[woodcote]

   

Almost all slot car manufacturers have been hit by crippling and complex supply chain issues this year... and we are still awaiting quite a few new cars that were announced early in 2021 (or before). However, I do expect there to be the usual 2022 product range launches in January and February. I suspect we need to be prepared for some price rises too...

Scalextric will be unveiling their 2022 catalogue on Monday 10 January. We'll have full coverage here on SlotRacer Online during the afternoon. There are a couple of new cars we already know about - and I understand that development of new tooling has progressed as usual. If the previous couple of years are anything to go by, there'll be something for everyone - and quite a few people saving up their pennies for the full set.

The Nuremberg Toy Fair is usually when Carrera launch their catalogue. The toy fair is scheduled for 2-6 February - Covid-permitting. Even if the event is cancelled or restricted, I expect Carrera to announce their range that week.

Slot.it, SCX and NSR tend to leave their latest news to Nuremberg. NSR recently unveiled a new McLaren GT3 model, so expect a catalogue of new liveries to be published in late January or early February. Fingers-crossed SCX have some news too. Most of their 2021 cars have arrived in the past six weeks in Spain, with a few more still to appear. It'll be interesting what new products they have on the drawing board in 1:32 and 1:43 scale. 

Galileo Engineering have mailed out this list of Slot.it and Policar models that are expected in the next few months...

• CA18f Ford GT40 #19 - 12h Sebring 1967
  
• CAR07-green Monoposto - green
  
• CAR07-lightblue Monoposto - light blue
  
• CAR07-yellow Monoposto - yellow
  
• CAR07-orange Monoposto - orange
  
• CA36e Opel Calibra V6 #8- Mugello ITC 1996
  
• CA44d Mercedes 190E DTM - n.3 Kyalami 1991
  
• CA42a Jaguar XJR10 #60- 1st 300Km Portland 1990 - NEW MOULD
  
• CAR06cFerrari 412P - Classic - 24h Le Mans 1967
  
• CA49b Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 #18- 1st Fuji 2018
  
• CA33d Audi R8 LMP #3 24h Le Mans 2001 - with a new chassis CS33t-60b
  

This will be updated with all the 2022 planned releases as soon as possible. There have been a few teasers - a couple of Ferraris, two BRMs and a Chaparral. A catalogue for each of Slot.it and Policar can be expected by mid-February, I reckon.

Sideways have three GT models on their 'coming soon' list... the latest Bentley, the new Aston and a Lexus. And there's the first liveries on the McLaren to look forward to in 2022, plus more Ford GTs, BMWs and Huracáns. And that's just the GTs...

Thunderslot recently released a 6th anniversary model - and are hoping to bounce back after a very tough 18 months. Giovanni Montiglio was certainly full of future plans in 2019, so hopefully some of those will see the light of day this year.

Pioneer have a great catalogue and I'm sure there'll be more liveries in 2022. The three recent Legends shapes were all new tooling, so I don't expect any big surprises this year. But I'd love to be proved wrong!

BRM, TTS and Revoslot continue to turn out some fabulous models in distinct ranges. There are very strong rumours that Revoslot will be adding a second range of cars to their catalogue - 1:32 scale versions of some of the BRM and TTS Group 2 mini-saloons. That's very exciting news to look forward to.

SRC produced a plan for 2021-2023 last year. Here's a reminder...

   

Scaleauto have their generic 1990s F1 cars arriving soon and their GT range got a re-jig with RS-spec mechanicals a few months ago. However, I reckon we're due some new models across their catalogue - although there's no sign when that might appear.

Avant Slot have their Ferrari 308 GTB arriving in January - two road cars, followed by the Pioneer-liveried rally car driven by Jean-Claude Andruet to first place at the 1982 Tour de France Auto. I'm sure more new cars will be announced in due course, although on the usual ad hoc basis rather than a formal catalogue.

Teamslot did produce a catalogue of sorts last year, but an annus horribilis for the Barcelona-based company meant most of those cars are still to be produced. Now they are in new premises and Covid has stabilised in Spain, there seems a steady stream of new models arriving. The Teamslot 2021 new releases thread is still worth referring to. Hopefully there might be a surprise or two in 2022 - like the unannounced Carlos Sainz Toyota from Rallye de España 1992 that arrived out of the blue this autumn and Jamie Gough's 2021 update of his Martini Escort RS2000 due to arrive in the UK next week.

Fly and Slotwings keep their release schedule pretty close to their chests. There are lists, but we can only get really excited when photographs appear and then the models are available a couple of weeks later. The cars produced in 2021 were fabulous - and I'm sure there will be more treats over the next twelve months. Maybe even some new tooling?!

Artisan builders, customisers and kit-builders like Le Mans Minatures, HobbyClassic, Pendles, George Turner Models, Racing Replicas, Scalextric Passion, Maralic, Modelant, Ostereo and Velasor will continue to thrill us with their occasional releases.

In HO scale, AFX have new cars and new tooling due early in 2022. There'll also be interest in the the Scalextric catalogue to see what Micro Scalextric sets and cars are added to the range. AutoWorld will continue to add to their extensive world of HO slot cars - their Trans-Am, NHRA, Legends of the Quarter Mile and Stock Car Legends particularly sought after.

Ninco produced a few new 1:32 sets for their domestic market, although there's been no more news of any slot car plans - and no sign of anything in 1:32 or 1:43 scale arriving with their UK distributor. Other once-pivotal manufacturers like Revell and MRRC have also dropped off the map - and missed out on the slot car renaissance during the pandemic.

In terms of slot car books, Adrian Norman is due to publish the final few volumes of his Scalextric: The Ultimate Guide - and there a few other books about to be published or in the pipeline. I'll keep an eye out in the News section - and epilot will keep us up to date with slot car and modelling magazines on the forum.

The world of slot car scenics has blossomed in recent years - thanks in part to 3D printing technology. Brian keeps an index of manufacturers and suppliers up to date here: https://slotracer.online/community/showt...hp?tid=440

There certainly seems plenty to look forward to in 2022 - even if a lot of it get caught up in the Far East manufacturing bottle-neck. Keep an eye on the News section of the forum and on The Digest each Monday.

What do you hope - or expect - to see in the next twelve months?

[Anthony B]

Yes Thunderslot have a new car coming for 2022 ;)

[rallyhub]

Good inventory, Andy

I would have expect some news from Fly at the Foro Slot Madrid on the 18th of December.???
Nothing heard about their planned Subaru Legacy, Ford Sierra Cosworth 4x4 or Datsun 240Z yet.

[woodcote]

SRC gave us this rather exciting New Year teaser...

   

And I'm also keeping an eye out for any news from Fly. I did expect something after ForoSlot.

[woodcote]

Some news on 2022 prices...

We know that manufacturing and transport costs have risen significantly over the past 12-18 months - and that's right across the board, not just slot cars. There have shortages of semi-conductors and big price rises in raw materials, including plastics.

Scalextric increased the Recommended Retail Price (RRP) for a full-price car from £40.99 to £46.99 last summer and then - looking at the website today - £49.99. Some Movie, TV and special edition cars are £53.99. I understand there won't be any further increases next week with the 2022 catalogue - when a 'normal' amount of new tooling is expected, ie 10+. We'll find out next Monday.

Carrera have released a list for 2022 new releases to retailers today. There are six new moulds in 1:32 scale - a Super Mario Kart, a build 'n' race car, racing truck (?), a BMW M4 GT3, X-Bow GT2/X and the highlight, a 70s Mercedes 300 SEL. The price has risen from £39.99 to £49.99 for an Evolution (analogue) car.

SCX Original (analogue) cars currently have an RRP in the UK of £49.99 (up from £39.95 a year ago) - I have also seen a figure of  £59.99 mentioned for 2022. Nothing on new tooling.

There are no firm announcements from other brands or distributors, although most crept up a few quid during 2021. How much that was retailers absorbing some of the increases, I don't know. They can't do that for ever.

With prices going up 25% or more, I suspect fewer slot cars will be bought - which means what is available needs to be more desirable... Investment in new tooling is probably a wiser move than relying on increasingly obscure re-liveries - although re-releasing a model that sells for mega-bucks on eBay is never a bad choice. Scalextric did okay with their 1976 F1 triple pack last year.

I also expect manufacturers will do everything they can to keep prices of their starter sets down - that's where the price point is absolutely vital to winning new customers.

[MRE]

Its that time of the year again. Scalextric are about to announce their 2022 range on Monday 10 January, so we can start playing the game.

As usual, Scalextric have kept it a secret and not done much (any ?) market research to assess how popular each car is going to be, so it's guesswork again. Having already set their production numbers and factory time, there will be too many of some models (to be sold off cheaply in the future and upset independent traders) and not enough of others (losing sales, cutting back trader orders, and leaving many potential customers disappointed).

With so many 2021 cars not yet being available, we can add a new category this year, and guess the podium positions.

Gold Award = Which new cars will not make it into production or the shops in 2022 ?
Silver Award = Which cars will not be made in enough numbers for demand ?
Bronze Award = Which cars will be overproduced and sold off cheaply in the future ?

The guesses should take into account the price rise to £49.99 for a standard car, extra for Ltd Ed and licenced items. Production component problems and shipping issues will also have a bearing on your answers.

Are you ready ? Gentlemen, start your guesses..........!!!

PS. Tongue in cheek, but with a large element of truth 

[woodcote]

Gary, don't worry - we'll have all the coverage here from around midday on Monday... Until then - 4 days, 50 minutes and counting - it's all guesswork 

As for your awards - I don't think there's anyone in the world who can reliably predict how 2022 (or 2023) will pan out in terms of global manufacturing trends. However, Scalextric are getting much tighter in terms of production numbers. Warehouses full of unsold cars are a thing of the past. For any business, you want to recoup your investment as soon as possible - and if cars sell out, that's always good news... the knock-on effect is consumers learn they can't risk hanging around if they want a car, so new products fly off the shelves nice and quickly. And eBay sellers will have a punt and buy extra too, knowing they can inflate the prices. Shorter-run releases that sell out fast is what Fly are doing at the moment and seems to be working much better for them.

Fifty quid for a standard slot car (Carrera, Scalextric, SCX) means their new products have to be very desirable. Manufacturers can afford the occasional lemon, but not many. Looking through the Carrera list for 2022, there are one or two 'must-have' cars - the Mercedes really stands out - but most are re-liveries. Some of those will be popular with home racing groups and collectors of certain types of car, but I do wonder if the 25% price rise will leave a lot of stock unsold. We'll have to see on Monday if Scalextric have been brave and focussed on new tooling that really excites their broad consumer base of families, collectors, home racers and TV & Movie fans.

[Qman]

I wouldn't be surprised to see a Mr Bean Mini, complete with roof mounted sofa, this created a lot of interest when the Corgi car got mistaken for Scalextric last year (or was it the year before), they already have the Mini and surely upscaling the sofa CAD from 1:43 (Corgi) should be quite easy.

[MRE]

Hi Andy,

Nah, I'm not worried. Just having a bit of fun. All of my post will become true in some way.

Sadly, some 2021 cars have still not been released, Scalextric are pushing "Bundles" of old unsold stock, and some desireable models were cut back to traders and left many unhappy customers. It will probably happen again unfortunately.

I really can't understand why Hornby do this, year after year. If I ran a business that didn't make enough to satisfy all the customers that wanted one, or made thousands of items that nobody bought, I would be pretty ashamed and deserve to go bust with a bad reputation. I don't know who makes the final decisions at Hornby, but "we have always done it like this" is not a sensible business strategy. I'm glad I have retired and don't have to try any more to explain to customers that they can't have their cars because my trade orders have been cut back as not enough were produced.

Anyway, it will be a good guessing game for a lot of Scalextric buyers, I'll make my own guesses on Monday and I expect you will as well 

[Qman]

I wouldn't be surprised to see a Mr Bean Mini, complete with roof mounted sofa, this created a lot of interest when the Corgi car got mistaken for Scalextric last year (or was it the year before), they already have the Mini and surely upscaling the sofa CAD from 1:43 (Corgi) should be quite easy.

I got it right  
Mr Bean