Wednesday September 07, 2005

Slippin' & Slidin'
Scalextric Powerslide Set!

This latest set by Scalextric is certainly something different to say the least. As with sets such as the Crash & Bash from a few years ago, this is directly targeted towards younger racers which I feel is important. After all, the future of our hobby lies with our youth and a set like this just might be the perfect way to get some of them hooked on the fun of slot racing.

The concept of this set is just what is says on the box: Power-sliding or drifting the cars around the corners easily. Although you might think that you can perform this with a regular set, you cannot come near the action that these cars perform. I have to admit I was skeptical about this type of racing, but like anything else in our hobby, I had to give it a try to see for myself.

Our set arrived safe and sound from Scalextric-USA and it was time to get started. The instructions are as clear and easy to follow as you could ask for and in under 15 minutes we were ready to start racing. Assembly of Scalextric Sport track is straight forward so parents or friends should find it easy to assemble ahead of time if need be, which comes in handy for Mom & Dad on Christmas Eve to say the least.

This set comes complete with inner and outer borders around the entire layout. You will of course need them as the cars do more than just slide out sideways, they can do a complete 360 degree turn in the blink of an eye. The set also comes with snap in guard rails that mount on the borders. You can leave them in place, or you can remove them to allow the car in the outer lane to do a complete turn. We decided to leave the rails up for our testing as most newcomers will do the same thing.

The dimensions for this set is small enough to fit almost anywhere. This small figure 8 will easily slide under a youth bed assembled, which saves time when it's time to race. I would have liked a few more straights with the set, but although it is small it still provides plenty of fun.

The cars that come in this set is where all the action takes place. These Nissan 350Z cars are decorated just as you would expect these popular "Tuner" cars should be in a set such as this. These models also have a few changes to them that allow then to perform the sliding and turning, so let us take a closer look.

First of all, these models have a very sturdy body and are of course void of any small details that are easily broken. Scale accuracy is a non-issue with these type of models but Scalextric has managed to capture these popular models quite well.

The first thing that might catch your eye is the front guide. It is designed to rotate fully with a unique braid system. The braid wraps completely around the guide disc as shown in the photo and snaps onto the guide base. There are arrows that clearly show you which way to move the disc. We found that this contact system worked very well and have no issues except to clean the braid when required.

You also can see that the bar magnet is placed near the center of the car. This allows the model to slide and turn around quite easily, but there is another pocket for you to change it if you like. We found in our tests to keep the magnet just as it came from the box for the maximum amount of fun.

Inside you can see a circuit board that allows the cars to run in the opposite direction. Without it, the cars would run backwards as they do with normal models. When you apply too much speed in the corner, the car will swing out and if you continue, it will turn all the way around and run the other way. This technique is hard to describe, but trust me, you will get the hang of it quickly.

And fun is exactly what this set delivers.

We have taken a great deal of time testing this set compared to other tests to say the least. Usually, a new system arrives here and in a few days our review is published. In this case, I decided to do something different. I decided to allow this set to go through extended testing by the many younger racers that arrive here each week.

Why? I wanted to see just how durable this new system was going to be. Given the live figure 8 that helps collisions occur, I was curious to see how much abuse these models could take before someone managed to put one out of commission. Well, Scalextric has certainly made a durable product as the cars are still going strong, in fact only the clear-coat finish has slight scratches to it.

I also wanted to see how long the interest level of this set would hold. We have had children (and adults too) playing with this set everyday. All of them still enjoy the system and it sees heavy use on our regular twice a week race meet schedule.

This might be an important factor if you are thinking about choosing this set for your children or friends. A strong product that can withstand serious punishment and keep delivering the fun the box claims it should. I have seen many toy products in my day that do not come close to what the manufacturer claims it can do. In this case, Scalextric gets very high marks.

Local Racers Aaron and his Dad Ronny do battle!

This set does exactly what it says it will do and does it for long periods of time. I have to recommend this set to any parent looking to get their children started in our hobby, or even just something new to try. It is sets like this that do catch the eye of our youth, and sometimes this is all it takes to get them started in the great hobby of slot car racing.

- Harry

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

Thanks Go To Scalextric-USA For Providing Us With This Set!