It was awkward
squeezing around the track, much like having to shove past the
casket when entering a funeral you really didn’t want to attend.
We were aware that slot car racing was declining at the time. It
was the end of an era of exuberance, the baby boom, the muscle
cars and the Can Am / Trans Am series. The big splash of the mid
sixties, which saw big slot car tracks on every mall, were long
gone.
“Has it come to this?” I had to ask myself looking at the stained
walls and bleak little plastic track. “Is this the future of slot
car racing?” The feeling of doom passed as I noticed how neatly
the track was built and how much the kids were enjoying
themselves.
The slot car hobby is alive and well all
over the world.
Thanks
to the manufactures of 1/32 scale slot cars, never has there been
so many choices of models to choose from. Detail is at an all time
high in the 1/32 scale slot car universe, where it is common to
see the brake rotors and even brake calipers, behind finely
detailed wheels.
Though slot racing is not as popular now as it was in the 1960's,
club tracks and commercial tracks are once again popping up in all
corners of the globe. Will the hobby ever get back to the point of
televised races, probably not, but that doesn't mean that it's not
a great hobby.
There
are so many aspects to slot car racing. Some people like
collecting, others thrive on the competition, yet all enjoy the
camaraderie that comes naturally when you put a group of people
around a slotted track to do battle with little plastic cars.
A
slot car (sometimes, slotcar) is a powered miniature auto or other
vehicle which is guided by a groove or slot in the track on which
it runs. A pin or blade extends from the bottom of the car into
the slot. Though some slot cars are used to model highway traffic
on scenic layouts, the great majority are used in the competitive
hobby of slot car racing or slot racing.
Slot cars are usually models of actual automobiles, though some
have bodies purpose-designed for miniature racing. Most
enthusiasts use commercially-available slot cars (often modified
for better performance), others motorize static models, and some
"scratch-build," creating their own mechanisms and bodies from
basic parts and materials.
Drivers generally use a hand-held controller to regulate a
low-voltage electric motor hidden within the car. Traditionally,
each car runs on a separate lane with its own guide-slot (though
recently-developed digital technology can allow cars to share a
lane). The challenge in racing slot cars comes in taking curves
and other obstacles at the highest speed that will not cause the
car to lose its grip and spin sideways, or to 'deslot,' leaving
the track altogether.
Some enthusiasts, much as in model railroading, build elaborate
tracks, sculpted to have the appearance of a real-life racecourse,
including miniature buildings, trees and people. Hobbyists whose
main goal is competition often prefer a track unobstructed by
scenery.
Model motorcycles, trucks and other vehicles which use the
guide-slot system are also generally included under the loose
classification of "slot car."
The diagram above shows the wiring of a typical 1:24 or 1:32 slot
car setup. Power for the car's motor is carried by metal strips
next to the slot, and is picked up by contacts alongside the guide
flag (a swiveling blade) under the front of the slot car. The
voltage is varied by a resistor in the hand controller. This is a
basic circuit, and optional features such as braking elements or
electronic control devices are not shown. Likewise, the car's
frame or chassis has been omitted for clarity.
HO slot cars work on a similar principle, but the current is
carried by thin metal rails which project barely above the track
surface and are set farther out from the slot. The car's
electrical contacts, called "pickup shoes," are generally fixed
directly to the chassis, and a round guide pin is often used
instead of a swiveling flag.
Today, in all scales, traction magnets are often used to provide
down-force to help hold the car to the track at higher speeds,
though some enthusiasts believe magnet-free racing provides
greater challenge and enjoyment and allows the back of the car to
slide or "drift" outward for visual realism.
Scales of Slot Cars
There are three common slot car scales (sizes): 1:24 scale, 1:32
scale, and so-called HO size (1:87 to 1:64 scale). These are also
commonly written as 1/24, 1/32, 1/87 and 1/64. Usual pronunciation
is "one twenty-fourth," "one thirty-second," and so on, but
sometimes "one to twenty-four," "one to thirty-two," etc.
1:24 scale cars
are built so that 1 unit of length (such as an inch or millimeter)
on the model equals 24 units on the actual car. Thus, a model of a
Jaguar XK-E (185" or 4.7 m overall length) would be 7.7" long
(19.6 cm) in 1:24 scale. 1:24 cars require a course so large as to
be impractical for many home enthusiasts, so most serious 1:24
racing is done at commercial or club tracks.
1:32 scale cars
are smaller and more suited to home-sized race courses but they
are also widely raced on commercial tracks, in hobby shops or in
clubs. This scale is the most popular in Europe, and is equivalent
to the old #1 Gauge (or "standard size") of toy trains. Our Jaguar
XK-E would be about 5.8" (14.7 cm) in 1:32 scale.
HO scale cars
vary in scale. Because they were marketed as model railroad
accessories, the original small slot cars of the early 1960s
roughly approximated either American/European HO scale (1:87) or
British OO scale (1:76). As racing in this size evolved, the cars
were enlarged to take more powerful motors, and today they are
closer to 1:64 in scale; but they still run on track of
approximately the same width, and are generically referred to as
HO slot cars. They are not always accurate scale models, since the
proportions of the tiny bodies must often be stretched to
accommodate a standard motor and mechanism. The E-Jaguar scales
out to 2.1" (5.3 cm) in 1:87 and 2.9" (7.3 cm) in 1:64). Though
there is HO racing on commercial and shop-tracks, probably most HO
racing occurs on home racetracks.
In addition to the major scales, slot cars have been commercially
produced in 1:48 and 1:43 scale, corresponding to O scale model
trains. 1:48 cars were promoted briefly in the 1960s, and 1:43
slot car sets are generally marketed today (2007) as children's
toys. So far, there is little organized competition in 1:43, but
the scale is gaining some acceptance among adult hobbyists for its
affordability and moderate space requirements. The E-Jag would be
4.3" (10.9 cm) in 1:43.
So
take a look around the site; you are bound to leave with something
of value as pertaining to this great hobby.
