6th-Dec-20, 10:40 AM
Welcome 
For a track that is going to be set up and packed away regularly, I'd recommend Scalextric over Carrera. Carrera does have plenty of plus points, but quick & easy set-up and packing away is not one of them.
I suspect some of the issues with new sets will be people not bothering reading the instructions! Following the instructions - and planning a leisurely pre-Christmas session to build the track and problem-solve any issues - should normally do the job and ensure a fun 'first' play on Christmas day. A couple of things to say...
1) The new track connections can be really tight and need a very firm push to click into place and hold the track together tightly. Some pieces won’t go together however hard you push – the clips will need pulling out a little, as shown in the picture in the instructions. The connections will loosen up with use, but it is always important to get the track pieces clicked together. That's a common cause of intermittent power on a new track.
2) Braids! As Ken said, keeping the braids straight and neat is really important. Never pull the cars backwards. Check and tweak the braids regularly. There is a diagram in the set instructions that shows how they should look. If the cars get bashed around a bit, the braid plate can get knocked forward, causing poor power delivery to the car. The braid plate must sit exactly over the guide plate underneath - as shown in the diagram in the instructions explaining how to change the braid plate.
The latest Scalextric set come with a new and improved 4-speed controller design. They are much better. An eight-year-old should be using the fastest two settings and soon be proficient on the 'normal' full power setting. I imagine some of the negative comments will be about the older controller type - which was rubbish, to be honest.
Although I haven't used the American Police Chase set, I have set-up and raced on the almost identical Batman vs Joker set. It is a lot of fun - the cross-roads and jump ramp especially! What is particularly nice about the American Police Chase set is that it includes some borders and barriers that allow the cars to drift a bit. I'd be tempted to add a track extension pack (with straights) and more corner borders and barriers as soon as possible. More cars are always good too! The Scalextric range is extensive and includes some cheaper, more robust models, which are good for starting out.
Analogue vs Digital... Starting out, an analogue set is a lot of fun. The police chase format is designed to give hours of enormous enjoyment. You will soon see what you enjoy most and have a feeling of where you'd like to go next - a longer track, buildings and scenery, lap timing and racing - or stick with cruising and chasing. There is no right or wrong way to enjoy slot cars - if you're having fun, you're doing it right for you. There can be a lot of peer pressure in any hobby - including slot cars - that there's only one way to do things. You only have to browse this forum to see people enjoying a huge range of very different aspects of the hobby in many different ways. Go with your gut instinct of what works for you and your family.
Digital is more expensive and more complicated - with more to learn and to troubleshoot. However, if you like gadgets and apps and the possibility of making your slot car racing feel like the 'real thing' - multicar racing (up to six cars) on two lanes, overtaking, pit stops, plus simulations of fuel use, tyre wear, weather changes, random mechanical failures etc etc - then you'll probably love it. But not everyone does, by any means!
An analogue hardware option that offers many of the ARC app features and simulations is ARC Air. This is traditional one-car-per-lane racing with wireless controllers and 95% of the features of the ARC app. You can upgrade a basic analogue set with just the ARC Air powerbase upgrade kit (powerbase, power supply and wireless controllers) replacing the original powerbase and controllers. There is no additional expense of digital lane changers, pit lane or digital chips for the cars. Pit stops take place on the ARC Air powerbase. I really like it - it's an excellent compromise of lots of exciting features, low price and the added complexity is all in the software.
There's lots more ideas and info in the SlotRacer's Manual here: slotracer.online/manual
I hope that helps
For a track that is going to be set up and packed away regularly, I'd recommend Scalextric over Carrera. Carrera does have plenty of plus points, but quick & easy set-up and packing away is not one of them.
I suspect some of the issues with new sets will be people not bothering reading the instructions! Following the instructions - and planning a leisurely pre-Christmas session to build the track and problem-solve any issues - should normally do the job and ensure a fun 'first' play on Christmas day. A couple of things to say...
1) The new track connections can be really tight and need a very firm push to click into place and hold the track together tightly. Some pieces won’t go together however hard you push – the clips will need pulling out a little, as shown in the picture in the instructions. The connections will loosen up with use, but it is always important to get the track pieces clicked together. That's a common cause of intermittent power on a new track.
2) Braids! As Ken said, keeping the braids straight and neat is really important. Never pull the cars backwards. Check and tweak the braids regularly. There is a diagram in the set instructions that shows how they should look. If the cars get bashed around a bit, the braid plate can get knocked forward, causing poor power delivery to the car. The braid plate must sit exactly over the guide plate underneath - as shown in the diagram in the instructions explaining how to change the braid plate.
The latest Scalextric set come with a new and improved 4-speed controller design. They are much better. An eight-year-old should be using the fastest two settings and soon be proficient on the 'normal' full power setting. I imagine some of the negative comments will be about the older controller type - which was rubbish, to be honest.
Although I haven't used the American Police Chase set, I have set-up and raced on the almost identical Batman vs Joker set. It is a lot of fun - the cross-roads and jump ramp especially! What is particularly nice about the American Police Chase set is that it includes some borders and barriers that allow the cars to drift a bit. I'd be tempted to add a track extension pack (with straights) and more corner borders and barriers as soon as possible. More cars are always good too! The Scalextric range is extensive and includes some cheaper, more robust models, which are good for starting out.
Analogue vs Digital... Starting out, an analogue set is a lot of fun. The police chase format is designed to give hours of enormous enjoyment. You will soon see what you enjoy most and have a feeling of where you'd like to go next - a longer track, buildings and scenery, lap timing and racing - or stick with cruising and chasing. There is no right or wrong way to enjoy slot cars - if you're having fun, you're doing it right for you. There can be a lot of peer pressure in any hobby - including slot cars - that there's only one way to do things. You only have to browse this forum to see people enjoying a huge range of very different aspects of the hobby in many different ways. Go with your gut instinct of what works for you and your family.
Digital is more expensive and more complicated - with more to learn and to troubleshoot. However, if you like gadgets and apps and the possibility of making your slot car racing feel like the 'real thing' - multicar racing (up to six cars) on two lanes, overtaking, pit stops, plus simulations of fuel use, tyre wear, weather changes, random mechanical failures etc etc - then you'll probably love it. But not everyone does, by any means!
An analogue hardware option that offers many of the ARC app features and simulations is ARC Air. This is traditional one-car-per-lane racing with wireless controllers and 95% of the features of the ARC app. You can upgrade a basic analogue set with just the ARC Air powerbase upgrade kit (powerbase, power supply and wireless controllers) replacing the original powerbase and controllers. There is no additional expense of digital lane changers, pit lane or digital chips for the cars. Pit stops take place on the ARC Air powerbase. I really like it - it's an excellent compromise of lots of exciting features, low price and the added complexity is all in the software.
There's lots more ideas and info in the SlotRacer's Manual here: slotracer.online/manual
I hope that helps
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