# Matchbox Motorway Layout



## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

For years I have been fascinated with the unconventional *Matchbox Motorway* slot system for diecast and other non-motorized cars. 










Arnold, one of Germany's oldest toymaking firms, developed the system in the mid 1960s, and Matchbox marketed it in Britain and the US to allow kids and collectors to run their Matchbox cars. 

This year, I found a set at a very reasonable price. With an eye toward using it for the under-the-tree layout this Christmas, I got the track running today, thanks in part to the generosity of HobbyTalk members Scott (*Noddaz*) and Rick (*ParkRNDL*) who helped me out with garage-sale track pieces that I used to replace damaged ones in the set. Many thanks, guys. :wave:










Each slot has a channel beneath it. 










A very, very long coil spring runs all the way around the track in the channel, powered by a trackside motor for each lane. 










In the Matchbox system, you attach nylon guide pins to the cars with heavy self-adhesive foil. After 50 years, my set's foil was used and no-longer sticky, so I used clear packing tape to attach the foil to the car body for testing. It worked very well and is nearly invisible.










The pin engages the moving spring, which pulls the car along the track.

The first car I ran was a veteran Matchbox BRM. It has decent paint, but after half a century, the decals were in shreds, so I removed them entirely.










Part of the appeal of the Arnold/Matchbox system is that thin-bodied cars like '50s and '60s Formula cars, the old-time open-wheel and cycle-fendered racers and hot rods can run on it. Their bodies can be reasonably proportioned, since they don't need to contain a motor.

Now, to find the answer to the question that has been in my mind for many years: Can this Rube Goldberg system really propel cars fast enough to spin out and provide a driving challenge, or is the "racing" option merely a matter of holding the thumb plunger all the way down until you get bored with it?

And, if so, can I get this _particular_ set to achieve its original level of performance?

Answers to come; watch this space.

-- D


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

It's like a little upside down conveyor system.

Finally, a solution to the magnet wars.


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*Thanks D... great tute....*

... and interesting project. We had a HUGE collection of MB cars mostly dead mint and boxed. I believe when I asked for one of these (circa 1967) the idea was summarily panned in favor of keeping the cars "in the case". Shortly after that Hot Wheels, Sizzlers, and finally Slots was (for me) the path to finally realizing "little cars that worked". Definitely keep us in the loop here D. :thumbsup:

btw: Not to muddy the water here, but looking at the generous lane spacing, I wonder if copper tape could be applied to the track and power applied somehow?? As it sits, it looks like a routed track without rails.

also: I could see this system worked into a slot layout's scenery and wired to run at a constant scale "Highway" speeds with trucks and cars


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

AfxToo said:


> Finally, a solution to the magnet wars.


LOL


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

I'm left wondering how loud that set up is when its running.


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## Yakboy (Dec 2, 2010)

Bit of a newbie here but was fascinated by this thread as my brother had a matchbox track when we were boys in the 70's....the long spring was a bit wierd and yes it was very loud !!!!


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*A thrill a minute ...for one minute*

I appreciate all cool vintage gizmos and toys...especially this one being so pristine...I'll have to dust off a clay tablet and check the permanent record.

Ah yes...now I 'member! It were Ninteen hundert und scheekstee schumthin'-er-uther...it's all coming back to me. Dad was away 'cuz great uncle Luther had gone bonkers and lit out from the nursing home to go live in the woods. Mom came home with one of these on a wing and prayer cuz I was housebound with a blown out ankle from peewee football and she'd had just about enough of my crap.

Everyone was trying to gain an edge in those days and weasel away yer allowance money....Aurora tried gravity coasters in the form of "Spud-lines" ...all Matchbox could offer was this stop gap Dorkulation....and eventually Hot Wheels kicked them both in the butt. As D-slot pointed out, the squares of high grade freezer tape dont last forever especially when subjected to carpet fuzz and pet hair: let alone the stark reality that in those days exotic tape was virtually unobtainium for the average kid. 

These were not even remotely close to real motor racing; although like every manufacturer at the time, the box artwork was most convincing. Imagine something lamer than your worst vibrator chassis on a bad day. All that said, the only saving grace was the fact that, with a little creativity, you could run any old thing ya wanted from the most exotic Corgi or Marklin of the era, to a rusty bowlegged Tootsie Toy that had survived the great green army men apocolypse. Equally unique was the idea that one could plop on as many vehicles as you wanted until the gross tonnage exceeded the available grunt in the drive system...all the while maintaining your vehicle spacing. 

Even at an early age the concept of being towed around the track like Tea Cups at the kiddy carnival seemed retarded. Blessedly mine went to the rummage sale with my rock polisher, and moms old blender that had a bad clutch. Coincidentally they all kinda made a similar sound!

It really was the best of times. Thanks for the memories "D" !


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

*Part II - Testing*

So here I am with pins chewing-gummed to '60's F1 racing cars for use with the Matchbox Motorway, but no idea whether the system will allow any meaningful racing. 










First test was not encouraging. With a teeth-rattling grind, the spring dragged the little BRM up and down, around the course. Very slooowly. Very unevenly. And - did I mention? - very loudly.

I began to think my suspicions were correct - the Motorway had been designed for kids to represent highway traffic with their Matchbox toys - the sales references to racing were just to cover all the marketing bases. You just can't expect too much of a 9-volt Hong Kong motor lugging a 14-foot length of coil spring through a winding channel.










I pulled and examined the springs. Lots of mild kinks - mild, but enough to exert extra pressure on both sides of the channel. After correcting them, I dry-lubed the coil and tried again. Performance was much improved, but still couldn't cause a deslot on high speed. And there was distinct difference in lane speeds - two real dealbreakers for racing.

Since motor speed goes up with voltage, I replaced the tiny 9V powerpack with a  Tomy 22V wall wart, just for proof-of-concept testing, you understand. 

*Wahoo!* :woohoo: The blue BRM flew around the track, deslotting on curves at the half-speed setting. Concept proved! (With a vengeance!) 

My elation was soon tempered by _*that*_ smell (you know, the classic toy-train baked-phenolic odor that means, "Turn off the transformer NOW"), not to mention the wisps of smoke rising from the Matchbox controller. I substituted a classic yellow AFX controller, but it got hot also. How the heck many amps can this thing be pulling out of a furschlugginer wall wart?

Okay, let's try a 17V cheap HO train powerpack, and, um, WD40 on the coil, and - blinding inspiration! - *oil* the motor bearings and teflon-grease the gear teeth! (Hey, good thinking, turbo-brain.) Replace one ratty track section, smooth more kinks, fiddle, tinker. Okayyyy, now it's _screaming!_ Fifteen minutes of full power in alternate directions (but in short bursts to minimize the chance of fricasseeing more phenolic), just to scour out the dust and gunge in the channel and burnish down the plastic.

Now, let's hook up the original equipment and see what it does. Same tiny 9-volter, same controllers, but *Wow*, what a difference! Definitely raceworthy. The old hard rubber on the Matchbox cars and the plastic tires on the Hot Wheels means fishtailing that would send any T-jet home with a severe inferiority complex. 










Let's see - lots of power, no downforce, terrifyingly little roadholding - why, it's ... it's ... _*just like '60s Formula-1 racing!*_ Even the _sound_ - the grinding growl replaced by a high-pitched ringing buzz - but still insistently loud. Gotta be a 1.5-liter V-12 at suicidal rpm.

I'm happy.  Time to unplug and head for bed.

More to come...

-- D


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Nice! What a concept.


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## Rolls (Jan 1, 2010)

Great story, D. And great storytelling, too!! Felt like I went right through it with ya'. Thanks!


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

I wish you took some video.

Very cool story and synopsis.


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

*tjd241* sez:


tjd241 said:


> ... We had a HUGE collection of MB cars mostly dead mint and boxed. I believe when I asked for one of these (circa 1967) the idea was summarily panned in favor of keeping the cars "in the case".


Toys?!! 

Kept "in the case"!!!!???

Preposterous!!!!! (and no fun, either)



> ... looking at the generous lane spacing, I wonder if copper tape could be applied to the track and power applied somehow?? As it sits, it looks like a routed track without rails.


Surely that's all for the better. Visually, at any rate. 

Besides, once you have power rails, then you start trying to shoehorn motors into undersized models and you can't recreate Pete Aron's incredible victory for Yamura in "Grand Prix" because the silly cars are shaped like pencils.









But Matchbox knew what they were doing when they spaced the lanes out.










They didn't just make the teensey cars, you know.

*SlottV sez:*


> I'm left wondering how loud that set up is when its running.


Very. It's not as deafening as it was at first, before lubrication and run in, but it's still very loud, I'd guess three times the decibels of a Tjet layout. If I can't deaden the noise to a reasonable level with felt or foam underneath, the TM will never go for it as this year's Christmas tree layout, no matter how many cars it will run at a time. 

A nylon spring would help the noise I think. Eldon used one in their similar-system Collect-A-Car Raceway, but the "Complete" example I got from a slickster on eBay was not in runnable shape.

Bill sez:


> ... in those days exotic tape was virtually unobtainium for the average kid.


Nobody thought you'd need anything but Scotch Cellophane Tape and Duco Cement for any repair job.



> ... with a little creativity, you could run any old thing ya wanted from the most exotic Corgi or Marklin of the era, to a rusty bowlegged Tootsie Toy ...


I've even run a Christmas Tree ornament on mine.








A piece of toothpick in a packed glob of tacky putty serves as a guide pin (for a while).



> Equally unique was the idea that one could plop on as many vehicles as you wanted until the gross tonnage exceeded the available grunt in the drive system...all the while maintaining your vehicle spacing.


I'm counting on that feature to make this thing look good for Christmas. Some snow-covered HO houses, a service station and two opposed lanes of cars continually passing by. If I can solve the noise problem, that is.



> It really was the best of times.


Yeah. Except for that part about the tape. And the adhesives. And the batteries. And the black-and-white TV. And typewriters. And ...



> Thanks for the memories "D" !


:wave: Any time, Bill. That's really what it's all about for me.

-- D


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

AWESOME. That is all. :thumbsup: 

--rick


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

*Bill* sez:


> These were not even remotely close to real motor racing;


But ... but, if you pulled a mold off the tires, and cast up some replica Matchbox rears in nice sticky silicone ...

-- D


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

Cool stories!

Too bad it's loud, you could get santa sleighs or elf figurines and have a sweet under-tree race set. 

I'm also visualizing this race set in the hands of a hipster artiste, racing a spoon against a money clip as commentary on capitalism


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

*Progress to Date*

The tree is up now; decorations later today. We're going with the Matchbox Motorway as the undertree layout. The track has been reconfigured to fit around the base (a decorated can weighted with garden pebbles). 










The track sits on foamcore board, and will have a couple of layers of snow blanket between the track and the foamcore, so I'm hoping the noise will be reduced further. 










If it's still too loud, I'll try packing the underside with polyfill or gluing white fun foam to the bottom of the track sections. 

Thinking of going with an early 20th C theme. Victorian houses with the larger scale Matchbox "Yesteryear" series and Lledo "Days Gone" vehicles. 










Bridge clearance is the limiting factor, and I'll have to check my old-car and larger-building inventories.

More to come.

-- D


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

You sure do make Christmas decorating fun D!! I can't wait to see this one buttoned up. :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Soooo very cool and nostalgic!

Just like slots, try oiling the hubs on the "Yesteryear" models. Check the tires for nibs and glitches. Ya might check wheel/axle alignments and make some gentle tweaks.

All in an effort to keep friction and wallowing down to the absolute minimum; thereby lightening the stress and prolonging the life of that ancient drive system you've painstakingly restored.


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## WesJY (Mar 4, 2004)

SO COOL!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Wes


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

> _Bill sez: _Just like slots, try oiling the hubs on the "Yesteryear" models. Check the tires for nibs and glitches. Ya might check wheel/axle alignments and make some gentle tweaks.


Sha-ZAM!! A tip of the Dslot driver's helmet to Bill Hall. 

It's a _very_ good suggestion. And a point I'd overlooked, since the cars are outside the actual drive system. With the big vintage die-casts, that little motor will be hauling several heavy cars per lane, and it's going to need all the help it can get.

Thanks, Bill. :wave:

-- D


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## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

Dslot,

HO,HO,HO great to see this thing GO,GO,GO!!

Bob...the spring is the thing...zilla


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## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

How easy is it to put together with a spring running in the slot?!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

Jim Norton said:


> How easy is it to put together with a spring running in the slot?!


You put the track pieces together, then thread the spring through from the drive-house track section, and clip the ends together when it comes back through. The pieces snap together fairly easily and hold well, but any time you want to change the track arrangement or replace a piece of track, you have to:
1. pull both drive-houses, then 
2. manually shift the spring along until the clip reaches the open area of the drive-house track, 
3. unclip the spring ends, and 
4. pull all fourteen feet of spring through the whole slot, and out. 
5. Then repeat for the other lane. 
6. Roll up the springs, and put them where the cat can't get to them.​
Now you can take the track sections apart. When you're ready to put them back together, just, y'know, reverse the process.

A colossal nuisance, really. :freak: One of the several reasons the system never caught on.

-- D


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

still a pretty neat set up for multiple vehicles to travel same lane without catching up to each other. looking forward to more pics.


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## CTSV OWNER (Dec 27, 2009)

Excellent thread. I am enjoying following your progress.


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

*Picking up the Thread*

Almost a year later, I'm finally picking up the Matchbox Christmas Layout thread again. I do apologize for the long delay.  

At the point where the thread left off, I got interrupted by some holiday crisis, and with the unexpected difficulty of getting the track to run well, I barely had time to get a functioning version, minus most of the scenery, done by Christmas. 










With the setbacks some of my enthusiasm evaporated, and I did not continue to chronicle the progress in the forum. It was well into the new year before I brought the layout to what I had originally envisioned. 










The track and tree occupied the dining table in our undersized house, and though the TM is amazingly even-tempered and tolerant of my hobby peculiarities, I _had_ begun to notice a certain style of wifely humor emerging...










The layout ended up working well and looking good, if not in time for Christmas. It deserved to have its story told. After I took it down, my plan was to do a small website on the subject afterward, but a site is a lot of work up front, and I just couldn't seem to get that project going. 










Suddenly it's closing in on Christmas 2011. :freak: So I'm picking up this thread again; maybe if I take it one post at a time, sorting and processing the pictures as I go, I'll get the whole story up in time for the 2012 season.










To start, here's the track and scenery plan of the Matchbox Motorway 2010 Christmas layout as it finally came to be. 










More pictures and details to follow soon, and maybe a video or two, if I can figure out how to edit and put them up. 

-- D


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## SpiderRPM (Nov 2, 2011)

This is awesome!!!
Great work!


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## Super Coupe (Feb 16, 2010)

Good to see the Matchbox Motorway will be back in action. Hope ya git-er-dun for the Holidays.
>Tom<


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

*Mechanical and Electrical*

Initially the layout was very loud and running speed was erratic.

In an effort to reduce the noise, I put large diameter piping cord from Hobby Lobby's fabric dept. under the snow blanket on each side of the track.



















It looked pretty good, sort of like snow piled at the road edge, and hid some of the green curbing on the track pieces. It may have helped the noise a bit, but the track was still loud. I didn't carry it through the entire layout.

By this time, I was getting pretty good at pulling the drive springs, 










but it was still a nuisance, especially after the scenery was installed. 










As the springs ran, the oil which had helped free them initially, turned fifty-year-old dirt in the spring channels to sludge, and they'd start to bind and slow down again. I found that the .177-caliber felt cleaning-pellets for my wonderful old Feinwerkbau air rifle fit the spring channels perfectly. 










I'd use a whittled popsicle stick to push a stack of three or four of the felt pellets around the track, the first soaked with lighter fluid to loosen the oil and dirt, and the last dry, to absorb it. Then I'd repeat the process with new pellets until they came out clean - much like cleaning a rifle barrel. A fourteen-foot rifle barrel.

To prevent regumming, I started using Teflon powder instead of oil in the spring channels. When I replaced the spring, I learned to push it slowly through the channels, watching for it to bunch up where it snagged on rough track joints. Then if adjusting the angle of the joint or light chamfering didn't help, I'd replace one of the pieces. 

The running improvement was great, and it lasted. Minimum reliable speed was much lower now, but one lane stubbornly remained slower in one direction than the other. Best performance in the highway mode required a drive-left system, which is why the photos look as if they were taken in England (well, that and the Bentleys). 










Once I had the springs freed up, it was time to find out how low a voltage I could run at without stalling. The tiny 9V Matchbox powerpack had to go. For display running, I wanted constant lane voltage, independent of what was going on in the other lane. Two similar garage-sale HO toy-train power packs from the "junk power" box did the trick. I set the pack speed controls to about a 9V output, and made the actual volltage adjustments with a couple of early Aurora steering-wheel controllers in a nice seasonal green color.

A test indicated that a capacitor across the pack terminals kept the motors running significantly cooler. I was very careful to observe the proper polarity, and to physically block the reversing mechanism on the pack speed controls. I didn't want the capacitor turning into an acid-filled firecracker under the table. For reversing switches (downstream of the capacitor) I decided on junior-sized knife switches instead of the usual DPDT toggles, for the proper mad-scientist/Rube-Goldberg look. Lastly, I hooked up a couple of AFX 45-ohm controllers so they could be used for racing instead of the steering wheels.

I mounted it all to a scrap piece of board covered in green felt, put it under the table, and started fiddling with the settings. 










Race cars looked good running, and definitely could go fast enough to deslot. I wanted to use old time cars for display running in highway mode. When they were moving slowly enough to look right, the voltage was barely enough to keep the motors running. They would occasionally stall out, and have to have the voltage increased a notch to get them running again, before they could be returned to the basic run speed. I could usually get about 15 minutes run-time between stalls. I think, by replacing the old cheapo motors with modern ones, you could get the set to operate stall-free at those speeds and even slower. But that's a project for the future.

Once the spring channels were cleaned and the rough track joints corrected, it turned out that the set, mind-gratingly noisy at racing speed and earlier test speeds, was much quieter when display-running at minimum-speed settings. It wasn't obnoxious at all to leave it running while doing other things. That was a big relief. We were ready for scenery.

More to come ---

-- D


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Mad scientist at work!! Love the set up, and glad you worked all the kinks out!! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

It's the holiday letter.

I love your dedication to the seasonal tradition and the annual update. Great pix, inspiring work and creative solutions to inspire us all.

Thank you!


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*Tally HO...*

D... Despite my ribbing, from what I see here you've earned the right to go sockless at will .... What a great thread and I dig the fact you've turned it into such a labor of love for Christmastime enjoyment for you, your family, and now us too. As the Bentley drivers say... "Good show Old Boy". :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

*Video*

Many thanks for all the cheerful comments. 

Now, after considerable work and frustration, I've got the first version of a Matchbox Motorway video online. To view it, please see the *separate thread* on that subject.

Thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving to all. :wave:

-- D


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## foxkilo (Mar 27, 2008)

Here are my five cent of thoughts:

I think this one is not a racetrack or was intended as one, no, this is the first and imho the only real electric cruising system. Remember Amrican Graffiti, cruising through Modesto? This one is the toy equivalent to it. 

BTW did anybody noticed that the controllors are Faller ones?

Mario


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

*Mario* sez:


> I think this one is not a racetrack or was intended as one, no, this is the first and imho the only real electric cruising system. Remember Amrican Graffiti, cruising through Modesto? This one is the toy equivalent to it.


Brilliant!! That's actually a terrific idea for a display layout. :thumbsup: All those cars are available in diecast form, I'm sure. You could build the drive-in, the car lot, and some of the familiar spots from the film. Best of all, there's a soundtrack album of all the songs that you can play to cover the buzz of the motors and springs! 

The TM has suggested that a _much_ less elaborate layout project would be appreciated this year, but that is very tempting ... very tempting indeed... 



> BTW did anybody noticed that the controllors are Faller ones?


That escaped me, but it makes sense. 










The system was created by my fave German toy company, *Arnold*, creator of the first N scale trains, the Arnold Rapido line.

I actually wasn't much impressed with the controllers, except for the clever little catch that would hold the plungers in one position to maintain a constant speed. For cruising I used Aurora steering wheel controllers, and for racing Aurora/Russkit AFX pistolgrips.

-- D


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Say it aint so!*

"The TM has suggested that a much less elaborate layout project would be appreciated this year, but that is very tempting ... very tempting indeed..."

You'll just have to 'splain to her how ya cant disappoint all the little kiddies on Hobby Talk; and that as the reigning King of seasonal diarama, YOU are inextricably duty bound to your responsibilities of maintaining a certain level of expectation that has been established by precedent.


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## 2.8powerranger (Dec 13, 2004)

I tried a couple years ago to get rid of one of these sets,,,couldnt hardly give it away, only issue it had was the dried warped tires on the little formula ties,,looked like everything was there.I'll chck and see if its still over a mom and dads.


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## foxkilo (Mar 27, 2008)

Hey boys,

see what I found on the german bay:

http://www.ebay.de/itm/ARNOLD-minim...9391382?pt=Spielzeugautos&hash=item2a16196c96
http://www.ebay.de/itm/ARNOLD-minim...9391466?pt=Spielzeugautos&hash=item2a16196cea

That is something not to be expected in connection with a system like Minimobil.

BTW I like the box graphics

Mario


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Hey D,

Playing around with something like this old track system is something I would do. I get a lot of enjoyment out of taking something that doesn't work and fixing it. Especially old stuff that has long been replaced by something better or faster. The fun sometimes isn't in the using, but rather in the quest to get it working. 

For example, I love having my old computers still run old software that does everything I need. While everyone else is using PCs about six generations newer than mine, mine still get the job done. The looks I get when I pull out an old boat anchor that never heard of USB is priceless. Floppies anyone???

Joe


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

just in time for the holidays? 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Old-Arnold-...pt=Slot_Cars&hash=item5890a7052a#ht_500wt_961


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## SmittyinFLA (Jan 3, 2012)

Dslot said:


> Let's see - lots of power, no downforce, terrifyingly little roadholding - why, it's ... it's ... _*just like '60s Formula-1 racing!*_ Even the _sound_ - the grinding growl replaced by a high-pitched ringing buzz - but still insistently loud. Gotta be a 1.5-liter V-12 at suicidal rpm. D


LOL!

Beautiful...But I have to say, you guys are OLD! Of course, so am I...just sayin'!


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Any slot set up this year D?? I miss the crazy awesome stuff you dream up!!


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

slotcarman12078 said:


> Any slot set up this year D??


Wish I could say yes, Joe, but both the TM and I have had a some medical problems over the last few months. Nothing too serious, but we're still moving kinda slow. Just got the tree up _yesterday_, in fact. If I'm lucky, I might get my old Marx electric train going around it before Santa drops down the chimney into my spray booth. O-27 isn't finicky; set it up and it goes, without a lot of adjustment and testing, even after 60 years. 

We're keeping it simple in 2013. But we're both on the way up, and looking forward to a smoother year in 2014.

-- D


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Gotcha D. I understand completely considering my year ain't much better. Looking forward to next year's fun!! I hope you and the TM get better soon!


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Okay.. D is back in da house, and it's that time of year... Hope you're feeling better and have a game plan... Since our tree usually doesn't last more than 3 weeks, and comes down on Christmas Day, I'm hoping this year I can enjoy something special at Dslot's house!!


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## slotcardan (Jun 9, 2012)

..........


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

Hey, Joe,
Thanks for remembering. 

Been putting off replying until the official word comes down. Tonight it did. We are going to have out of town responsibilities for this Christmas, so seasonal decoration will be minimal. Maybe I can come up with something small. I haven't done a car layout since the Matchbox project, and I _would_ like to do one again. Let me leaf through my mental-exercise small layout designs. I've got so many, I can't even remember what they all are. (Of course, I can't remember much of anything _else_ either, these last couple of years). 

Happy pre-Christmas (what did we use to call it? Thank-something-or-other?) to everyone. 

-- D


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

Thanks for the lubricant advice, Dan. I'll put it in my Matchbox Motorway files for the next time I get the set out (I still want to do the _American Grafitt_i cruising layout that Mario suggested for the Motorway ).



slotcardan said:


> interesting concept with a spring, i have seen a version that used a chain.


The Eldon Collect-a-Car Raceway from 1969 










had a nylon ball-link chain (not shown in this pic). I can't comment on how well it works; my set, though sold as "complete", had only fragments of the chain. Grrrrr. Nylon, touted in the 50s and '60s as the lasts-forever wonder material, shrinks and gets brittle with age. I hate it - my German HO locos have split nylon gears around the axles, the Eldon roadway chain is in brittle bits, and my magnificent, unstoppable Boston pencil-sharpener, a grand old field-coil AC-motored masterpiece, had to be discarded when its huge nylon gear fragmented, leaving me with only a modern sneeze-it-off-the-counter low-voltage piddly half-hearted grinder struggling to shave cedar with a tinny toy motor and eccentric blade-units.  

Cheers.
-- D


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## RjAFX (Oct 26, 2014)

WOW! To see one of those again just flooded my pea brain with memories. My little brother (God Rest His Soul) got that set for Christmas when he was like five years old. He just kept after me to play with him. He insisted I set it up on my AURORA table in the basement. I finally added it to my layout running it around and under the my Country Bridges. He could run this thing without flying off the track. That meant he could sit in the basement with his big brother and play slot car's. That meant his big brother could run his T-Jets, and play with his little brother all at once. Wow, what wonderful memories. 

Thank You 
Rj


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

Great memory, RjAFX. A perfect setup for both brothers, and something to keep in your heart now that he's gone. 

It's true for me, and I think for most of us, that no matter how far we take the hobby into "adult" craftsmanship, competition, or whatever, the core of the appeal of slots is that it brings back a bit of the feeling of when we were young and had (or wanted) little cars that magically moved down the track under our control, and is never too far from specific memories of good times with friends, brothers, sisters or parents, some of whom we can now visit only in memory.

:wave:

-- D


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## slotcardan (Jun 9, 2012)

........


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