# Yet another newbie - Dad with another Midlife Crisis



## rbianco3 (Dec 23, 2004)

Hi all,

I'm obviously brand new here. I've read a few of the threads, but thought I'd introduce myself and try to save myself some mistakes and get advice from some professionals.

I'm 36yrs. old, and have two daughters, so I'm going to get my *girls* into the HO scene. The only thing I remember about HO is the race tracks I used to get for x-mas back about 20 years ago. I loved them, and have the itch now. I used to be a "gearhead" and like to modify/tweak things. I also have an autobody painting background before I became a computer geek.

I want to get myself a cool racetrack, but I find that most the stores don't seem to have much anymore. Is HO dying? Where did it go? Anyway, I am getting off track. I am convinced to get a track and some cars, so onto the million dollar quesion.

Which setup/scale/etc. would fit my profile?

I don't mind spending a bit of money to get started, not sure if $4 or 500 will get me anywhere, but that is all I'll do up front. I plan on buying with that E - Bay site because every other hobby I started I do on that and if I lose interest, I don't lose too much money reselling my stuff. I am not afraid to "tinker" with stuff, and prefer something with upgrade potential. I only remember the little H.O. cars, but if there is something better, that is great. I remember the tracks getting rusted, and sanding them, I remenber the metal parts that touch the track and get all burned. Most of all I want to re-live the childhood and get some adrenaline going without risking my life. 

I want something fast (of course), something very respectable... if it fits in my initial cash outlay. Size of track.... hmmm.. I have some large rooms, but anything taking more than 200sq ft, would be pushing it. I live in Florida, so screened patio setup is an option, but I suspect humidity would rust out the track. I definitely need upgrade options. I usually enter most new hobbies at the mid-level instead of entry. 

Hope that was enough to help you come up with ideas. I really appreciate ANY help, and hope to be helping newbies down the road. Oh... I live in the Orlando area, so if there are any racing clubs, it would be VERY advantageous if I stay with equipment that matches what the "masses" have. I'd rather have a crappy stuff and be able to race with friends.

Thanks everyone!

Rich


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## rodstrguy (Feb 14, 2002)

Welcome Rich,

You've asked some of the same questions a lot of people do. You could spend hours going over some of the posts that are about the same as yours. I'll save you a couple of hours you could be racing. Get a hold of some Tomy AF/X track, some of the online hobby shops carry it and the most agreed apon set would be the International 4-lane set. For the money you are talking about you could get more than enough track and still get a lot of cars too. I was just down in Kissimee at the begining of the month...


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## rodstrguy (Feb 14, 2002)

I forgot to ask what kind of cars are you used to? Magnet cars or old Auroras? I would suggest the T-jet style cars as they are to me the most fun to race and tinker with. Your daughters will most likely love the magnet cars that come with most modern sets. As far as not being able to find H.O. scale sets I found a Life Like set at the Outdoor World right in the mall near Universal and the Outlet mall on International Dr.


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## Shadowracer (Sep 11, 2004)

Advice number 1: Don't bite off more than you need to right off the hop. Start out with a good set, and use it as a base to add on to.

Advice number 2: Get either the AFX International 4 Lane set. 2nd choice is the 4 Way Split, also AFX. Both have lots of track. The International has more straights and tight turns, the Split has less straights, but more 12 inch radius turns. Both sets come with 4 top-o-the line cars. (which you may be able to sell on auction to get half or more of the cost of your track back) 

Most HO track is of similar quality, but AFX is currently the popular choice because of good power connections and an array of different track peices that none of the other companies come close to offering. 

By the way, AFX and Tomy are now one and the same, just so you don't get too confused reading other posts.

HO isn't dead. But you gotta look for it. You won't find it in WalMart or Toys R Us. They all seem to carry nothing but el cheapo battery operated sets in 1:43 scale. The average hobby shop doesn't even really support slots in general, so you may have to get used to shopping online (like I did) Find a good online hobby shop, and go with AFX if you can. Most of the guys on this board will tell you the same thing. You've found the best HO board there is right here! :hat: So make sure you let us know how it goes.

Also, check www.hoslotcarracing.com for lots of good info.

Welcome to the boards!

Trev


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

OK... for home use there are 3 major routes you could go...

HO scale... Most racing in the smallest space. The current state of the art in snap-together track is Tomy AFX. Their big new sets come with 2 or 4 scorching fast Super G-Plus or SRT cars. If you get the "need for speed", upgraded versions of these cars are available from Wizzard, Slottech, and BSRT, to name a few. On the other hand, if you want to go back in time to simpler technology, you can get Johnny Lightning Thunder Jets or X-Tractions which will run on the same track. These are pretty good copies of slot cars that were available in the 60s and 70s. They slide around and require a different driving style that many folks prefer. But since you said 20 years ago, you probably had newer-technology cars as a kid, maybe the original Tyco Magnum 440s and AFX G-Plus cars... the current design hasn't changed all that much.

1/32 scale... Many brands, like Scalextric, Carrera, Fly, Ninco... The cars are incredibly detailed, and the driving experience is smoother and more like a real car, with sliding and weight transfer and such... but to paraphrase a post I saw earlier today (was that you, AFXToo?) you need a BIIIIG layout in order not to feel like you're driving around a go-kart track. This scale is developing a VERY large following. I don't have much experience with it so I cant tell you much more.

1/43 scale... This is a new entry into the market. It splits the size difference between HO and 1/32. This is the scale of the cheap "toy" battery-operated sets you can get for 10 bucks at any five-and-dime store, but upgraded to a more solid quality feel. Most of that cheap toy stuff can actually be successfully adapted and used on the better quality track. Some folks love it but it's not exactly widespread yet, and it remains to be seen if it'll catch on. Starter stuff is available extremely cheap, and though it's not exactly high-tech, it ain't bad stuff.

I have a 4x16 HO layout in my basement, and I run the old-style HO cars on it and I love it. See some pictures here:

http://home.comcast.net/~rwurtz/images/newtable05.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~rwurtz/images/newtable08.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~rwurtz/images/newtable09.jpg

Many people have nice HO tracks on table half this size... 4x8 is enough room for a decent layout to start.

Anybody got examples of starter- to medium-sized tracks in each of the larger scales with table dimensions and maybe pictures to give Rich an idea where he's headed?

--rick

edit: took me so long to finish typing that other guys had responded by the time i posted... sorry if I repeated their ideas...


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

If you can, try to stop by a hobby shop with some different sized tracks. Greg Braun has listed some of these on his great site: http://www.hoslotcarracing.com/USRaceways.html
.


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Well as they say, everyone has an opinion and I have one too. I got back into the hobby by accident when my nephews rec'd a track for Christmas a few years ago. It was a LL (Life Like) and had a banked turns. Reminded me of the one I rec'd back in the late 60's (yes I'm old) from Santa  that had a pair of Monza banked corners and came from Sears. HOOKED. Get yourself the International or two if you are serious and that way you can have a big 4 laner. You'll have enough track parts for a great setup and you can use each walwart (powerpack) to power the lanes seperately (with a little mods to the terminal tracks) before you buy the BIG POWERPACK. Welcome back and enjoy.  rr


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## rbianco3 (Dec 23, 2004)

*Wow- Thanks all*

Just checked back to find all the GREAT and detailed tips. I really appreciate it and hope I can return the favor some day.

As you might have expected from my profile, I put a lot of research into things, but believe me, I am ready to go. You all saved me a lot of time. I should have read more than three pages of the posts... and I will.

So far it seems HO scale may be my only option. I live in FL, so no basement. We have some big rooms, one I'm thinking is maybe 16' 22', but there is other stuff in there. <sigh> FOUR lanes, awesome, I didn't know they had them. All my other mid-life crisis friends will be over.

I live in north suburbs of orlando, but Kissimmee (35min) is an option. I like the idea of a car that performs like real, i.e. sliding, etc.

Even though I research, I am a bit impulsive, so don't be surprised if I buy something before new-years. 

Rich


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## Shadowracer (Sep 11, 2004)

rbianco3 said:


> FOUR lanes, awesome, I didn't know they had them.


Well yes, and no. Understand that a four lane HO track is just a pair of standard 2 lanes shoved together. Its all the same track. So if you buy one of those 4 lane sets, you could build a monster 2 laner with it if you wanted.

My apologies if you already knew this. 

The only way to get track with all four lanes in the same piece is to go custom, like Wizztrax, Max Track or something. 

Cheers


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## Andrij (Jan 30, 2004)

Mid-life crisis?
Is that what i have to look forward to?
I never got past being an oversized big kid.
How old do you have to be to get one?

LOL, well, my track manager still trhinks i am a big kid.

Cheers, and welcome Rich.


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## noddaz (Aug 6, 1999)

If you can't find any sets locally to you (no surprise there...)
you can try http://www.ehobbies.com/sl-afx-9939.html

or http://www.hobbycircle.com/productdetails.asp?mcatID=11&catID=29&secID=136&prodID=7111

or http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/afx/afx9939.htm

Have fun...
(Strange thing, most of the time Hobby People are the cheapest... Not this week...)
Scott


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## TX Street Racer (May 8, 2004)

Hey man, if you're in Orlando then you owe it to yourself to check out "The Race Place" in Holly Hills/Daytona. Greg Walker has a ton of HO parts in stock,race sets,track pieces, and cars as well as several cool HO and 1/32 scale slot car tracks to race on.

Give Greg a call: (386) 295-1371 Tell him Brian from Texas sent you :thumbsup: 


Also, there is one other Hobbytalk member that recently started posting that's from the Lake Mary area...not far from Orlando.....his name is Gary ......but I can't remember his Hobbytalk name......


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## TK Solver (Mar 18, 2004)

Rich -

A year ago, I was right where you are now so I'll just share with you my experiences...

After several days of browsing various web sites, I started with a Tomy International and then (within a month) got a 4-Way Split for more variety in track and cars and other spare parts. I powered each lane independently. I got a couple Parma Econo controllers to feel the difference and to allow for resistor changes. Then I got a couple more. I got a variety of different car types (mag and non-mag). They're all fun in different ways. The stronger magnet cars are amazing as a change of pace. You get an adrenaline rush racing somebody side by side for a few laps. Usually though, an inexperienced or careless driver eventually loses patience or focus and launches the magnet cars off the track. They're pretty tough but you better have carpeting or walls around your track. 

The Johnny Lightning cars (T-Jets and X-Tractions) require more tweaking up front as well as more driving skill to race competitively but I've found them (expecially the X-Tractions) to be my favorites. They're also more sensitive to your track layout. You'll want to avoid 6" radius one-eight turns wherever possible. Silicone replacment tires and higher Ohm controller resistors do help some.

Buy a wheel puller and a wheel press right away. You'll want to change the wheels and/or axles on some of the Johnny Lightning cars. Right about then, you'll have spent that $500 and you'll be ready to spend another $500. I bought a second International set and steadily picked up more cars. 

After roughly 6 months (and hours and hours of time trials for each car on each lane), I pretty much settled on a layout that was easy enough for beginners to drive but equally challenging on all four lanes for more heated competitions using any of the different car types. I've now got four lanes with 52 feet per lane on a 6x10 area. What a blast! 

And thanks again to everyone on this board who's given me guidance over the past year. You're a kind and compassionate bunch and I'll try to add a link to that chain as I keep learning more.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

TK brings up a good point. One of the things that adds immensely to the whole scale racing experience is setting up a decent lap counter and elapsed timing system. This makes practicing a lot more fun and running races a lot more organized and like a real race. You can get freebie lap counter/timing software that works on a PC with some work on your part to wire up the sensors. You can also get pro quality lap counter/timing software for DOS and Windows. You can even get standalone counter/timing instrumentation that works without a PC. At the minimum I would recommend that if you go with a counter/timer system get one with a track power relay system that controls when the power to the track is ON and OFF. This makes it simple to have races that last a fixed period of time, say 3 minutes, where the winner is the one who completes the most laps in the allotted time. It doesn't get much easier than that. A complete race usually involves having all drivers race once in each lane of the track and adding up all of the laps for each lane to declare the winner. This is called lane rotation, The only reason I bring up this level of detail so early in your investigation phase is because the lane rotation frees you from having to design a track layout with equal length lanes. Since everyone must race on all lanes it doesn't matter if all lanes are equal. In fact, it makes for more exciting racing when some lanes are harder to drive than others. Some drivers even become masters at doing really well in the hardest lane (usually called the "gutter lane").


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## rbianco3 (Dec 23, 2004)

*The order is placed*

Hi All,

I placed the order just now, should receive my new AFX International Set in about a week. :hat: 

AFX International Super Challenge HO Scale Slot Car Set - 9939 129.99 

Are there any other necessities that I should get right away.... or should I chill and wait for the package? I suppose I could start setting up the board for the track... what size should I use?


Thanks again!
Rich


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## Shadowracer (Sep 11, 2004)

rbianco3 said:


> I suppose I could start setting up the board for the track... what size should I use?


Trust me man, experiment with layouts on the floor first and get a handle on what you like. 

Some guys like lots of curves and chicanes, and some guys look at curves as a necessary evil that hooks the straightaways together. "realism" guys like a realistic looking layout with a fair bit of green space for decorating with buildings, turf, pit area, etc. "Racer" types just cram as much track as possible into whatever space they have, leading to such unlikely scenes as two straightaways bumped right together, but going in opposite directions. The scenery guys like cars that look real, while the racer types just care that they'll go fast. 

So it depends what school of thought you subscribe to. (Mind you, most guys on this board live somewhere in the middle, but seem to lean towards realism) So give yourself time to figure out where you are. Let yourself grow into it, lest you put blood and sweat into a layout just to decide it isn't what you like, or is the wrong layout for the type of cars you develop a taste for using.

Trev

PS The layout on the box cover is kinda fun, but be warned that it takes up way more space than it looks like in the picture.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

I'd say you are are ready to go. The first thing I'd suggest is that you start to think about gathering a few basic tools and maintenance items for the cars. You'll need a set of tweezers or a hemostat to get dirt and lint out of the axle holes, a small screwdriver to adjust the pickup shoes, and a needle oiler to lubricate the chassis at the friction points. You will probably notice a couple of things right away: 

1) The Tomy Super G+ cars are very fast and have very strong traction magnets. They can corner like crazy but when pushed over the limit they don't just fall out of the slot, they fly off the track. If your track is off the floor on a table without walls the cars will take a beating falling to the floor. If the track is setup on the floor the cars may slide 10 or 20 feet across the floor and wind up under furniture. 

2) You will not be able to find the upper end of the SG+ speed potential on your track. These things accelerate quickly but still take 10 feet or more of straightaway to reach top speed. 

3) The pickup shoes are usually the first part that wears out. After running the cars for a few laps check the wear pattern on the pickup shoes. You want the wear to be as even as possible along the part of the shoe that touches the track rail. Out of the box the SG+ cars tend to wear too much at the front edge. If the shoes are wearing only at the front edge you should bend the shoe slightly to bring the toe up. I slide a very small flat bladed screwdriver under the shoe at the contact area and squeeze the shoe between the screwdriver and my thumb and gently bend the shoe so the front is closer to the chassis. I keep my other thumb on the back of the shoe where it contacts the shoe hanger so it doesn't pop out. Tweezers will work also, as does removing the shoe and using a needle nose pliers to bend the shoe. Adjust a little at a time and retry the car on the track. Look for even wear along the length of the contact area. This will make the cars run better and prolong the life of the shoe. When the shoe is deeply grooved or has holes burned through from the rails it's time to repalce them.

If the shoes are black where they contact the rail you can clean them with an eraser or a brass wire brush on a low speed Dremel moto tool. I found a battery operated Dremel at Home Depot being sold as a golf club and shoe cleaning system. It's translucent green and was less than $10. The brass cleaning brush that comes with it is ideal for cleaning slot car pickup shoes and electrical contacts.

If you like the Tomy Super G+ car you will also like the Tomy Turbo and Turbo SRT cars, the Tyco/Mattel 440-X2 cars, and the Life-Like Fast Trackers. These are all available in a wide variety of body styles. I would suggest getting some sedan style bodies that don't have any wings or high spoilers on them while you're learning the ropes. They survive crashes better. The Tomy Super G+ cars are also available with sedan bodies (usually NASCAR inspired).

If the Tomy Super G+ cars are too fast for you I'd suggest trying the Johnny Lightning X-Traction cars next. These are slower than the SG+ but still have a small amount of magnetic traction control and work well with the stock Tomy controllers. The body styles range from American sedans to the import tuner cars with wings. They are about half the price of a SG+ and based on somewhat older pancake motor technology. The smaller scale Johnny Lightning TJet500 cars are slower still and have no explicit magnetic traction control. They slide and fishtail quite a bit but they just don't work well at all with the stock controllers on smaller tracks. I think you would be frustrated by the JL TJets until you upgraded your controllers.

Have fun.


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## Ligier Runner (Nov 29, 2004)

I'm getting in here late but oh well.  

First off, I'm 37 so you and I probably have many of the same memories from 20 years ago about HO racing. Good times. I just recently started getting back into it as well since we moved into a house with a good size basement allowing me to set up a nice permanent track.

Good job on the purchase of the International set! You got a good price as I've seen nothing lower than $130 anywhere. We have a local hobby shop that sells those sets for the same price. I bought one they had in stock and another is on the way. I now have a bid in on some track listed on epay which would be enough then to do what I want. I figured about $360 for track and then whatever the lumber, wiring, etc. is going to cost me. Greg Braun's site of which shadowracer gave the link is an excellent site and even sells items. His track "piece" prices are about the best I've seen. Slot Car Johnnies has some cool older items as well.

Enjoy!!


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