Wednesday July 23, 2003

The Artin 1/43rd Scale 4 Lane Set

There are other scales of slot car systems out there that some seem to dismiss entirely, and 1/43rd scale falls into this category. However, since the Artin 4 lane set was first announced by Slot Car World, I knew I had to try one for myself. This set offers more than some might initially think, so I felt it deserved a closer look.

Obviously this set and its contents are not designed to be true scale by any means. However this does not mean you cannot have fun racing it as we soon discovered. Sometimes keeping it simple makes our hobby much more fun, and this track system certainly employs this. Track connections are smooth and very easy to assemble. My 6 year old son did most of the assembly, in fact he even made a few mistakes along the way and disassembly of the track is just as easy.

Power hook-up is fairly easy with the transformer having a adaptor piece that snaps in place over the terminal track. The connection is snug and provides excellent electrical contact. Each Transformer is hard wired to the adaptor so the plug-ins are for the controllers only. The track power itself is a standard Artin transformer rated at 6 volts with a 1.2 amp output ( There are 2 each of the Transformers and Terminal Track Sections). This is plenty of power for these smaller cars, yet you will see a burst of speed from one car when the other de-slots.

Control is provided by the familiar Artin pistol grip controllers, which for these models worked better than I expected. My son settled down to an easy racing rhythm with them quickly, and we found he became quite an adversary once he did. One thing to mention is that these controllers might emit some smoke from them during the first few minutes of them, but it soon passes. This can be said for just about every controller on the market, so it really isn't an issue.

Now its time to take a look at the cars included in the set. You get 4 cars total with 2 different body styles in the set, all of them lighted. One is a generic stock car type with the other a sports/muscle car version. I have to admit that I myself dismissed these cars because of the lack of any scale appearance. I soon realized that given the younger target audience of this set, this really isn't an issue. The magnet Artin uses on these cars are quite strong enough for decent magnetic down-force and my son could care less about the scale detail aspects of them as he clicked off lap after lap. Some folks just don't care that much about scale appearance when it comes to racing slot cars, regardless of scale. I have seen worse scale representations in some Lexan "doorstop" commercial 1/24 cars yet this hasn't stopped enthusiasts from having fun with them.

There is a another thing about these cars that impressed me. They are VERY smooth. I know a few 1/32nd scale companies that could only wish to have their models run this nicely right out of the box. Whisper quiet operation is the best definition I can give for them, and the fact they retail for around $6.00 makes them even better. The set comes with separate peel and stick decals you can apply, which again are not anything in the scale department, but still make the cars look better.

In the end this small set is fun like a slot car set should be. For 3 days straight my 6 year old, along with the rest of us here have sat down on the floor and had a ball racing it. This has certainly gave us a good return on our modeling dollar with the list price of the set at $42.95. Although it will not appeal to some in our hobby, I think this set is a great starting point the younger enthusiast. The cars are about as bullet-proof as you could ask for, the track system is easily assembled, and the price is right for your budget.

- Harry

As always feel free to contact me about this article or just the hobby in general at wiseone@yhti.net, or better yet drop into our Message Forum and share your thoughts with other enthusiasts!

Thanks go to Slot Car World for providing us with this fun little set. They have a full line of 1/43rd parts, accessories, track systems and more, so if you think this scale might appeal to you drop in and see what they have to offer for you.