[Gordon Steadman]

Before BRM do some 32nd scale versions of their cars, they could make the 24th ones available  

I've been trying to get an Alfa - red one naturally - for over a year now!

[GT40Racer]

Before BRM do some 32nd scale versions of their cars, they could make the 24th ones available  

I've been trying to get an Alfa - red one naturally - for over a year now!

They came out mid-2020 - they sold out and then they did a re-release of the red one so if you missed the boat back then you may be out of luck. I think they sold over 3000 of their Gulf mini but not sure what their usual production run is - maybe 500 or 1000 cars.

They are doing the GTAm this year so maybe wait and get one of them :)

[CMOTD]

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.

I can't help thinking that all the major manufacturers are milking it a tad and seeing how much they can get away with, a 25% increase in one year is way above the current rate of inflation. SCX are pushing it even further and I can see no reason for an RRP £8 above Scalextric and Carrera unless they don't actually want to sell cars in the UK.

Yes, I know shipping costs have gone through the roof but the impact on the price of a single slot car is marginal at best. The oft quoted price for  a 40Ft container from China to the UK is £16000 but it is actually US $16000 not pounds sterling. My maths skills are not perfect, so correct me if I am wrong, but I reckon you could get 68,000 slot cars in a single container so the shipping cost per car is still just 20p! Various other costs such as energy, labour etc can hardly have much of an impact on one fairly small industrial unit in Margate if you divide it up across the sheer number of individual products they sell.

So what is the actual justification for a £10 price hike in one year on all slot cars?