[woodcote]

It's time to take a quick look at the new sets for 2020 - three 1/32 scale and three 1/64 scale Micro Scalextric - and they are all rather good.

       

For Scalextric, this is probably the headline act for 2020 - a Batman vs Joker DC Comics-licensed set to appeal as a must-have set for young families. The set includes the new Spark Plug instead of controllers - this is a dongle that plugs into the standard analogue powerbase so any smart phone or tablet can act as a wireless controller. I've tried it and it's fun. A new version of the Spark Plug app will be released as a tie-in with this set - it'll have DC Comics graphics and an extra feature where a driver loses lives every time they crash. With a jump ramp, sideswipe and cross-road junction, that could happen a lot!

   

The cars in the set look fab - the Batman LMP1 car is amazing and I really like the Joker-inspired decoration on the Rasio hypercar. Both have working lights and are good fun to drive.

There is also a Micro Scalextric Batman vs Joker set using the new 2019 Micro Scalextric track system. It features last year's Batman car and a Joker car based on the 1/64 scale version of the Rasio...

       

Also new for Micro Scalextric this year is a 007 No Time to Die set, featuring a re-worked Aston Martin DB5 and a brand new Jaguar XF. However, probably the most important Micro Scalextric set - and potentially the best-selling Scalextric product of 2020 - is this one...

       

The Ryan's World Ryan's Street Chase set features the 2018 police SUV as the Ryan Patrol car and the new Rasio hypercar as Dark Titan Racer. So what's the big deal? Ryan's World is a YouTube channel with over 23 million subscribers and an eye-watering 30 billion views since 2015, including some of the most-watched videos on YouTube. Ryan Kaji is just eight, but he and his family are some of the most recognisable people on the planet for young children. Ryan's World is all about reviewing and playing with toys - so for Micro Scalextric to have a Ryan's World licensed and branded set in their catalogue is a big deal. There's more about the 2020 Micro range here.

Back to 1/32 scale and it looks like the Ginetta LMP1 will also be getting plenty of action in Scalextric sets now and in the future. The entry-level Ginetta Racers set replaces all those with the older Lightning GT and Team LMP cars. It is a big step up in quality...

         

The cars aren't fitted with headlights in this set and they feature the usual set-car black windows - but they are DPR for easy digital conversion.

Last, but not least, is the return of the full-spec ARC Pro Platinum GT set. With four digital cars, four wireless controllers, two power supplies and a big track with a pit lane - this is pretty much the full ARC Pro package in one big hit. I'm really glad to see it back in the catalogue...

   

That means the ARC Pro range is bookended by the £250-ish entry-level ARC Pro Le Mans 24 hour set with two cars (and no pit lane) and the £500 ARC Pro Platinum set - with the 3-supercar Sunset Speedway set somewhere in between. Speaking of digital...

   

The C7042 advanced six-car powerbase is still in the catalogue. It has not, however, been relaunched or a new batch been manufactured. According to the Scalextric team, what remains in stock is all there is - when they are gone, they are gone - but that on current sales, they should be available to digital enthusiasts for "quite a few years".

[woodcote]

There is still all the classic touring car, classic GT and sportscars and one rally-cross / rally car to cover. And there is still some new tooling to look at. I'll start with what I'll loosely term Classic GT and Sports Cars...

   

The Camaro IROC Z is the car that featured in last year's BBC documentary 'Big Trouble in Model Britain'. Unfortunately, this is the only decent photo I got of the new cars - I was obviously so excited by them, I couldn't hold the camera still. They do look fab and are great, high-detail reproductions of the IROC Camaros. Dave Kennedy - who was the man behind the project - has loads of great pics on facebook, if you have a look. I'm certainly hoping for a full ARC Pro grid of colours (that's red, green, blue, yellow, orange and white) over the next couple of years.

       

Next are a trio of superb reliveries - the Ford MkIV driven by Denny Hulme and Lloyd Ruby at the 1967 Le Mans 24 hours, plus the Scuderia Fillipinetti 412P that raced the 1967 Targa Florio. The third car is a model of the final GT40 to be built - GT40 P/1083. It was sold to the Colegio Arte e Instrucao team in Rio de Janeiro and was raced by them between 1969 to 1971, before being sold to Wilson Fittipaldi - Emerson's brother. The car now takes part in international historic racing events, driven by owner Archie Urciuoli.

         

The new Corvette L88 livery is a genuine racing livery, as well as being a pretty eye-catching addition to the range. The Murray Racing Team #66 car raced in the 1973 Mid Ohio 6 hour IMSA race, finishing second. The VW panel van is certainly not a GT or sports car - however, it does pay homage to the highly successful Brumos IMSA team and looks sensational.

   

The final car in this category is a McLaren F1 GTR in a very fetching plain orange. Next to it is another Dodge Charger hotrod, which would be better placed in the next category...

[BAracer]

So Andy...what did they give you in your goody bag? 

Or more to the point, what did you manage to hide in your briefcase before you left???

[woodcote]

Nothing in a goody bag - unless you include a very nice cup of tea and a pastry. And certainly nothing purloined... Heaven forbid!

[richardtheforth]

Thanks for all this Andy, great coverage.

[woodcote]

Thanks Richard - more coming soon

[woodcote]

Two more 80s Nascar liveries in 2020...

         

I am enjoying these Monte Carlo and T-Bird fantasy liveries - and the Scalextric design team seem to enjoy producing them too. The #55 Arrow Head Monte Carlo is one of the best yet, and whoever came up with 'Allama' as a sponsor deserves a medal. That made me smile... a lot.


Trans-Am time... And no new tooling this year. However, some super-duper re-liveries here for the Cougar, Challenger and Mustang:

       

That Sam Posey #76 Dodge Challenger is straight on my wishlist. The #76 was Posey's backup car for most of the 1970 Trans-Am season, with Tony Adamowicz driving it at the final race at Riverside. The Mustang was a KarKraft Boss 302 development car that Martin Birrane brought to the UK and raced - with Cona Coffee sponsorship - in 1971 and 1972, including at the 1971 Spa 24 hours.

       

The Mercury Cougar is a modern day historic racer inspired, no doubt, by the iconic green and gold Allan Moffat #41 car that raced in the Trans-Am series in 1967. The #48 metallic green car is raced by Scott Hackenson in vintage Trans-Am events.

And just to the left of the Cougar is the #24 Libra International Racing Ford Escort Mk1 driven by John Fitzpatrick and John Buffom at the 1972 Daytona 6 hour race. I like this car very very much...

[woodcote]

Some more new tooling... the 3-door Holden Torana A9X hatchback - something fans of classic Aussie touring car racing will enjoy.

       

Like the previous 4-door Torana, the car has the FF slim can motor. Advertised at Bob Morris' 1979 ATCC car, it should look something like this, I guess...

       

Alongside the Torana prototype is a racing livery for the Capri Mk3 (remember that in the Only Fools and Horses pic?) - there will loads of liveries available and Scalextric have picked the 3.0S that Stewart Graham drove in the 1979 Britisg Saloon Car Championship. Brut sponsorship certainly hits the spot. And on the right is another great Mini Cooper S livery - this one a Andrew and Mike Jordan prepared car. Was it the car they bought for the Silverstone Classic Mini Celebration in 2019 and didn't race? I am not sure...

Another Jordan classic is the 2018 Goodwood Members' meeting Sears' trophy race-winning Lotus Cortina that Andrew shared with the car owner Howard Donald (yes, that Howard Donald) - nice bit of Mike Jordan prepation and typical paint job too. Alongside the Cortina is another version of the lovely Mk3 Capri - this time a cop car. Flashing lights, but no siren.

       

We're getting close to the end now... but still some great stuff. This black VW Beetle belongs to Salvage Hunter's Drew Pritchard and he has been know to race it at Goodwood and other historic events.

       

Alongside the Bug is another BTCC livery for the Sierra RS500. This time it looks very much like the car driven at the August 1987 Donington Park round by Graham Goode - giving the RS500 it's first BTCC race victory. The other Sierra is - wait for it Leo - sort of a rally car. Does Rallycross count? I guess it's better than nothing. For the rest of us it's a cheeky Camel-ish livery from the Rallycross Europe Championship. Driver Bjørn Skogstad was runner-up in the championship four years running (I know the feeling) after winning the title in 1988 - all in the Sierra RS500.

       

That leaves just one limited edition twin-pack - a pair of Jägermeister BMW E30 M3s run by the Linder Motorsport team in the 1992 DTM. Regular driver Armin Hahner was joined towards the end of the season by motorbike racing legend Wayne Gardner - definitely another one for Aussie racing fans...


   

   

And there ends the reportage from Margate, I think. Do tell me if I missed something - or if you have any questions. If there's something you like, get pre-ordering. Some of those beauties are going get snapped up fast. As Del Boy would say - Si, danke schon, bonjour for now...

[FlagSlotRacer]

Thanks so much for your coverage Woodcote!!

[BAracer]

Ditto

A fun day!