Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Great starter - set |
| Disadvantages: |
One is not enough… |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
== My First Scalextric Set ==
Having seen the Ad on TV and Boy really desparate for one I thought this the best to go for in the way of remote control race track as at 4 he's really not old enough for a big expensive set so he got this for Christmas. Cost us £30 from Toys'r'Us though can be found in many other stores and on-line, the price is about the same everywhere but you may find it a bit cheaper.
Age on box states not suitable for under 3 years, due to small parts and functional sharp edges - we haven't found any particularly sharp bits yet ? so unsure which bits that refers to. Also tells you that new controllers may become warm and emit vapour and give off slight smell -this is normal and disappears after use. Nice !
Our first Race..
The track is easy enough to click together, to create a simple figure of eight race-track. Then it's a simple matter of placing cars, plugging in power and controllers and you're
ready to race. I found the included instructions nice - simple and clearly laid out. My only real complaint with the track is the 'Track support' bits that raise the track up over itself don't click in very securely. We've now got the barriers in place and were easy to fit, just click onto sides of track, though don't stop crashes..
The cars go on, simply slot the 'guide fin' into the line on the track and it 'sticks' (magnetic) Squeeze your trigger on the controller and they're off !!
Of course the first thing
little Boy did was pull in the trigger on his controller…yes..all the way- which results in a very fast little car flying off the
track. Once he got the hang of/got bored of doing that we had fun racing the miniature Mini-cars round and round….and round.
The track, cars and controls are all colour coded which is good - little people know what goes where, especially when replacing their car after sending it crashing off the track..and our controllers did get a bit warm but were OK after 10 minutes of
playing One is not enough…
A very good toy in that it needs NO BATTERIES always good, just plugs in the mains with a fair length wire so you can be some distance from your plug socket.
Great fun and the quality you'd expect from a name like skalextic, 50 years 1957-2007 so they must be doing something right. The set we got seems durable enough to last quite some time, though I wouldn't let Boy try putting it together himself. You also get replacement metal doo-dads (Braids) that fit on the underside of the cars, as these will wear with time / use but it looks simple enough to do and the instructions tell you how. The only other 'maintenance' is to keep the track clean and clear of bits and bobs ( dog-hair..etc) easiset way is a paint brush to dust anything out of the main guide line of track.
It's not a bad little set to start with, Boy got the hang of controlling the cars quickly…but now we're bored with it. The scale is 1:64 the same as the Micro-Scalextric I notice...from the nice booklets included with the set.
You get a few information/catalogue type brochures on their other ranges of race-sets, and a list of 'Official Service Dealers'. Plus you get information on the 'Official Skalextric Club' which you can join online or by application form, This will cost you £22 for 12
months for which you get their magazine, discounts from certain stockists and the like. For more information visit the Skalextric Website. (address below)
We need more track for a proper race really and I'll defiantly be looking into it for B-day time. Definitely recommend as a good set to start with though you may well end up buying more ! Overall verdict is 'satisfctory' as it is and does what it says on the box, would be nice if you got a discount for more track or something though as if you and your children like this you are going to want more to expand your race track.
UK Website: www.skalextric.com
If you have a problem with your Skalextric product, or require information on the product the customer Helpline is: 01843 233525 or you can e-mail: cutomercare@hornby.com
Thanks for reading, don't forget the photos.
Manda :o)
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