19th-Sep-19, 01:44 PM
The word from the Scalextric stand at the UK Slot Car Festival in May was that the company have begun to re-vamp their range of sets this year...
The most expensive of the new 2019 sets is the C1404 ARC Pro 24hr Le Mans set. With a RRP of £249.99, this is the cheapest ARC Pro set so far. Squeezing a set into the sub-£250 price point is vital for retailers and also to tempt customers intrigued by the ARC Pro features. The set comes with two digitally-chipped Ginetta G60-LT-P1 Le Mans prototype cars, one power supply and two ARC wireless controllers. There is a decent loop of track and one lane changer, but a pit lane will be a necessary purchase to get the most out of the ARC app pit stop functions. To run more cars, additional hand controllers are required (up to six in total) and an extra 15V 4Amp digital power supply is essential to run four to six cars. Additional cars will need digital chips, although the ARC Pro powerbase does also have an analogue mode to run one non-digital car in each lane, but still using almost all the features in the ARC app. With the powerbase featuring updated hardware and firmware, I think this set is a perfect start in the Scalextric digital world. If you want an idea of what the ARC app can do, check out my guide here: https://slotracer.online/missing-manual/
If you like the look of the ARC app features, but don't need digital, then ARC Air gives you pretty much the full range of ARC app features on a pure analogue layout. The C1403 ARC Air World GT set (RRP £199.99) is a fabulous set with plenty of track (including a hairpin), plus two superb GT cars - a Ford GT from Le Mans and a Mercedes AMG GT3 from the Blancpain GT series. Then there's the excellent ARC Air powerbase and two wireless ARC controllers. The standard 15V 1.2Amp power supply is perfectly fine for running Scalextric cars, but Scalextric have hinted that upgrading to the ARC Pro 15V 4Amp power supply can be useful if you're running high performance brands (eg NSR, Slot.it etc) with traction magnets fitted.
The C1405 American Police Chase set (RRP £129.99) features plenty of track hazards - a jump, sideswipe and cross-over - to add to the fun of an American-themed police pursuit. The Dodge Challenger muscle car and AMC Javelin patrol car look great, with the Javelin having a siren and flashing light. The gameplay aspect of this set is crying out for the new Scalextric Spark Plug where racers can boost their own power and limit their opponents. However, even with what comes in the set it will be a lot of fun. Like the I-Pace Challenge and the Christmas 2018 Stock Car Challenge and Endurance sets, new speed-limiting hand throttles are included. These have a similar handle to the ARC controllers, but plug into the powerbase. There are now four speed positions at approximately 25, 50, 75 and 100% power - the lower two settings are flat out through standard Radius 2 bends, but the top two settings do require careful throttle control.
It's good to see a racing set with brand new cars in the basic 'Standard' range. The C1401 Jaguar I-Pace Challenge set (RRP £109.99) has the same layout footprint as previous basic 1/32 sets, including the mechanical lapcounter and the new version of the power-limiting hand throttle. The I-Pace cars look good - they are chunky electric SUVs that run as a support race at the Formula-E series events.
All the Scalextric cars now come with 'super-resistant' style black windows. These are more robust and I am not surprised to see them in the standard sets, but I am not sure they are necessary in the top of the range ARC Air and ARC Pro sets. Personally, I would like to see full-detail cars in those ARC sets. However, that small gripe aside, I think Scalextric have put together a pretty cool quartet of new sets for 2019. As always, I'm looking forward to seeing what is in the 2020 catalogue!
I haven't forgotten the new My First Scalextric and Micro Scalextric sets - they deserve their own post.
- The new and vastly-improved 1/64 scale My First Scalextric and Micro Scalextric sets are aimed at beginners and younger racers.
- The basic standard 1/32 scale sets are split into racing sets including the mechanical lap counter (eg the Jaguar I-Pace Challenge) and pursuit sets with a more 'street' vibe (eg the American Police Chase set). These have the new and improved speed-limiter hand controllers.
- For more advanced racing, there are ARC Air analogue and ARC Pro digital sets with GT and LMP models included, plus the ARC wireless controllers and updated powerbases. Although the old ARC One Ultimate Rivals set is in this year's catalogue, there are no new sets with the basic ARC analogue powerbase.
The most expensive of the new 2019 sets is the C1404 ARC Pro 24hr Le Mans set. With a RRP of £249.99, this is the cheapest ARC Pro set so far. Squeezing a set into the sub-£250 price point is vital for retailers and also to tempt customers intrigued by the ARC Pro features. The set comes with two digitally-chipped Ginetta G60-LT-P1 Le Mans prototype cars, one power supply and two ARC wireless controllers. There is a decent loop of track and one lane changer, but a pit lane will be a necessary purchase to get the most out of the ARC app pit stop functions. To run more cars, additional hand controllers are required (up to six in total) and an extra 15V 4Amp digital power supply is essential to run four to six cars. Additional cars will need digital chips, although the ARC Pro powerbase does also have an analogue mode to run one non-digital car in each lane, but still using almost all the features in the ARC app. With the powerbase featuring updated hardware and firmware, I think this set is a perfect start in the Scalextric digital world. If you want an idea of what the ARC app can do, check out my guide here: https://slotracer.online/missing-manual/
If you like the look of the ARC app features, but don't need digital, then ARC Air gives you pretty much the full range of ARC app features on a pure analogue layout. The C1403 ARC Air World GT set (RRP £199.99) is a fabulous set with plenty of track (including a hairpin), plus two superb GT cars - a Ford GT from Le Mans and a Mercedes AMG GT3 from the Blancpain GT series. Then there's the excellent ARC Air powerbase and two wireless ARC controllers. The standard 15V 1.2Amp power supply is perfectly fine for running Scalextric cars, but Scalextric have hinted that upgrading to the ARC Pro 15V 4Amp power supply can be useful if you're running high performance brands (eg NSR, Slot.it etc) with traction magnets fitted.
The C1405 American Police Chase set (RRP £129.99) features plenty of track hazards - a jump, sideswipe and cross-over - to add to the fun of an American-themed police pursuit. The Dodge Challenger muscle car and AMC Javelin patrol car look great, with the Javelin having a siren and flashing light. The gameplay aspect of this set is crying out for the new Scalextric Spark Plug where racers can boost their own power and limit their opponents. However, even with what comes in the set it will be a lot of fun. Like the I-Pace Challenge and the Christmas 2018 Stock Car Challenge and Endurance sets, new speed-limiting hand throttles are included. These have a similar handle to the ARC controllers, but plug into the powerbase. There are now four speed positions at approximately 25, 50, 75 and 100% power - the lower two settings are flat out through standard Radius 2 bends, but the top two settings do require careful throttle control.
It's good to see a racing set with brand new cars in the basic 'Standard' range. The C1401 Jaguar I-Pace Challenge set (RRP £109.99) has the same layout footprint as previous basic 1/32 sets, including the mechanical lapcounter and the new version of the power-limiting hand throttle. The I-Pace cars look good - they are chunky electric SUVs that run as a support race at the Formula-E series events.
All the Scalextric cars now come with 'super-resistant' style black windows. These are more robust and I am not surprised to see them in the standard sets, but I am not sure they are necessary in the top of the range ARC Air and ARC Pro sets. Personally, I would like to see full-detail cars in those ARC sets. However, that small gripe aside, I think Scalextric have put together a pretty cool quartet of new sets for 2019. As always, I'm looking forward to seeing what is in the 2020 catalogue!
I haven't forgotten the new My First Scalextric and Micro Scalextric sets - they deserve their own post.