Scalextric 1/32 Slot Car Prices go up, Quality goes down. Comparison with other brands

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[@robertfarrar6212]

Many thanks for the heads up! I have an older Scalextric GT Super Cup set w/ the 911s. Nice cars. In 2017 I was able to get the #2814 Mercedes 300 SLR and the #3325 Ford GT40. Beautiful models! The Revell/Monogram models (2008ish?) are nice also. By the way those models with the adjustable chassis reminds me of the old days racing 1/12th. scale R/C road racers - one tweak at a time. Subbed! Edit: Now I recall; you have that cool Suzuka layout!

[@keithfilkins2043]

Absolutely, I am a fan of scalextric and have many of there cars,the trans-am cars are among my favorites! They need to step up their game big time to justify the price they are now charging!

[@_Dave_S]

It's good to see a hobbyist finally criticize Scalextric. Since their price increase I have been very selective what I buy from them. The last couple of years have been especially disappointing. 4 of the last 6 Scalextric cars i have purchased have had paint issues, decal issues or both. Not to mention one Scalextric chassis snapping on me because I tried to pop the rear axle out to remove the magnet. I just can't justify spending the money anymore when I can get a Slot It car for the same price, or the other brands you mentioned for a bit more. Thanks for posting!

[@SpareRoomSlotCars]

Ive only been into Slotcars for just over a year now and it took me just one purchase of a Scalextric to realize that it will be my last one. Oh and New sub. I enjoy your content

[@lancelot1953]

Hi HappyOCD, fellow OCD "brother" here. Thank you for giving a honest opinion of Scalextric's quality decrease - "Made in China" it is. I am a fellow Model Railroad modeler from the sixties who started with Triang-Hornby/Meccano before upgrading to more elaborate and detailed models. Quality-wise, I would add to German detailing, the Japanese made models. Sadly enough, in the fifties, we (Americans) made great models for that era (early Lionel, ERTL, Kenner, ...). Sadly enough, we lost our leadership and our productivity to "cheaply-made-quantity-over-quality" philosophy. Thank you for having the courage to "call a cat a cat" and telling viewers the truth. May Peace be with you, Ciao, L

[@slotjournal]

Point well taken. Each year it seems there are fewer and fewer Scalextric cars that interest me, and the price increases haven't helped. Carrera cars are a great value and I can usually get Evolution cars for $40 and sometimes less.

[@happyocd]

Thank you all for your comments thus far. I feel that we are all on the same page. I know Hornby has had financial difficulties in the past, but raising prices and providing a lack-luster product is not going to help them move forward. I mistakenly said they were made in China. Charles noted that in the video you can see on one car that the country of manufacture is actually Veit Nam. In my Manufacturing experience this could well be the reason for the poor quality. Not that it is from Veit Nam, but it is from a potential new source that may not have the expertise that Scalextric's previous factories had. Maybe over time they will improve their processes. I am quite sure Hornby made the factory switch for cost reasons. Besides the quality problems, the other issue is that Scalextric has had an enormous price increase that simply cannot be justified. Other Manufacturers face the same hurdles as Scalextric and yet they have properly managed their cost to us consumers, and, in My opinion, provided a much better product. Keep the comments going, maybe this simple video will be noticed and be a catalyst for a positive change.

[@ShawnStafford-1978]

I really like the quality and design of your older cars. Thought my hobbies are expensive 😯

[@Matt_N44]

Revoslot, as far as I'm aware, have never made any plastic chassis cars, I think you may be confusing them with Proslot? On another note, I'm going to defend Scalextric. I've driven a few of their recent releases (C8R, Escort Cosworth to name a couple) and they work well out the box. The axles are decently straight, the wheels are pretty round and in some cases, even the standard tyres aren't too bad, although these do get replaced with F22 compound tyres for club racing. On the other hand, you have SCX, who really do need criticising. Multiple recent SCX releases I've driven now (Hyundai i20, Toyota Celica, Audi A1) and they're genuinely atrocious. Front stub axle system with so much slop, axles resembling bananas, wheels way out of round and bushes so loose in the chassis there's a couple couple of mm of play. If thats not bad enough, I've had a couple with cracked wheel bosses out the box, with spares non-existant too, so those cars are no good for the stock non-magnet rally class they were bought for. All that, for a price point higher than Scalextric

[@SlotCar2021]

Agree with what you have said Matt. Scalextric do need to up their games though.

[@midnightrambler3583]

I completely agree with you. My Scalextric cars a poor quality. The chassis is all plastic and tires are hard rubber that have absolutely no grip. The cars are hard to control and loose in the turns. I will no longer buy them.

[@jameslove1363]

In the UK Scalextric prices are more reasonable, on average Carrera cars are 15 to 20% more expensive. In my opinion slot-it are the best value for money car on the market.

[@SwiftSlots]

For the very reason of your video, I will not buy a new Scalextric car unless I REALLY want it, and so far, that has only extended to the 1966 (rerun) and the Michael Keaton Batmobile and even then they are not out yet, so still haven't spent my money! Who knows what overheads Scalextric have or why they price their products the way they do, but at the end of the day, we the buying public are the ones that have to manage our own finances. I think all slot cars these days are WAY over priced! You have to start asking a question when Policar can make cars with lights at £22! They maybe a 'loss leader', but £22 is a VERY long way from £55!!

[@SlotCar2021]

Rob you can easily get a Scalextric car for £45 if not cheaper. They have had a number of sales on recently and have had cars for £30 - £20

[@ollien3359]

This has been a problem that has been brewing for a while now. It seems that the brand has too many fingers in too many pies and it misses the mark on a lot of what it does. Track: The Scalextric track is pretty good. Other brands go for 1/24 compatible lane widths, and while they are usually of equal or better quality, the footprint is too big for people (like me) with less space to set up a track. Scalextric track can make some nice 1/32 tracks in a small footprint. If you look after your track (keep out of weather, don't use abrasives on rails etc), it will last a long time. That being said, one issue that I always found annoying - there is a clear letter or series of letters printed on the bottom of the tracks eg: full straight, printed with a big clear "B", half straight printed with a big clear "D" - even the borders have these... but they are never referenced ANYWHERE ELSE! You're building your track and need another "K" curve, you would need to know that it's actually from the C8202 pack. Very frustrating. The Scalextric digital is another example of where they get so close, but then miss the mark. The advanced 6 car power base was a decent power base, but the LCD tower it came with was so basic and cheap - the power base came alive when you spent money on aftermarket AUX-USB cables and bought some software for the computer. And don't get me started on the cheap controllers. And then came the ARC PRO which linked up to a phone or tablet, and had 1/4 of the functionality of the old power base with a USB cable. And instead of cheap controllers, it now comes with cheap WIRELESS controllers that need batteries. Slot it have their Oxigen system that works with Scalextric digital - again another after market product that improves scalextrics. Cars: I can't add much further than what you have mentioned in your video, but the DPR system is great for digital people, but it adds a mess of wires that can sometimes interfere with the front axle. I would prefer a drop in system that requires removing the body like the new slotit cars. We loved racing the AMG GT3 cars on my digital track - but the lack of QC and consistency meant that 4 of the exact same model cars with different liveries performed so differently out of the box. Not a massive issue for a tinkerer (not that you can tinker too much with them!), but for a new/home user it takes a lot of fun out of it. In my opinion, the only Scalextric cars that are worth buying are the gimmick/movie cars for a bit of fun - even then, you could get a better quality static model. Business: Another business that is just too big and too expensive which is impacting the final product. As far as I am aware, the product is made in China, shipped to the UK for packaging and then shipped to final countries for distribution - that means when I get my Scalextric Mr Bean mini from my local hobby shop, it has already done more miles than I have in the last 4 years. There needs to be better communication within the business of where they are going, as well as communication with the community - if they had have spoken to us digital users before launching the ARC PRO, they could have made it better than the original 6 car power base and we would all be using it. I can't say whether it's the same for the Hornby Trains side of the business, but I would assume it is. I really don't want Scalextric to fail, as they are a heritage brand for the UK as well as the hobby, but it's clear that they aren't making the changes they need to be taken seriously by hobbyists.

[@brianjarred340]

The scalextric F1 car is missing the mirrors but yep I agree with what you say

[@Drummerboy67]

Yes ,getting harder to get cars kinda worth what there asking? Carrera way better built than Scalextric ,for the money. In one year into this addiction,now up to 55 Cars! Eeks I gotta slow down! Na! lol, Thanks for the vids and wisdom,just subscribed .🏎️🏎️🏎️😊

[@happyocd]

Thanks for the comments. May I suggest that the best thing you can do is to NOT count your cars. This way you will live in bliss, oblivious of your addiction. At least it works for me!

[@XA351GT]

Can-Am series didn't begin until 1966. That was group 7 which became Can-Am in North America in 1966. But in 64 wasn't technically Can-Am yet.

[@happyocd]

Yep, You are correct. 1966 was the first year of the CanAm season.

[@JK-js2td]

​@@happyocdi LOVE Can Am!!!!

[@davidwarr8600]

This car competed in the Canadian Sports car Championship. Incidentally the Can Am’s first race was at Mt Tremblant in 1966. Canadien is the French spelling. Before the Can Am in the US it was the USRRC, the US Road Racing Championship.

[@kevinbrown3082]

Switched from China to Vietnam for manufacturing. To keep cost down I’d imagine. And yet it hasn’t kept cost down.

[@charlesnavarra8574]

Hey, this the first car seen that will have duel front headlights? That's cool. Points for that. Made in Vietnam, not as cool?

[@Dracoool]

Slotit...RacerSideways...NSR...POSTIL...are brands worth buying.

[@reynaldovelazquez460]

I agree 100% and you haven’t even mentioned the motor wanting to shake free from its mounts. I stopped buying for that and things you touched on. I don’t know how much longer they can keep this up. NOT BUYING ANYMORE

[@HughesGarageSCA]

I’ve had a couple of real duds from Scalextric and have previously made my thoughts known on my own channel. To be fair, some of the newer ones have been rather good by comparison, but yes indeed, they seem very inconsistent with quality control and way overpriced compared to all other brands.

[@ShawnStafford-1978]

26:00 "Beautiful Oranges" without the Orange peel paint

[@chrish5500]

Thanks for the video and I agree with what you said I’m going to sub right now cheers mate

[@paulbantick8266]

When I collected in my youth. It was the Auto Union, Bentley, Bugatti and Alfa Romeo that were my dream wants. Never happened of course...

[@AudiSlotGarageRaceway]

Both Scalextric and Carrera need to have a word with themselves and justify pricing ,iv just bought a Policar Subaru is £28 and is far better components and Quality and the cars arent even decaled which bulk buying of components is not expensive to the manaufacturer, thats how you make money making things ,buy in bulk, build items ,selling the cheap individual components at a higher price in something

[@ShawnStafford-1978]

Those are awesome looking and detailed. That's a expensive hobby for the name, is what it sounds like. What's the deal?

[@happyocd]

If you consider that all hobbies can be expensive it's not too bad. It also depends on how deep you want to go into the hobby. Casual racing with the family, club racing, or insanity with building and collecting like I do once the OCD takes hold 😁 Slot cars are a lot of fun, if you haven't tried them yet find a friend or a shop (that sells starter sets) and they can walk you through the basics. Then, most importantly, DON'T TELL YOUR GIRLFRIEND OR WIFE HOW MUCH IT COSTS!

[@ShawnStafford-1978]

@@happyocd 🤣 I hear you about the OCD and collecting hoarder lifestyle of hobbies. I have a few small scale slot cars. To many toy's and model kits. I collect alot of Diecast Hotwheel and similar toys. 🤣 I'm Gen-X and single don't have to work about a girlfriend or something. My kid's are older. Idk about these scale cars until your video honestly. Thanks for your information about them. They look nice and worth collecting

[@thescalemodelcarguychannel8681]

I'm not a slot car guy but I love them all and I can see the quality comparisons with them ❤😊

[@Dafingers1]

Great video. On point 👉

[@gregtyler4269]

Just Beautiful. Make it bigger and tunnel and bridges

[@Saywhat-pl2jl]

Brother I hear you loud and clear!!!! They are no longer worth the money. I refuse to buy another one , this is a robbery of the consumers. Fit and finish is trash. I'm not going to pay the same price for a toy brand car as I would for a hobby quality such as , (NSR , SIDEWAYS , SCALE AUTO)… The only way to fix this is to not buy there products. Sure they make some of the cars we might want , but quality is a must for me.Before you know it we will be asked to pay 100.00 a car. For me it's not going to happen. Thanks for the video , you are telling the truth brother. Video is on point.

[@ungurdani8346]

Salut my friend super car super video subscribe subscribe

[@martinwright7972]

I honestly cannot totally agree with all the points raised, i have been buying Scalextric since the 1970's and find the current models so much more detailed especially the character models (Bond, Batman for example). I would however agree they are expensive this side of the pond and when I go back home to the UK I normally buy at a much better price, I believe exchange rates and export shipping load the price in the US & Canada. I have to add that I have been a little disappointed with the few NInco and Carrrera models I have bought for lack of detail and performance, I should say that I am not a purist and don't really take them apart to examine the engineering, however I respect your opinions but I just don't share them all in my experience.

[@ungurdani8346]

Salut my friend super car .super video subscribe subscribe

[@user-qs4xw7ye5s]

XY and XW Falcons are not to correct scale. They are too narrow.

[@keithbuxton1723]

Made in Veitnham,Quality control they are on 1 dollar a hour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@shakeyhandsshedmodelrailwa2494]

airfix , hornby , scalextric ,, same poor quality accross the range

[@shakeyhandsshedmodelrailwa2494]

still the same running gear as in the 70s

[@simoncycling6685]

I'm a club racer in uk we do not race scalextric...if only they made decent chassis that would take slot it motor mounts ...

[@granturismoslotcars]

I think you confuse Revoslot with another brand. Maybe Proslot? Revo launched in 2017 and has nothing to do with Proslot. Revo has ties with BRM who make 1/24 slot cars.

[@happyocd]

Yes, you are correct. The cars I was talking about I had over 20 years ago so it couldn't be Revoslot. The memory goes first when you get old and I can't remember what goes next! 🤣

[@manoman0]

What?? "Oily Dog Racing"? What an utmost brilliant name!

[@happyocd]

Thanks! That name stemmed from one of my friend's silly comments. His daughter was allergic to dogs and he did not want her to be around mine. I have always had Schnauzers, I currently have 3. I told my friend his daughter would be OK around my dogs because the Schnauzer doesn't shed. He said "maybe but they are oily dogs". Another one of my buddies drew up the cartoon dog based on my first Schnauzer. The two were joined and viola, Oily Dog Racing was born!

[@manoman0]

@@happyocd Man, thank you for sharing your story about this; highly entertaining. It's surely backed by hours of lovely memories! There is always more to things than meets the eye!🌞

[@manoman0]

Please, please do not mention "made in China" as something negative when talking about quality. In fact, having them (the german products) manufactured in China is a bonus. You get the quality you want. I know from own experience in various fields how extremely quality minded chinese people are. Please, for the love of God, stop spreading this misinformation.

[@XA351GT]

Quality issues aren't just a Scalextric problem. The Brand new Porsche Hyper cars have the tail light bar are upside down . Talking with my vendor many cars are that way and the manufacturer basically told them , So what. and those are not cheap cars at $90 a pop. I've had other cars with parts floating in the cases .

[@MrDBSV8]

NO FLY

[@briangeboy1412]

I quit buying them as soon as they went up. They are just to cheap to pay that price. I have a large 4 lane carrera track and I can say, a carrera car is 100% more durable than a scalextric. And if you invest 30$ in the carrera, it will blow the scalextric car off the track. Scalextric is only screwing their customers and they don't care. To them it's about the money and it show's. Also, if you take that same 30$ and put it into a scalextric car, then you have a cheap 80$ to 90$ dollar car

[@jkm49us25]

I am looking into purchasing a Slot Race set for my son. I use to race slots back in the mid 60's. We built our own cars. Purchased Monogram or Revell plastic models for the bodies for the chassis. All from scratch, they were cheaper than out of the box. What company do you recommend? I keep reading Carrera and Scalextric brand are TOYS compared to other companies. Can you clarify the difference between Toy and Pro slots. Are pro slot car digital or analog? Any information would be appreciated. A lot of upfront money and I would like to get it right.

[@Scale_Slotcars_Latvia]

They are all toy cars .but eleteist like to call some pro and some toys . I would recommend getting a carrera evolution set as your first choice ...you can then race many other brands without buying digital chips . Brands like Revoslot ,thunderslot, BRM, would be called Pro by some people. With Carrera track you can also race 1/24 scale slotcars like BRMs ...don't fall for the toy vs pro cars argument. Put 4 scalextric cars on a for lane track and you will just as much fun as four so called pro cars . Club racers shout the loudest about pro vs toy cars ....if your home racing ignore the pro vs toy (experts) 😅 Greetings....Harry

[@Saywhat-pl2jl]

To be honest , Scalextric should be a 40.00 brand at most. I refuse to buy there products for more than that.