[woodcote]

The 2020 Micro Scalextric range has just been unveiled at Hornby HQ and all the new Micro products should be in the 'New For 2020' pages on the Scalextric website... Except it is really struggling with all the excitement just now.
 
This is the second year of new Micro Scalextric / My First Scalextric track system, which I looked at on SlotRacer Online here. It seems that the 2019 sets did well in the run up to Christmas, both in terms of the publicly-available stats at Amazon and Argos, recommendations from Toy industry websites and in the overwhelming positive feedback by consumers. Two sets were included in last year's Good Toy Guide, including the Law Enforcer set...
 
         
 
So have Scalextric followed that up in 2020? There will be three sets to add to the range, one extra individual car and three Micro Scalextric Accessory Packs. Let's have a look at them...
 
       
 
What caught my eye first was the 007 No Time To Die set - a tie-in with the new James Bond film which is due in cinemas this April. The set contains a re-worked Aston Martin DB5 body that fits the new Micro Scalextric chassis. The DB5 is the iconic movie car and the previous Micro Scalextric version is one of the prettiest 1/64 scale cars that Scalextric have produced.
 
The second car in the set is the Jaguar XF - the standard-issue vehicle for the double-O team in recent Bond movies. This is new tooling for 2020 and the first proper road car for the new Micro system.
 
The set will contain black, undecorated track which will appeal to more mature Micro enthusiasts. It is the medium-sized set - building nine different layouts - and features a battery-powered powerbase. This delivers the same 9 volts as the mains powerbase, but makes the set more versatile and cheaper. A mains powerbase is available as one of the new Accessory Packs. This 007 set is, without doubt, top of my 2020 slot car shopping list.
 
   
 
These are the three new Micro Scalextric Accessory Packs, priced between £10 and £15, all in the same pocket-money price-range as the individual cars. There is the mains powerbase (including UK or US power supply), a stunt loop track and a Straights & Curves pack that includes four 45-degree standard curves and six standard (6-inch) straights - all undecorated black track. I'm sure these will be joined by other Accessory Packs in the next few years.
 
       
 
The second new set is the Batman vs Joker race set. This features last year's Batman character car plus a brand new tool - the 1/64 version of what Scalextric have called their Rasio hypercar - decorated superbly as the Joker's car. The set is another battery-powered medium-sized layout with the decorated black track we say in the 2019 Micro sets. Where I was a little underwhelmed by last year's Justice League cars, I find this new set really attractive.

In terms of individual cars, last year's Superman car will join Wonder Woman and The Flash in the Justice League range. Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner and Penelope Pit Stop's Compact Pussycar will remain in the catalogue, but no new Wacky Races or Looney Tunes individual cars will be added in 2020.
 
       
 
The third and final new set is probably the most important for Scalextric, but will mean very little to most grown-up slot car enthusiasts. 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. Like the Batman vs Joker set, this is the medium-size set, battery-powered and has decorated black track. It's a great little set and I like the cars... but who is this Ryan kid?
 
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. Despite the enduring ethical issues around social media influencers promoting products to children, official branding is about as transparent as you can get.
 
       
 
That's pretty much it for Micro Scalextric in 2020 - apart from adding that some of last year's sets will be re-released as batter-powered versions. The My First Scalextric Looney Tunes set (with Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny) was the one 2019 set on show at Margate today with the battery pack. 

If you want to take a look at the entire Scalextric 2020 range - 1/32 scale as well as 1/64 - there's another thread here.