This was a great History lesson on what a Hot Rod was in England. You nailed this Dave ! Right on! Great video and awesome honest review on the Symptom of lacking any quality control of giving any F**** about their product!! Great Work!!
This crap from both Scalextric and Carrera is getting old and running off the real customers... this current situation with Carrera wheels is not as bad as the deal with this Escort, but in Marty Ford's. comments, a guy popped up to say he has around 70 Carrera cars and most of them have bad tires... what are people going to do when tires that fit on recent Carrera cars like the Mustang GTY and BMW 3.5CSL are not available because of these horrible, flat spot wheels??? Not everyone wants to drop another 20 bucks or more into a car they just paid over 50 dollars for... when you can just buy a Slot It...
It is just a repainted rally car with half the bits missing, nothing more - but I think very much just one symptom of the sort of underlying sickness that befalls a specialist company like this when it gets taken over by asset managers who think all businesses run like financial corps.
@@slotr As stated earlier, the AAR cuda was a HUGE disappointment to me and the way Scalextric has treated the American market with the Trans Am series cars has been disgusting. When your most popular line of cars in a huge market get progressively worse over time in both design and quality, and even things as simple as wheels and tires are changed to something inferior in every way, there's only one solution and that's firing those responsible.And then Simon wants to tell Dave Kennedy how much he loves American muscle cars with a straight face and that alone proves my point. I am not a sucker and I will not pay almost Slot It money for this junk.
Almost 60. Grew up with Wide World of Sports glued to the TV watching NASCAR races when they came on. Then I learned about dirt track ovals as a young adult. I even worked on a pit crew for a few years. The dedication and rituals done each week, looking back, were quite nuts to be nice! The dirt ovals I attended each weekend were flat tracks. Fri-Sat-Sun routine. Big Diamond, GrandView, cant think of the 3rd track at the moment. This local track stuff was to the point of being tribal. Your views and opinions are not lost.
Yep perfect explanation. My dad raced speedway here in Australia (same thing) in the 70s and 80s.. I am 50 years old and had scalextric as a kid. You nailed it.
I was a hot rod petrol head at my home town track wisbech, shame scalextric have really cocked up. Obviously seen as a money making exercise, the only way we can get what we want is to scratch build with a vac form shell and homemade chassis
You are spot on 👍 I've been looking forward to this car & more to join it as time goes on but those inaccuracies really ain't good enough, especially at that price ☹ thanks for highlighting all the problems before I spent money on it.
I'm waiting for Revoslot to add a Mk2 to their Gr2 touring car range, they always do white kits, at which point I'm probably going to buy enough for a Duffy, Lee, Polley, Stevens, Murphy and Facey set
Short termism is a massive UK problem over the last few years. Management gets bonuses often based on cost savings not sales. As you state, they used a Porsche type pricing strategy and its now potentially lost them a huge market. Very interesting video, as a posho Grandstand viewer who watched more F1 and BTCC as a kid I never really knew much about 'hotrods' but now im interested, so cheers Dave.
I am so glad you did this in depth review. I love the idea of their cars but they really don't stack up to the price. Such a shame because if done correctly I would have them all.
What an excellent video Dave you took me back to my early teenage years watching world of sport. I hate to say it but I agree with everything you have said about the car. It's such a shame that scalextric could not get this even nearly right. I have bought my first slot it car today( kyalami Mercedes)and looking at the quality it definitely won't be my last, scalextric could do a lot worse than take a few tips from these guys because when the quality is this good you don't mind paying a little more but people will not pay for inferior and incorrect expensive toys! Thanks again for your excellent and informative video 👍
Well said, I know loads of lads from the RS500 and wider cossie community who bought more than one of the rs500 just to put in their man cave. They wanted Andy Rouse and Steve Soper. Luckily scalextric did a good job of the rs500. But this one has probably alienated the much of the community.
Great video, you hit right on the head. Unfortunately accountants are getting in the way of quality control and ruining long term gain in favor of a quick hit which ultimately hurts everybody
Spot on review there Dave they should have done the cars properly Hot-Rods and Stock car racing was massive back in its day and it was affordable lol maybe another manufacturer will see there’s a market for these cars to be done properly
Nice video, Dave. I enjoyed being educated about this aspect of UK motor sport; was not really aware of it. I can understand your disappointment at Scalextric's failure. No doubt they were capable of providing a great product...they were just too lazy to do so.
I just think if you're going to make toy cars, make toy cars, and if you're going to make replicas of specific cars then actually make replicas... maybe I'm oversimplifying things? 🙃
Great video and spot on with all of it. They have missed a huge opportunity as many thousands of this car and others from the era and sport of Hot Rod racking, would have been sold to non scalextric enthusiasts IF the quality had been there. There is a small band of people who hand produce to order, detailed and to scale, die cars 1/18 models of short circuit race cars from the 70’s, 80’s & 90’s and such is the demand and quality of these models they normally cost £200+ each, yet the suppliers order books are always jam packed full with long waits to get the models. So people like me who purchase them would have been all over £50 scalextric models of these cars IF they were any good!!!
Great review and 100% correct in what you are saying. Had it been right i would have bought it along with the barry or polley cars then if they were a success scalextric could have moved on to other classes of short oval race cars saloon stock cars superstox ministox and maybe even bangers
I pre ordered 3 of them, my first Scalextric purchase in years. Waited around 12 months, then saw the final version a couple of weeks ago and cancelled. I can accept a genuine error or two, but a dozen or more? (did you even get round to the treaded tyres?). And yet I still see some Hot Rod fans telling us that it's only a toy and we shouldn't complain in case Scalextric stop making Hot Rods. I don't believe Scalextric would treat the fans of any other motor sport with such disrespect by thinking they could sell us such a cheap, lazy, half-arsed car. And yes it might only be a toy, but it's a £50 toy. So I'll be keeping my £150 thanks very much.
I didn't mention the treaded tyres, I didn't mention the infill panels for the headlights should be white not silver. I don't imagine Scalextric will be making any more anyway, loads of the presales have been cancelled or sent back and I can't se much of the stock that's left shifting can you? So it'll be a tax loss all in the skip at a guess.
This is where a sim racing livery designer would come in useful working for scalextric, I've recreated many classic racing liveries into simulator racing games from studying pictures. That is definitely just lazy work from scalextric.
I have just finished making a hand made, 14 foot long, wooded routed club comp track. I also have a good handful of cars, some for fun and some for club racing. NOTHING I own is scalextric (small 's') and NEVER will be !!!
The original factory was in Margate close to were I lived quality was good then now it’s seems they have missed the point such a shame I love my scalectrix and the hot Rod era I grow up with I really wanted one but seeing it as you very well know it’s not good and not right Shame on the accountants they could have had a winner
I've had my eye on this car as I was born in 80 and didn't realise it had my sir name on it until this video I did have the blue one the number 24 unfortunately it came with a dud motor and I never went and got my money back I totally agree they over charge for the less detailed less technical cars 😠 I try to stick with muscle cars now
It really is a shame to make such an iconic car ( all be it no a niche group);and do it so half arsed. My neighbour/ landlord raced with Duffy back then they got on so well their kids married. He is really not impressed at all. Like you say, shoddy. This has been pre-ordered by people that really wanted it, I am sure there will be ' feedback'
It's odd that when Hornby do their 'TV ad' Hobbyist shows on 'UKTV' that we get to see the design teams visiting UK based 'targets' for their models cutting to the very capable technicians then at work in HQ rendering their intricate designs with the help of CAD software down in Margate, Kent. However, and two series in, we never get to see the guys in East Asian factories who manufacture and bulk assemble these models? This dimension seems to me to be taking on ever more sinister connotations. There must surely be reasons why the brands don't want their consumers to 'know'? Would we buy any of it if we saw just how and under what circumstances these models came to see the light of day? The whole import of the UKTV show is somewhat 'smug' and 'Simon' - who appears to be in charge of much decision making and progression - is quick to virtual signal to the effect that the business is about modelling 'works of art'. I suspect, as you say Dave, the problem is down to Hornby's ambition overreaching its human resource. We all admire them for 'trying' but we also know that the road to hell is paved with good intentions and this is by no means their first model in recent times which has reached the market place amidst cries and concerns against quality control. There's currently 74 Scalextric models on pre-order at Pendle's with Scalextric which is more than the rest combined and, against any measure of any 12 month product cycle, fundamentally absurd if not some ridiculous state of affairs. Scalextric most certainly do need to focus more on quality and not so much on volume and breadth of choice in their range. Personally, I recall driving my late father's dark blue MKII as a teenager circa 1980. I didn't care for the (real) model back then and I don't have any nostalgia for those who made cheap racers from them today. That's just me. There's maybe a moral argument for buying NSR (Hand Made in Italy and fantastic racers first and foremost too) but certainly brands like Slot.IT, Revoslot and Scaleauto and SRC (there are others) appear to be placing greater care and emphasis in terms of the quality in what they do than Scalextric appears to be doing right now. With a current juggle of 74 balls we need not be surprised that they should event to start dropping a few. Personally, I'd buy another livery of the Revo BMW 2002 to go with your green car as we do know just how much you enjoy these and - rightly so and really for all the right and proper reasons :)
Thing is, being a public company Hornby have to publish their accounts; last year from 48.5 million in revenues they made 300K across all the brands they own; aka 0.6% aka next to nothing in business terms. A few recent releases in the model railway range have drawn quite a lot of criticism from that usually very loyal customer base and they're not doing themselves any favours. Carrera are making aggressive moves on the UK market by doing things like sending Shmee150 free digital sets, Policar are becoming real competition in the track system part of the market, Scaleauto's new system looks really good as well. You can buy a much better slot car as you say from Slot It or Sideways for pretty much the same money, for no more than an extra £20 you can get something even better like a Revoslot or NSR... if someone asked me which track system to get right now I'd be telling them to pick the system with the most robust looking company behind it, that might still be making track in 5 or 10 years time....
@@slotr Nevertheless, I am sure those in charge of Hornby are 'sitting comfortably'. In the final analysis then there's no substitution for scrupulous attention to detail - not just rivet count but more in terms of consistency for when it comes to quality control as your piece here so beautifully and, essentially, forensically illustrates. Probably now time to let go of my redundant Scalextric 'sport' track? What now for Scalextric? I imagine they may do well to reinvent to a wider gauge three lane track with stainless (and waterproof) rails to, say, differentiate themselves but the formula will need to be good to deliver 'flat' rigidity without introducing brittle fragility in the plastics used. Taking it back to Policar with two lanes in this way may prove equally beneficial? Otherwise, I honestly don't know why Scalextric don't introduce motor pods and all the spares and upgrades for cars aka a Slot.It, Scaleauto and NSR? Yes, there's no small commercial risk against small margins and the management there probably ask themselves whether any of this matters if most of it gets run maybe a few times on some short length home lounge or bedroom floor? Meanwhile, and for hobbyists, I imagine more time is spent fettling our cars than in actually in racing them, In short, I am saying Scalextric is in need of some paradigm shift in terms of focus and thinking. With, as you say, low reported margins, then is the management down in Kent brave and indeed strong enough in changing tack in this way? The other businesses are increasingly squeezing Scalextric between a rock and a hard place with this informing where the money lands. As customers, we must vote with our wallets or pocket books. It is not going to be an easy ride for Hornby in terms of carrying themselves forward against the increasingly apparent stressed business model which has befallen them these last few few years.
@@MrDarrenp40 Let me throw you a tidbit of intel on Hornby sales and marketing in the US. They were the US distributors of Slot It and PoliCar for several years. I don't know for certain what caused the split... but I have a few ideas. A new friend has recently relocated and greatly expanded his successful multi-format Raceway and did not know that Slot It products are now distributed by Electric Dreams in California. After reaching out to Hornby USA about expanding into being a full on Slot It, PoliCar and Scalextric dealer, a Hornby salesman told him that Slot It was in trouble and the PoliCar brand was discontinued. Buy Scalextric. If this kind of thinking is what the Honrby business model is these days, maybe we ALL need to let them fade into history... And thanks for your product line and support of our awesome hobby/lifestyle...
@@roberthill2219 Hi Robert. I am sorry to hear all that. We do have to question whether the salesman in question was reckless or negligent in his research or else intentional and false with this misrepresentation? Otherwise, I saw a piece by Dave Kennedy, I am sure you know him as a regular blogger over in in PA, who worked for Scalextric USA for a while. Dave had received the new all white Lamborghini Countach - 'new' as in at least three decades late to the party. Dave's report was as positive as these things can be and I wholeheartedly agree that the design is a great concept for a slot car. However, when it came to the paint job the report included (1) orange peel effect (i,e, spraying too far away/insufficient pressure (2) paint runs and (3) a finger print impression somewhere near the rear. All this informs that Scalextric is, these days, a concept, design model making engineering business based in Margate Kent whilst with the manufacturing side of their business passed on or else delegated to partners in China and elsewhere in the Far East. I suspect, and particularly since covid, that Hornby is struggling to maintain consistent quality control when referencing products being manufactured in its name. I am sure that none of this is intentional and that everyone is doing their best and yet the products are technically complex and the margins in terms of what these items are are small and so the jeopardy of this sort of poor and inconsistent manufacturing process is higher than any of us would like. Unfortunately, and referencing innumerable small details, then all this now shows. It's certainly nice to have a large range to choose from but I do suspect that all this activity is overreaching and overly stretching this small yet well known business? The bright and energetic guys in Margate with their CAD are able to 'run' faster than their manufacturing operations? Sometimes 'less is more'. I would certainly sacrifice choice for quality - particularly when the equation reaches the tipping point, which it just about has with me, where I buy nothing at all.
@@MrDarrenp40 I can tell you with absolute certainty that the recent AAR Cuda release is a new low for Scalextric. Some of the issues are design problems Such as the ride height of the vehicle and the detailing of the body of one of the most iconic American muscle cars. Can you give me a legitimate excuse on getting the shape of the windows, rear taillight panel, bumpers and mirrors wrong? And then we have the quality control issues. My paint was covered with small specs and had a large smudge right in the middle of the roof. Then we have the issue with the water slide decals. Not only are they almost transparent white on a dark blue car, 2 of them are very noticeably crooked and neither side of the car matches in placement. We have an extremely sloppy bushing fit to the point where the car is unbelievably noisy and even Dave Kennedy who can't say anything bad about any of the manufacturers had to admit that. And finally we have the worst representation of a Minilight wheel on a slot car in recent history with massive tires that are way too big. This was the 1st Scalextric car I paid $65 for, Over $20 more than a comparative Carrera and only 10 dollars less then a Slot It here in the States. Extremely unhappy and even more so unhappy to actually have a functioning and decent running car, I basically have to replace the entire chassis, guide,wheels and tires AND cut up the body,chassis and interior.... Not cool. Meanwhile Simon smiles at us stupid Americans and tells us how much he loves American muscle cars. They even screwed up the exhaust... One skinny little pipe under 1 side of the car... Unbelievable... And then we talk about the availability of track pieces... it is almost impossible to find 3 and 4 radius turns here... how is this possible when such a huge chunk of slot car revenue is extra track??? It's not like they don't have the tooling...
Scalextric has really gone downhill and at the same time increased prices to what you can buy a Slot It for. I'm done with Scalextric they haven't progressed they've regressed to toy car standards.
This is unacceptable, after they revealed their line up for 2023 I was actually going to pre order a few cars. After seeing some very poor quality control lately I have decided to hold off on any pre orders. I just got a Policar for about the same price as a Scalextric and the detail and performance is way ahead of Scalextric. They completely disregard the hobby sector, they charge too much for a toy car and I don't know what market they are targeting. I have been watching Hornby a Model World and they seem to be oblivious to the slot car hobby. They have no true slot car racers working for them and they don't understand the market at all, its embarrassing to watch when they feature any slot cars. Scalextric, do better!
Unfortunately this is the modern Business way, everything on the cheap & who gives a shit. This will eventually lead to company collapse & closure....Just Google & look at what has happened to the mighty 'PHILIPS' electronic brand...an absolute shadow of itself & all down to a failing management structure...you can see it coming a mile off.
