# O.K. - just returned from Auto-fest



## pickeringtondad (Apr 14, 2005)

here's some news:

We have some new cars coming from Auto World. We have all seen the photos of new release 4 gears - (they are very sharp looking and will be on sale soon - I took photos and will get to them later in the week)http://www.autoworldslotcars.com/default.aspx 

At the fest dinner it was disclosed that we will see a Scooby Doo Van, A new Batman car (Xtraction or 4 gear?, it looked really good in the mock-ups), A Penguin-mobile (some info for the young-ins: Though Batman usually drove the Bat-mobile, Alfred the butler drove it a time or two (Robin was too young). The Penguin stole it once and made it into the "Penguin-mobile", complete with an umbrella over the driver's seat. Little did he know that Batman could maneuver the car by remote control, and the resulting ride was hilarious), a Dump Truck, more Big Rigs including a iWheel set, a 1959 hearse to chase the Scooby Van and maybe an Ecto–1 from "Ghost-busters" (do not have the license yet)

For you Drag Racers out there - there will be an John Force vs. Ashley Force drag-strip 12 feet set. Auto World has signed an agreement with the NHRA and will do most of the NHRA drivers/cars. I know they mentioned 5 or six drivers that are on board as of now. 

I'm sure there is more but my brain is scrambled (I know, somethings never change )

PickeringtonDad
aka
Bob

(I'm gonna need a part time job just for the new stuff)


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

pickeringtondad said:


> here's some news:
> 
> For you Drag Racers out there - there will be an John Force vs. Ashley Force drag-strip 12 feet set. Auto World has signed an agreement with the NHRA and will do most of the NHRA drivers/cars. I know they mentioned 5 or six drivers that are on board as of now.
> 
> ...


This is way past due!!!! I'm so glad they decided to go in that direction.
It's gonna be great to see an affordable dragstrip set up.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## RACERMAN (Nov 1, 2007)

*Tjets*

Anything on tjets?
racerman


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## kiwidave (Jul 20, 2009)

Thanks for the info! Looking forward to seeing the Drag racing stuff. NHRA cars sound cool!


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## pickeringtondad (Apr 14, 2005)

RACERMAN said:


> Anything on tjets?
> racerman


My wife called in the middle of the presentation, so I missed about 5 minutes of it. I know Auto World announced they were getting back into 1/64 die cast. I know T-jets were mentioned, I just stepped out of the room for the 5 minutes they were talked about. FWIW, I know the entire presentation was filmed and l hope it will be put onto the AutoFest website. I know that Randy(Afx/Nut), Slot Car Johnnie, Jeff Clements were all there (I'm sure some others also) perhaps they can fill in the blanks. 

Bob


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## resinmonger (Mar 5, 2008)

It is good to see AW plunge into a new area in HO Slot Car Racing/Collecting: Drag Racing. Back in the day, F-1/Can-Am/Stock Car drivers were brought on board to promote Aurora. Perhaps the NHRA teams will see an opportunity to tie in with AW. :thumbsup::hat:


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## sethndaddy (Dec 4, 2004)

great news, the Hearse will be an absolute must have MULTIPLE copies of.


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## 1976Cordoba (Sep 20, 2000)

I'd be happy to see them release stuff at regular intervals, say every 60 days. Sometimes it seems to take forever to get new stuff.


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## TEAM D.V.S. (Nov 11, 2007)

i would be happy to see them make a t-jet that ran good with round wheels !


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

Very interesting to hear about the drag cars, although I have no real ability to run them since I do not have a drag strip so they would be strictly for display purposes, at which point they may as well be diecasts. But anything that builds interest in at least a part of the hobby is good to hear about. Now, some CanAm, TransAm, SCCA, F1, LeMans, etc., race cars, ... now those would pique my interest, big time. 

The Scooby Do and other novelty cars, eh, don't see where the market is for them. They are too fragile and expensive for little kids to play with and of little interest to most adult slot car collectors who tend to have at least some "gear head" focus to them. Penguin umbrella focus ... probably not so much. Perhaps these kiddie cars will get some of the youngsters interested in slot cars which may bring more people into the hobby. I understand AW's desire to broaden their market appeal beyond just adult collectors, but I think that widening their target for authentic looking cars beyond just doing American muscle cars would help, for me anyway. Maybe I'm in the minority and the sales numbers for the novelty cars like the BTF Delorean, numerous Batmobiles, and S'Cool Bus paint another picture altogether.


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

AfxToo said:


> Very interesting to hear about the drag cars, although I have no real ability to run them since I do not have a drag strip so they would be strictly for display purposes, at which point they may as well be diecasts.


Hey too,
Maybe you missed it in that other thread I can't find, 
but AW is coming out with an actual drag strip, with working tree, lights, sensors, the whole works.
I'm guessin its gonna be around $150, hopefully less. Still, a great deal for a working drag strip.
I think it's on autoworldblog.com or something like that.

Rich


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## pickeringtondad (Apr 14, 2005)

NTxSlotCars said:


> Hey too,
> Maybe you missed it in that other thread I can't find,
> but AW is coming out with an actual drag strip, with working tree, lights, sensors, the whole works.
> I'm guessin its gonna be around $150, hopefully less. Still, a great deal for a working drag strip.
> ...


here it is:
http://www.autoworldblog.com/

It also has 2 different timing modes for the light tree, you will red light if you leave too early, sensors in the track for timing and a light that turns on over the winner.

Bob


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

I knew about the drag strip but thought it was strictly a win/lose setup, not timed. It looks like fun, especially if you can lay out a 30+ foot track. I've tried drag racing in HO scale, but because even box stock cars are going 1200-1500 scale mph, a scale quarter mile is way too short, just a blink of an eye. The drag cars look interesting enough. I wonder if they will flip open like the old Tycos?


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## grungerockjeepe (Jan 8, 2007)

Personally, I love the novelty cars. True, theyre too fragile to be regular runners but who doesnt love something unique and different? Even if its for just a few occasional laps here and there and to look cool in the collection the rest of the time.


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## A/FX Nut (May 28, 2004)

I just saw this post. I posted my report on the Events Forum, Thread: Autofest this morning with some photos.

As for the next Thunderjet release three cars I remember are the GT40, '63 Buick Riviera, and another '69 AMC AMX. The other three I don't remember. The Force Drag Set needs the license agreement worked out as does the ECTO-1.

Tony stopped by the Road Course Sunday and talked to Jeff, John, MTYODER, and myself for about an hour. I guess Tom told him to stop by and chat. He asked what Thunderjets Autoworld could make, John and Jeff gave him some suggestions and I showed him a Ferrari 250 GTO, Lola GT, and Jaguar XKE. 

Pit Kits for the Super III were brought up. Autoworld is planning another release of the Super III with the chassis mounts in the body moved so the body will fit the XTraction.

I was dividing my time between the conversation and the road course. Jeff, John and Craig talked with Tony more than I was able too. I was glad that Tony was there. What I did get from him is that Autoworld is listening to our complaints and are working to make a better product.

Jeff ran some of the current XTraction Release 7 cars on the road course and the performance out of the box is the best I've seen so far. 
The Camaro and Challenger bodies are thin, light, and sit on the chassis nice.
The Viper and Corvette ran great as well and look great on the chassis. Very smooth out of the box. These cars were run by numerous people, kids and adults and they stayed on the track until the speed forced them to spin off. We adjusted it for the kids with the button on the side of the controller. But most adults and some kids ran them with the controller set to allow complete throttle depression and rarely deslotted with minimum pratice.

I guess the armature for the XTraction was brought up. MTYODER (Craig) told me he gave Tony a modified one he done. The armature Craig gave Tony was a Quadralam. So "maybe" we'll have quadralams available again?

Tony said he has a meeting this week and will report on the chat he had with us and present the ideas and sugestions at the meeting. He couldn't promise anything. But maybe some of what we talked about will become reality. 

Randy.


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

Tjet Riviera! w00t!

nobody else remembers the other three?

oh, and since the GT40, AMX and Riv are all repops of old Tjets, doesn't that mean the other three are likely new material never done by Aurora?

--rick


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## clydeomite (May 5, 2004)

It would be nice if AutoWorld could establish a link here on HT to keep us informed. If they want input this is the place to ask for it and recieve a honest respectful reply from the folks who run the dickens out of their products and discover the pro's and cons. I have heard they monitor the site but it would be nice and cost effective for them to reach out maybe a weekly chat forum or something like that so HT'ers could come prepared with Q's and A's.
Clyde-0-Mite


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## A/FX Nut (May 28, 2004)

ParkRNDL said:


> Tjet Riviera! w00t!
> 
> nobody else remembers the other three?
> 
> ...


I'm thinking the other 3 are redo's of Original Autoworlrd cars. I think one was a '69 Camaro. Tony from Autoworld owns a 1 : 1 Camaro and the joke at Friday night's presentation was any car Tony owns, gets produced. MTYODER asked if he would sign his Gremlin to him and sign it right back, would he then make one? It was a pretty funny conversation. I'd like to see Tom's 1970 Super Bird Produced. Randy.


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## Mr.Stubbs (Mar 23, 2001)

The dragstrip mentioned at the presentation has two tree modes. Sportsman and pro. Sportsman being yellow x3 and then green and pro being yellow x1 then green.

Talking later with Mike from AW he mentioned a digital version to come later that will have the ability to be set up for handicapped racing like real sportsman racing.

He also said the dragstrip could be made any length by simply adding more track.


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## triple20 (Feb 2, 2001)

Toms superbird









Tony's camaro









:wave:


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## kiwidave (Jul 20, 2009)

Wow! Beautiful Plymouth!


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Nice ones! :thumbsup::thumbsup: rr


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## Mr.Stubbs (Mar 23, 2001)

Here's the thread covering the AW presentation at Autofest 09

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?p=2950231#post2950231

Scroll down a few pages.


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## Montoya1 (May 14, 2004)

Double post.


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

What is Double post?


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## resinmonger (Mar 5, 2008)

micyou03 said:


> What is Double post?


It is when the center is in the low post and the power forward is in the high post...


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Technically Russ, isnt it ACTUALLY a triple post when one points out the blatantly obvious "double post"? A major party foul...is it not?


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

I do believe a double post would make it a T jet, an Atlas, or an Eldon. Tyco S utilized this method too if I'm not mistaken. Single front post would be an AFX, and isn't the single rear post a 4 gear? Hmmm....


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

micyou03 said:


> What is Double post?


I thought it was when mail delivery occurs twice in one day?


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## partspig (Mar 12, 2003)

NO!! NO!!! NO!!! A Double Post is what you get with a popsicle! You know, the two little wooden handles? I used to prefer the blue ones. They tasted better! YUMMY!!!! :thumbsup:


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