[woodcote]

   

Rumours have been flying around the Spanish-speaking slot car world this week about the some new 1/32 scale offerings from Ninco. Armed with very rusty beach-holiday Spanish and Google Translate, I've tried to figure out what's going on...

What we do know for sure is that four new 1/32 Audi R8 GT3 cars and two new 1/32 scale sets have appeared on the Ninco website this week and are marked 'coming soon'...

       
Ninco 20195 Circuit GT Race 1:32 - priced at 149,99 Euros

       
Ninco 20194 Circuit Grand Track 1:32 - priced at 199,99 Euros

The cars included in the sets and available separately are the works Audi R8 GT3s from the 2015 Spa 24 hour race...

       
Ninco 50671 Audi R8 GT3 "6" 1:32
Ninco 50670 Audi R8 GT3 "5" 1:32

       
Ninco 50669 Audi R8 GT3 "2" 1:32
Ninco 50668 Audi R8 GT3 "1" 1:32

The cars are priced at 34,99 Euros and have this description...

New 1:32 slot cars by Ninco. A ABS body clipped on the universal Ninco Chassis, providing a very low center of gravity.

The website also states they are fitted with the popular NC-5 'Speeder' long can motor.

Now we are into conjecture...

If these are new cars and sets (and they haven't been listed anywhere before), it suggests that Ninco have ditched the vac-formed cars and returned to a hard (ABS) plastic body on their Universal Chassis - the same format as the Seat Leon...

   

If Ninco are selling new cars and sets, perhaps we can hope to see more parts - such as the NC-5 motors - in stock and some - or all - of the track tooling put back into use. We do know that the new owners have produced runs of the digital lane changers and single lane pieces for Professor Motor to distribute in North America and Europe, so that tooling is there and can be put to use, if the new owners so wish...

These developments all make sense. Slot car sets are selling well during the pandemic - better than the more outdoors R/C products that Ninco sells. Their 1/43 venture hasn't been entirely successful, with the WRC-branded offshoot left to flounder. Whereas Ninco 1/32 scale track is still very highly-regarded and is used by very many clubs and home users. New and returning enthusiasts will be seeing Ninco track recommended across old posts on forums and websites. It would be crazy to miss out, wouldn't it?

I have contacted Gaugemaster, who were (and may still be) Ninco's slot car distributor in the UK - I have noticed they've had a stock-clearance of both 1/32 and 1/43 scale Ninco products this year. And - of course - they distribute the new Policar track system that was supposed to be the replacement for the 'defunct' Ninco track...

When there's more news from Spain, I'll translate it and post it.

[woodcote]

Ninco's UK distributor now have both 1:32 scale sets listed as "out of stock but available to order" - which suggests they are on order with Ninco and will be available in the UK. The 20195 GT Race Starter Set is listed at £149.95 and the 20194 Grand Track Starter Set is listed at £199.95.

The four individual 1:32 scale Audi cars are all listed as "New item not yet released" and priced at £34.95.

Also new in the Ninco section of the Gaugemaster site are nine 1:43 scale cars - two Maserati GT3 cars, two police cars and five rally cars, the latter formerly branded as WRC. There are two Ford Fiestas, a Toyota Yaris, Citroen C4 and a Hyundai i20. Some of these have been available already as individual cars, others only as set cars. Only the police cars are currently in stock. There are also a couple of Ninco-branded 1:43 sets at half price - these are 100% compatible with the WRC sets.

[woodcote]

Update: The 1:32 scale sets and cars are available to buy on the Ninco website here. Unfotunately, it seems they will only ship to Spain, Portugal and France. I haven't seen the sets or cars in stock at any retailers across Europe. They remain 'Out of stock but available to order' at UK distributor Gaugemaster here.

There are also more Ninco 1:32 spares and track pieces available on the Ninco site (here) than I've seen elsewhere. That doesn't include the NC-5 Speeder motor or the sprung guides, but I will be keeping an eye out. Again, we'll be relying on Gaugemaster to order any parts for availability in the UK. If you're keen to get hold of a Ninco set, the new GT3 cars, track pieces or spares, do nudge Gaugemaster: www.gaugemasterretail.com/magento/contacts/