20th-Nov-21, 06:14 PM
I've just watched Gary's video and really enjoyed it. Like his first one (Scalextric vs Carrera) the 20 minutes sailed past - and as I don't have much patience for woeful YouTube videos, that's high praise 
Looking at Gary's two videos in context, I get the feeling they are aimed squarely at those thousands of newbies who've discovered (or rediscovered) Scalextric and slot cars over the past 18 months or so. In that respect, they really hit the spot - they are very thorough, honest and easy to follow. Gary says it how it is, but doesn't have an axe to grind - which is a nice antidote to some of the stuff I see on the forums and Facebook.
That audience is really important - lots of new blood into our hobby - and we could do with accessible information about what's available and how these 'other' brands differ from standard Scalextric and Carrera models. My attempt at this was a series of posts over the summer on the Jadlam blog: https://blog.jadlamracingmodels.com/tag/...slot-cars/
The distinction between 'toy' and 'not-really-a-toy' is important beyond splitting hairs over what actually to call them. Gary uses 'professional', I use 'performance' - in HO racing the term 'hobby chassis' is used to distinguish them. The crucial thing is that they are different things and designed for different markets. One isn't inherently 'good' and one isn't inherently 'bad'. They are what they are designed to be. And, of course, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.
There are many different ways of enjoying this wonderful hobby - my opinion is that they're all equally valid, albeit with one proviso: we're all having fun and no-one gets hurt. However, there's no doubt that a good number of newbies are experimenting with the 'professional' brands and Gary's video is a great help to understand what is in their hands. These would be useful resources to add to the SlotRacer's Manual, I reckon.
One thing that Gary didn't mention in this video was magnets - but he covered that well in the Scalextric vs Carrera episode (https://youtu.be/KeSlkPdjLqc). Most people starting out in the hobby will be happily using magnets in their Scalextric or Carrera cars - so it's not entirely helpful that some of the 'professional' brands fit them. Okay, the Slot.it cars have pretty weedy magnets, but those NSR ones are just bonkers!
Great stuff - and I'm looking forward to the next instalment
Looking at Gary's two videos in context, I get the feeling they are aimed squarely at those thousands of newbies who've discovered (or rediscovered) Scalextric and slot cars over the past 18 months or so. In that respect, they really hit the spot - they are very thorough, honest and easy to follow. Gary says it how it is, but doesn't have an axe to grind - which is a nice antidote to some of the stuff I see on the forums and Facebook.
That audience is really important - lots of new blood into our hobby - and we could do with accessible information about what's available and how these 'other' brands differ from standard Scalextric and Carrera models. My attempt at this was a series of posts over the summer on the Jadlam blog: https://blog.jadlamracingmodels.com/tag/...slot-cars/
The distinction between 'toy' and 'not-really-a-toy' is important beyond splitting hairs over what actually to call them. Gary uses 'professional', I use 'performance' - in HO racing the term 'hobby chassis' is used to distinguish them. The crucial thing is that they are different things and designed for different markets. One isn't inherently 'good' and one isn't inherently 'bad'. They are what they are designed to be. And, of course, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.
There are many different ways of enjoying this wonderful hobby - my opinion is that they're all equally valid, albeit with one proviso: we're all having fun and no-one gets hurt. However, there's no doubt that a good number of newbies are experimenting with the 'professional' brands and Gary's video is a great help to understand what is in their hands. These would be useful resources to add to the SlotRacer's Manual, I reckon.
One thing that Gary didn't mention in this video was magnets - but he covered that well in the Scalextric vs Carrera episode (https://youtu.be/KeSlkPdjLqc). Most people starting out in the hobby will be happily using magnets in their Scalextric or Carrera cars - so it's not entirely helpful that some of the 'professional' brands fit them. Okay, the Slot.it cars have pretty weedy magnets, but those NSR ones are just bonkers!
Great stuff - and I'm looking forward to the next instalment
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