, we're reworking the new style of track sections & couplers to closely resemble the units we bought and played with back in the 70s and 80s, got it. I kid, Brandon--the whole process had me transfixed with total attention. Fascinating and exacting, great work!

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

That is unfortunately exactly what we are doing here!

[@nightshade4502]

I have some older track that doesn't have that circular cut like the new ones do and look more like you're modified versions. You'd probably know about those; you're older than me. Because I have both older tracks and newer ones with the cut, the connectors obviously don't conventionally work. I found that when connecting those older tracks, you don't have to cut off the middle "button" piece on those blue conectors. You just have to turn it upside down where (the button faces down) and slide it into the track. It works pretty good, stays in well, and the "button" piece won't get in your way. Hope this helps anyone. I've been wanting to make a short about this as a simple solution.

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Good idea flipping the blue tabs! I hadn’t thought of that. Thankyou!

[@joeking7784]

I'd probably use a 2x4 or something similar to hold those pieces while cutting. Also I use large popsicle sticks instead of those plastic connectors, they are cheap at Walmart and hold much better.

[@zaydtruck3496]

I honestly prefer the one with the connecter,Its more colorful and more iconic

[@The2xWhiskey]

I'm currently building my own drag strip and in stock condition those Dollar Tree tracks were more kinky than a public hair! This trimming method really is a great upgrade. I noticed the track coming out of the manufacturing die might have a bit of a skewed bias, if your track walls are a little out of line, try rotating one piece 180 degrees to align that bias.

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

You really have to cherry pick the Dollar Tree stock. Some of the pieces are side bowed pretty bad..

[@diecastmonster]

I want to build a race track, this is a great idea to keep the track straight, thanks for sharing

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Thankyou for watching and happy building!

[@cutrockr-diecastracing2773]

Very well detailed vid on how to correct the horrible blue connection issues! Cheers, well done!

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Thanks Marc!

[@scoupedively5798]

Methodical, yet easy to digest. Video should be stickied as a top trick for beginner builders on RLD. Well done as always. 👍👍

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Thanks Scoupe, much appreciated!

[@xtremediecastracing8468]

That was perfect! It has always bothered me that different sections of track are different lengths when they come out of the factory. This is a brilliant way to fix that problem and create seemless tracks. I'm going to have to upgrade my long end now. I recently expanded out to 41' so this will be my next step on creating a better track. Thanks again!

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

That’s awesome, 41 feet!?! That will be cool to see. Glad to be of help!

[@yournightmareracing1754]

I wish there was a better word than impressive to describe your meticulous process.

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Thank you, sir! I felt that calling myself picky was better than saying I was anal. Didn’t want to give anybody the wrong idea. 😂

[@yournightmareracing1754]

@@ScaleRacingChannel Hahaha!!

[@chriscaldwell4482]

A hairdryer will fix most problems with uneven tracks or bends. Also heat up the track with hairdryer and you can cut it nicely with a exacto knife. Don’t forget to draw a line and cut with backside facing you.

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

I have an old Craftsman Handi-Cut that works really well on Hot Wheels track when it has a new blade. Thanks for your input!

[@JoeOvercoat]

Thank you for the demonstration. 😀 Exactly what I was looking for. And well done!

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Thank you for watching!

[@DieCastDadLife]

Very helpful thanks!

[@NorthernRoadsRacing]

Great idea 👍 I was lucky to find toy store here in Finland that still sells those vintage long pieces (they apparently have massive stock of those), so no need for trimming.

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

You are lucky to have a place that has them for sale! The only place I could find them was on eBay for a premium.

[@NorthernRoadsRacing]

@@ScaleRacingChannel when I visited that place there was 3 boxes of those pieces on display, I asked owner if these are it? Man, you should have seen that eye roll when she replied "not by a mile" lol. And they sell those half euro/piece.

[@scarroll9011]

@@NorthernRoadsRacing u should resell them! I’d buy them for sure

[@NorthernRoadsRacing]

@@scarroll9011 shipping from Finland to outside EU is super expensive, so I'm thinking it's just not worth it.

[@scarroll9011]

@@NorthernRoadsRacing damn, yeah Amazon hasn’t reached that level yet where it can provide 2 day free shipping any where in the world…. Yet

[@MonsterMotorsportsDiecast]

Great video! Really love all your tips and tricks. Keep it up!

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Thanks for watching!

[@MonsterMotorsportsDiecast]

@@ScaleRacingChannel you bet! Love watching your stuff!

[@limitlessdiecastracing8380]

Nice idea brother, love it... to bad i dont have a Saw Table 😅

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Yeah, that’s kind of the key. The right tools make the difference. I would imagine a chop saw with a fine tooth blade might work as well.

[@limitlessdiecastracing8380]

@@ScaleRacingChannel im gonna try that , thanks for the tip 👍🏻

[@bobp5356]

Great video. I must have 80 pieces of track, so I don’t need to create any new pieces. But if I ever do I will use your method. Thanks. PS: I love that table saw.

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Thanks for watching, Bob! The table saw has been a great little investment. It gets more use than any other power tool I own.

[@TampasHotwheels]

Great informative video my friend, thanks for sharing, Stay safe and well out there & Happy Hunting 🙏❤👊😁

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Thanks for watching!

[@ARDIECAST]

great idea dear friend............... a lot of learning for me.............

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

It works very well! I highly advise finding any way to get rid of the blue couplers.

[@gnrvintagediecastracing7978]

Yes good advice and simple solution. I have about every track piece and style out there and there is a lot of vintage orAnge that has bowed in the bad way u describe. It will find any low sitting car and drag it to a stop. And I have yet to find a way to get them flat. I also have the long 50 foot 1 pieces but they take a lot of time to get flattened so your way just happens to be the best solution for a smooth track and now I know why I said in and earlier video, man your track is smooth ;)

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

I was searching for the 50’ rolls but never found any good deals on them. Then I hear that they have a bit of memory from being rolled up. So, I was glad when DT started carrying the 2ft sections. Just HAD to get rid of the blue buttons tho…

[@paulonopa]

Nice. Thanks for sharing. Your channel rocks.

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Thank you, brother!

[@hippywildchildracing]

Great video I will def do this 2 my track very informative video ty Sir 4 this video

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Let me know how it turns out. Thank you for watching!

[@hippywildchildracing]

@@ScaleRacingChannel your welcome:) As always. I will let you know 4sure...

[@jimcox3380]

in otherwords, reverse engineer it BACK to how Hot Wheel track was originally in 1968, lol. Why they went to the stuff you are fixing I'll never know. But, great job in getting it to the way it works best. Will def use this method if I ever have to get newer track.

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

That’s pretty much what we are doing! I imagine they went to the locking tabs so that the tracks can hang without separating. Be my only guess. Thanks for watching, Jim!

[@Keithphotorama]

Excellent video, thank you 👍🏁

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Thanks Keith!

[@guinness738]

This is amazing! Thank you!

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Glad it was helpful!

[@blueribbondiecast2690]

What a great idea. Thank you

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Thanks for watching!

[@timohara7717]

Much better than buying from ebay

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Absolutely! Hopefully this helped you out!

[@YuriTereshyn]

How can I make a straight into a curve

[@YuriTereshyn]

Ok but really how lol

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Well, how much of a curve are you looking to make? If you want 45/90/180 degree curves, your best bet is to get ahold of Slanman Customs on FB. He manufactures curved track sections that work well.

[@CDJPRODJ]

I am looking to build a 100' straight drag track with no L - drop. Similar to hot wheels 40' custom drag track. Do you think BluTrack is a good option?

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

I don’t have any personal experience with the Blue track, but I believe it is very wide. So it might not play nice with narrower castings.

[@larryhenry719]

Awesome I may do this to my tracks

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Cool, let me know how it turns out!

[@larryhenry719]

I have the black track with orange line I thought about just painting the blue tabs black

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

I had some of the black track too before I found the longer pieces.

[@redlinesalvageinc.1178]

Great idea!!

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Thank you!

[@joemarquez1201]

That is awesome thank you so much

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

I appreciate you watching!

[@ThePurpleHarpoon]

Do you ever get separation where the tracks segments are joined?

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

When the garage cools off considerably, I do get some small gaps. Just gotta go to the end and push them all together.

[@ThePurpleHarpoon]

If you were to use the connectors without modifying them, you can just press the centre button down and force the connector into position in the slot. This will provide lots more friction, and hold the sections together longer.

[@bloodhound122]

Great tip vid

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Thank you!

[@imaginasean]

This may be the most ridiculous ad for a saw I have ever seen.

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

I’d be totally down with a sponsorship from Bosch…

[@The2xWhiskey]

Could have been for a more expensive one, like a Sawstop!

[@DiecastShowCustoms]

Awesome

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Thanks for watching!

[@The_VMAN]

Cool! 👍👍

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Thanks for watching!

[@germanruizl]

I'm surprised you had to calibrate the saw for... the longest side? The two tips are the same, all you had to do was flip the tracks and cut with the same distance... It seems like a waste of time...

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

I guess it is just in my nature. All of these track pieces are not identical in length from the factory, so that step was just to ensure all were even in length at the end. Necessary? No. But if you cut a few extras to replace some that wear out or replace a piece that has a curve in it that the eye missed, it’s nice to have them all the exact same length as to not have to elongate the timer sensor holes every time this happens. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@germanruizl]

@@ScaleRacingChannel I understood perfectly, thanks for the explanation, I am a track enthusiast and your videos and comments will surely be very useful. Thank you!

[@MUSTANGHUNTER]

I need to pay you to do some for me 😅

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Send em to me, I’ll get you set up…

[@desirablematchbox]

I do not recommend doing this. Just spray paint those blue lock tabs the same color as the track. Make sure to use spray paint that bonds to plastic. Allow to dry until you can no longer smell the paint on the plastic (5 to 8 days). Ignore the drying times stated on the can, they are wrong.

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

This method I demonstrate requires some additional equipment, but I have a friend that accomplished the task of cutting off the holes in the track with a simple miter box and a hack saw with a fine tooth blade. The results were pretty good.

[@cristianocaetano83]

Yeah "how to make your tracks better "... buy an expensive precision table saw and cut it like butter.. I think you could advise : if don't have the saw go to you next wood shop and handle to a professional.. but although it's an excellent video that just pop the light in your head like " whaaat.. is it that easy?? how could I never thought of that".. Nice work 👏

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Well, I already had the saw, so…. Miter saws work well too, but you really need to have a high tooth count, sharp blade for best results. Thanks for watching!

[@wendyrosas9616]

they have at hotwheels the exact same tracks, so why do all that work just to make it smoother? i would rather get the exact smae tack at a store than doing all that work. If you dont want to buy it then i guess you could do the hard work!😶‍🌫😉

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

When you run narrow castings like the older Johnny Lightning and Hot Wheels, the blue lock tabs act like speed bumps going down the track. If you are a casual diecast track fan, then the lock tabs are fine. When you have a digital timer that goes to the thousandths of a second, the smoother the track, the more consistent it will be. Thanks for watching!

[@ariiesgerdmawand7394]

👍👍👍👍👌👌👌👌

[@Gearhead-en8dz]

Go buy you some old tracks with the grey connectors.

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

I feel this is the next best thing!

[@kaybhee6]

1970s method

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Exactly!

[@hanzevil]

and here poor me just use scissors 😅

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Use whatever works best for you.

[@codyjason]

Wait! Do 10000 adult men collect hot wheels!!??

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Ha, yep! Maybe add a zero or two to that number…..

[@lobotomyscam1051]

Do people really name their kids Cody or Gavin? That's setting them up to be failures.

[@CallFor911]

Really? 11min for some cuts and a slide in? Shame on you for straching this to nonsense

[@ScaleRacingChannel]

Yeah, well… I’d rather the viewers be fully informed on what to look for and how to do it than leave a bunch of questions unanswered. Fast forward if you like. Thanks for watching!

[@The2xWhiskey]

I understand where you’re coming from, but you can’t blame the creator. These videos are made to satisfy KZbin’s requirements that appease their alogarithm god.

[@leeshepherd5669]

I just use the original raspberry colored joiners and older Hot wheel tracks..Problem solved