Looking Forward to the 79th Cleveland Slot Car Show

I've attended the last two Cleveland Slot Car Shows and come away not only impressed with the overall organization, but managed to come away with some great slot car buys as well! This Spring show (set for April 21) will have many activities throughout the weekend. Racing will begin Friday evening and the whole day Saturday. Live auctions on Friday and Saturday from the show, with a special charity auction Saturday evening. A slot car forum is scheduled for Saturday evening with manufactures, vendors, and old timers fielding questions on the slot car industry.

Organizer Greg Bennett has let people know that there will be a good selection of 1:32 vendors again, as well as a 1:32 race event to enjoy. That's good news, as the larger scale cars have had an increasing presence at the last few shows...a trend that appears to be continuing.

The show itself will take place on Sunday, starting at 9:30am, with all kinds of door prizes and lots of old and new slot cars in all scales. We are putting out a request for a vendor or venders interested in selling and sitting in on the slot car forum that sells or makes controllers and metering devices for testing slot cars. For more info, contact Greg Bennett on Facebook HERE.

SJ on Live Chat Night on Conquest Racing Channel

I really enjoyed the opportunity to join Rahul, Marty and Jorge on their recent Monday Night Livestream on the Conquest Racing Channel. Rahul and Jorge had graciously reached out to me the previous week, but the timing was not great as that particular Monday night I would have had to leave early. As it was, we were able to get together this week and talk about slot car stuff - not only my personal history in the hobby, but bigger issues like where the hobby was going, what kind of content is needed and how the slot car community's YouTubers can help each other.

Overall, it was a really fun night - the stream chat was pretty lively and, as always, filled with good ideas, helpful info and plenty of humor. It's really nice how these three guys invite both long-time hobbyists and relative newcomers to this weekly YouTube forum to talk about interesting and fun topics, from scratch building, track design and scenery to producing creative videos and growing the hobby. It's a very positive environment and a great ting for our hobby. Be sure to check in on a Monday night and join the discussion on Conquest Racing Club Channel.

 

 

Small Cars, Small Town...Big Fun. That's Professor Tinker.

Just came across this article from the Sentinel-Tribune in Bowling Green, Ohio - featuring Pro Tinker Toys. They are a well-know regional toy and hobby shop that works hard to promote the slot car hobby, particularly in HO and 1:32 scales. Owner Bryan Young has built a significant YouTube presence, posting over 200 videos highlighting products his store carries as well as live streams from the store, hobby shows and just about anything else you can think of. They are usually fun to watch - and some of the live streams can literally go on for hours.

Bryan and his store had a very high profile at the recent Cleveland Slot Car Show, and his crew spent many hours helping to promote the show, setting up tracks for people to race on and working to make the event a success. He continues to be a big believer in the future of the hobby, and sees its popularity growing significantly. Pro Tinker Toys carries a wide range of HO slot cars as well as 1:32 scale cars and track sets; in addition to their brick-and-mortar store in Wayne, Ohio they do a load of online sales via their website, ProtinkerToys.com. Check them out!

Slot Journal Now has a Store with Cool Gear!

It's just a start, but Slot Journal has just set up a new shop where you can get some cool gear to express your love for the hobby. For now, the designs feature our SLOT Journal logo on T-shirts and other apparel, drinkware and various cool items. You'll find a link to the store at the top of our web pages.

As time goes on, we'll be adding some additional gear, with slick slot car-themed designs on the back of Tees and some other ideas that we're coming up with. We've chosen Zazzle as out supplier since we've had good experiences with them in terms of quality and delivery.

Of course, we developed the store mostly for fun--not to make money. We plan on getting some of these items for our own use and also to have some things available as give-aways and prizes. So be sure to check the stuff out and if so moved, get yourself something. It's a great way to let others know that you're serious about slot cars!

Car & Driver Magazine Features Custom Slot Car Track Featuring 'Animal House' and More

 We've all seen the work of Slot Mods Racing - they've produced plenty of awesome real-world-inspired slot car tracks. Featured on Car & Driver, the company's newest creation brings together The Blues Brothers, Animal House, Mad Magazine, and other pop culture icons to the small stage. This track isn't modeled on anything that exists in the real world - instead it takes inspiration from decades-old pop culture.

The new track, called Mad Cave Raceway, combines nostalgic movie scenes - including the infamous float parade from Animal House along with references to The Blues Brothers and billboards for Mad Magazine and Spy vs. Spy cartoons. As you can see from the photo above, the track even includes a custom car made in the shape of the cake float from the Animal House movie.  To read the original article, go HERE.

Now Hear This! And Watch, too...

Most of us in the Slot Car community tune in to hear the latest news each Friday from Dave Kennedy. Though he's recently undergone some medical procedures and is still recovering (successfully, it seems!) Dave is still taking some extra time to drop in on various chats and keeping us up on what;s happening. Inspired by the President's annual State of The Union address, Dave decided to take a few minutes to talk about what's happening in the hobby--the good and the not-so-good (it's mostly good) as well as where things seem to be heading.

Along the way, he offers some insights about digital, how track scenery adds to the hobby and its enjoyment, the rise of 3D printing and cottage-industry manufacturers, and some other topics of interest that will be sure to capture your attention. As always, his observations are grounded in real industry experience, practicality and common sense. Check it out!

Get Your Weekly Fix with Dave Kennedy's Slot Car News

 As I recently got back into the hobby, Dave Kennedy was a familiar name to me and I was happy to see that he had transitioned much of his presence from his Slot Car News blog to a really amazing YouTube Channel. Dave's original blog has transitioned to more of a commercial racing news source, and the content there is now handled by others (though he retains ownership of the site). Dave now primarily focuses on the 1:32 model slot car industry and provides weekly updates on new models coming out, new products, and other content that will be of great interest to most hobbyists.

If you want to know what's going on in the slot car industry, Dave Kennedy is your man.

With his extensive experience working for SCX, Scalextric and Carrera, Dave knows the ins-and-outs of the industry and best of all, isn't afraid to tell it like it is. He's done awesome videos featuring straight talk on subjects such as brand licensing, model production numbers, the basic differences in chassis and motors, and other topics that people often ask about. He explains why companies like Scalextric and Carrera think like "toy manufacturers" and not "slot car enthusiasts" - and how these factors shape the way the industry creates and sells products. It's fascinating stuff, and it's one reason why I look forward to his Friday uploads.

Besides the latest hobby news, Dave also provides a lot of useful and educational content that will be of use to slot car hobbyists--especially those just starting out. He offers helpful tips on the different brands of track, what different manufacturers have to offer, basic car maintenance and much, much more. While his expertise makes him compelling to experienced slot car folks, he doesn't assume you already know everything--and that's refreshing.

Dave also recently started doing some live-stream chat events, where he will happily talk about new developments and answer your questions. Check him out on YouTube at Slot Car News Official.

Hornby Apparently Derailed by Olympics Setback

Shares in Hornby lost more than a third of their value on Tuesday after the maker of model train sets issued its third profit warning of the year.

The owner of the Scalextric, Airfix and Corgi brands warned that an expected sales boost from the Olympic Games ran out of steam, as cash-strapped consumers shunned its London 2012 scale models of black taxis and double-decker buses.

Hornby, whose Olympics-related products included a £20 Team GB cycling velodrome Scalextric racing set, said: “Faced with lower-than-expected sales, major retailers resorted to deep price discounting. [read more here]

Audi A4 Slot Car Demos a Wild Ride in Toronto

Audi Canada has come up with a unique outdoor “test drive” track with Toronto agency Zulu Alpha Kilo, using a handcrafted 20-foot-long custom slot car setup, an iPad controller and a scaled-down Audi A4 Quattro slot car.

The track is located in in downtown Toronto’s financial district; the installation allows participants take the A4 slot car for a wild ride through hairpin turns, down long highway straightaways and through icy mountain passes.  Each car also includes custom in-car cameras that tie into an iPad app to allow the user to experience the view from the driver’s seat. The “race cam” footage can be shared on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. [read more here]