# When did Mattel stop selling the cheap chassis?



## plymouth71 (Dec 14, 2009)

Its been a little while since i bought them, but I can't find them..


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## Shadowracer (Sep 11, 2004)

Their stock sold out earlier this year. Sounds like they're not making any more.


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

Shadowracer said:


> Their stock sold out earlier this year. Sounds like they're not making any more.


my guess; is that they were deleting old warehouse stock..
from the "Tyco/Mattel" era, taking up $$space$$ in old warehouses..

Bubba 123


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

Mattel got out of slots several years ago. Rumor had it that Wizzard considered buying the business. After Mattel took over Tyco they did not come out with much that was new. I suppose that they were hoping that the tie-in with the Hot Wheels line would make the slots good sellers.


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## cody6268 (Oct 31, 2013)

Last set they made was for Cars 2, which would have been about 2011 or '12. Those sets from Mattel were apparently pretty bad, as even those who have had Tyco sets for years gave them poor reviews.


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## jobobvideo (Jan 8, 2010)

I'm so bummed to hear that's no more. I was saving up to buy a bunch of them , but i really only needed 10-15 of them to finish off some cars...heck i didn't even care that they did run that great...I hate having bodies that need chassis...anybody got a place to get some that aren't too expensive?


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## beast1624 (Mar 28, 2009)

JAG still shows some on his page for $15. Looks like they are the original and not the Mattel version

http://jaghobbies.com/ho_slot_cars/tyco_cars.htm


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## jobobvideo (Jan 8, 2010)

thanks for the link. I'm sure I'll get a couple from them...I guess I'll have to keep an eye out for used chassis to get them cheaper since some will just be sitting on the shelf most of the time.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

The Tyco is a good basic car and there are aftermarket parts available for them. It would be great if someone could get their hands on the tooling and continue to make the chassis. I believe that there are now reproduction pickup shoes made for Tyco cars.


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## Delmerson (Jan 5, 2015)

They pulled out after the new federal regulations regarding removable parts were implemented. This is a self created problem for the HO producers as they market to the 8-12 year olds so the product is considered a toy and has to be child proof. If they restricted marketing use to 12 years old the cars wouldn't have to be redesigned so the parts (motors, magnets) are locked in place. As it is only Tomy appears to be going ahead with the redesign.

BSRT markets to the hobby crowd (12 year olds plus) so their products still have removable parts (and the chassis are made in the USA).


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## MSwaterlogged (Feb 5, 2014)

Delmerson said:


> They pulled out after the new federal regulations regarding removable parts were implemented. This is a self created problem for the HO producers as they market to the 8-12 year olds so the product is considered a toy and has to be child proof. If they restricted marketing use to 12 years old the cars wouldn't have to be redesigned so the parts (motors, magnets) are locked in place. As it is only Tomy appears to be going ahead with the redesign.
> 
> BSRT markets to the hobby crowd (12 year olds plus) so their products still have removable parts (and the chassis are made in the USA).


Racemasters tried to change the age range a few years ago. The feds would not buy it. Since it had been to the younger age range for so long, they could not make a case that something had changed to convince "uncle" to allow it. So Racemasters had to bite the bullet and redesign (several times over the years, including recently).

Charlie


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## urnuts (Jul 3, 2012)

*God Bless America......*

"I'm from the Government and I am here to help"

The scariest thing you will ever hear, so said Ronald Reagan, I believe.


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## a110alpine (Oct 30, 2012)

i don't buy this federal regulation excuse. toy manufacturers will make what the market demands. today children are not keen on slot cars. only you kids that have not grown up are interested in these toys. and there are fewer of you every day. if matel wanted to continue they would have replaced the box motor with a can. pretty simple.. artin has been doing it for 50 years.


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## carlosnseattle (May 12, 2009)

a110alpine said:


> i don't buy this federal regulation excuse. toy manufacturers will make what the market demands. today children are not keen on slot cars. only you kids that have not grown up are interested in these toys. and there are fewer of you every day. if matel wanted to continue they would have replaced the box motor with a can. pretty simple.. artin has been doing it for 50 years.


It is true. Regulators care about child safety much more than kids being kids. Just look at your local school playground. I can't think of the last time I've seen a new swingset installed in a public playground. Have you seen any new ones built in your neighborhood.

And by the way Tomy AFX is going to a can motor just for this reason. Mattel is not a slot car company, just a toy company so they aren't willing to invest in the R&D to continue their "Hot Wheels Electric Racing" line. The stuff has been fairly poor for some time now so it should be no surprise to any of us.

And here are two additional factual examples of how regulations have affected things in the slot car world:

I'm sure you have heard of things being "UL Listed". That's not just some haphazard thing. Things have to pass test based on your product category. They have to prove they do what they say they do, and do it safely in a manner in which the product is intended to be used.

1979-1982: Slotless slot cars. I know people aren't huge fans of slotless slot cars, and there are all kinds of theories about why they didn't catch on. But here is a real obstacle the slot car companies faced.

The cars were first released with PS's that provided around 16 volts and 2 amps. That wasn't enough to keep the cars moving in a manner intended. So they increased the volts, 21 for Tyco and 24 for AFX/Aurora. Then they tried to increase the Amps to 3, which would have been 72VA in the case of AFX. Oh no, the govt shot that down. Little johnny would have got a shock of a lifetime, and it actually was dangerous for small children to get a 3 amp jolt at 20+ volts. So they had to abandon slotless slot cars because they only work well when you supply those levels of current, especially when you have 3 or 4 car sets. And truth be told, you need at least one "ghost car" for slotless to be enjoyable. Look at what you get with slot car sets today and you will see around 50VA max. Carrera D124 home sets are 18 volts and 3 amp, the D132 are 14.8 Volts and 2.9 amps. The Tomy power pack is 22 volts and 7 VA, which means only .3 or 1/3 of an amp. The tri power pack provides only 1 amp across all voltages.

2012: Carrera had to move the magnets on the bottom of all their slot cars, 1/43 1/32 and 1/24, inside the chassis so they could NOT be accessed from the underside anymore. Not only that but they were forced to remove any metal from the underside of the chassis so that there was/is NO possibility that it could short circuit on the metal rails that conduct the current. 

Not sure what business you are in but every business has a classification both for the state and the federal government. It determines many things about how a business is administered from taxation, to insurance liability for employees and others, to product/service regulations. I'm not a conservative but as a business owner I see how it impedes the ability of business to serve customers; it adds complexities, layers of personnel to implement and oversee compliance and those cost are ultimately passed on to the customer. Its REAL!


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## urnuts (Jul 3, 2012)

*I own a pizza shop....*

and your last few sentences reminded me of this interchange between a customer and I a few years ago:


Customer: "$1.50 for a handful of onions!?..... what do they cost, a dime?" 
Me: "Nope- much less than that... the $1.50 helps me pay for my $100,000 Workman Comp policy bill.... along with the other 20 policies I am required to have"
The Government-and I am a conservative- is a necessary evil, at best.
Too stupid, arrogant and greedy to do anything but keep their hands in the pockets of others.
My rant aside- another member and friend here always asks why AW can get away with... or do.... what AFX can't seem to, regarding regs and all? He seems to believe- rightly or wrongly- that it's all about the age range of the product.
If that is, in fact, the case, the inconsistency seems strange.


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## slotcardan (Jun 9, 2012)

..........


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## a110alpine (Oct 30, 2012)

swing sets??? that is a really bad example. in my part of the world they are going up all over the place. what has changed is the actual ground that the swings are mounted on. soft rubber slabs have replaced the concrete, asphalt, sand, and tanbark surfaces from 50 years ago. when we were 7-8 we would get on the swings and get as high as we could ......and then fly off into a grass field that was 20 feet away. you better hit the grass because there was a concrete curb that you did not want to land on. when i think about it i am surprised that i did not end up a quadriplegic. 
but the subject here is slot cars. there is no reason why a 2 inch car needs 12+volts to power itself. it makes perfect sense that the government would get involved because these toys are marketed to children. the ho companies had it wrong in the first place. they should have had lower voltage motors. scalextric and mrrc switched to cans in the mid 80's. they ran fine on 6 volts. that was 30 years ago. ho companies have had it easy for years marketing the same product with different colors. the last company to market true 1/87 slot cars was takara and their micro slot car system. 6 volts on pager motors. they made better looking cars than anyone before them. face it thunderjets are one ugly slot car. all the excuses that you guys give about how they had to redesign chassis and blaming the government is pure garbage. i go back to artin.....virtually the same chassis and motor for the last 50 years. and they probably have made more slot cars than anyone else in slot car history. the government does not bother them. because they make a pretty safe system. at a lower voltage.no design flaws in that system. you better look out. if those self generating controllers catch on the government might force the slot manufacturers to eliminate their present power systems. if you have arthritis you are not going to race your toys.


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## slotcardan (Jun 9, 2012)

...........


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## carlosnseattle (May 12, 2009)

You can choose to believe what you want to believe, I'm not going to argue. But as someone who has to deal with this stuff all the time I know it to be true.

And I live in WA state, nobody is putting up swing sets in public parks here. Maybe it's different in "daly city" which I assume is in California. But from what you said I would guess you live in Alabama Georgia or Mississippi. or somewhere in the Southeast. Maybe there's a rural Texas city named Daly. In any event you have to realize that no company is free to create and distribute anything they want, especially when it is marketed to kids. There are 100's of safety recalls issued by the CPSC each year. You see the warnings whenever you enter a Toys R Us store, posted near the entrance. I'm not an anti government guy and I didn't even say they were wrong. It is something that is real; you can be an ostrich and stick your head in the sand, or you can be an eagle and fly above it all...your choice.


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## super8man (Jan 29, 2013)

This comment by slotcardan summarizes my experience in the slot scene in the mid-1970s:

"as an adult that went back and played with the earlier cars and systems i feel cheated by what i was able to buy in the 1970s and 1980s verse what came before which was much more interesting and fun."

Thanks to ebay and the fortunate volume of slot cars made back in the day, I can happily enjoy the hobby. And thanks for summarizing the disconnect between what I have always noticed when looking at "Tyco Pro" cars and then later G-Plus cars forward...the hobby seemed to have taken a left turn along the way...perhaps a few times. 

Good comment slotcardan!

PS - In California, swing sets are very common in parks including NEW parks. It's the crap they sit on and that kinda sucks. But hey, it's a swing. Always cool.

PPS - In reading all the replies, it does indeed appear that the slot car hobby is doomed to extinction. And like the stone age ending NOT due to the lack of stones, so too will slot cars die an ugly death but NOT for the lack of interest but for impossible to meet regulations regarding "TOYS".


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## a110alpine (Oct 30, 2012)

there are safe toys and unsafe toys. ho slot cars are unsafe. the government came to this conclusion because of studies showing how many children landed in emergency rooms because they swallowed a ski shoe thinking it was candy. like it or not we are heading towards socialized health care. forcing afx to make a safe toy will keep everyone's health care cost down. IF AFX CAN'T MAKE A SAFE TOY THEY GO OUT OF BUSINESS. i go back to my artin example. they make a safe product. low voltage. they have been doing it for 50 years. SAME CHASSIS AND SAME MOTOR. NO DESIGN FLAWS. the government does not go after them. artin has made more slot cars than any other company world wide. if kids end up in emergency rooms because of artin slot car sets then artin has a problem they have to deal with. this is a generation argument .. people in their 20's and 30's have no problem with this philosophy. older people well ... we will all be dead when it is finally realized. just a little note. old guys cruising toy stores is pretty creepy. buy online.


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## carlosnseattle (May 12, 2009)

a110alpine said:


> there are safe toys and unsafe toys. ho slot cars are unsafe. the government came to this conclusion because of studies showing how many children landed in emergency rooms because they swallowed a ski shoe thinking it was candy. like it or not we are heading towards socialized health care. forcing afx to make a safe toy will keep everyone's health care cost down. IF AFX CAN'T MAKE A SAFE TOY THEY GO OUT OF BUSINESS. i go back to my artin example. they make a safe product. low voltage. they have been doing it for 50 years. SAME CHASSIS AND SAME MOTOR. NO DESIGN FLAWS. the government does not go after them. artin has made more slot cars than any other company world wide. if kids end up in emergency rooms because of artin slot car sets then artin has a problem they have to deal with. this is a generation argument .. people in their 20's and 30's have no problem with this philosophy. older people well ... we will all be dead when it is finally realized. just a little note. old guys cruising toy stores is pretty creepy. buy online.



Agreed 100%. Artin uses can motors, you can get them off the shelf from tons of different suppliers. Those motors are already UL listed and approved for many uses. Its an easy way to streamline the process of delivering a product to market.

Problem is that we've been the problem. We wanted faster cars, and cars that handled better. Artin cars never performed as well as other cars. Most Ho cars were custom designed by each manufacturer with a motor integrated into the chassis. They went faster and handled better. And I'm still the problem because...just one man's opinion...I think Artin stuff is garbage compared to HO slot cars made by Tyco, AFX, Tomy, Lifelike, Rokar,etc. And Carrera and SCX cars look better and drive much better than Artin/Fast Lane cars out of the box. I'll enjoy my cool slot cars until they take them from my cold dead hands!!


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## a110alpine (Oct 30, 2012)

*what a collection that guy had!!!!!!!!!*

if you are going to end up in a casket they can be buried with you. make sure the casket is open. you will get more people to come to your funeral just to admire that slot car collection for one last time. there is a woman from Beverly hills that is buried in her 60 Ferrari California spyder. it took several plots but her skeleton is comfortably resting in the driver's seat. relatives wanted to sell the car but a judge ruled in her favor. there is nothing wrong with being selfish. I don't see a problem here. if afx goes under someone else will take their place to keep up with demand. the only problem is demand is less every year. the way i figure it ho fans will always have a supply since their numbers get smaller every year. loss of interest and death are your saviors. more ho items are on ebay than any other scale. always has been and probably always will. and as less demand goes lower prices appear. that rare car might be yours for a few cents. of course if you guys decide that you will want to be buried with your toys that might change. then again if you are cremated you might not be able to take them with you. the government frowns on all those toxins in the air.


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## carlosnseattle (May 12, 2009)

Yep, you got it

Alpine, how do you manage to have so many cars to sell? No need to answer, just keep the deals rolling. Seems like you have an unlimited supply. I'm considering a Carrera 1/24 car you have listed. I've actually bought a couple cars from you before on the auction site, just didn't put 2 and 2 together until I looked at a car this evening. Cool stuff


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## carlosnseattle (May 12, 2009)

*New Tomy Mega G+ chassis*

Alpine was/is right!!! And I hope it will be a win for us all. Have you guys seen the new Mega G+ chassis?


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## MSwaterlogged (Feb 5, 2014)

carlosnseattle said:


> Alpine was/is right!!! And I hope it will be a win for us all. Have you guys seen the new Mega G+ chassis?


Yes I have a couple. Lighter and smoother than the MG. Hard to judge speed yet as I don't have a new 120 Ohm controller to really test it. Using the stock AFX 70 Ohm controller, the MG was slightly faster for a single lap but they were both pretty close for average lap time over 60 laps at 13.5 volts. MG+ stock rear tires are much better than MG stock tires, when I put super tires on both, MG time improved a bunch, MG+ not much. MG+ does not feel right on 70 Ohm controller, it feels like it is being held back. Will have to wait till I can test with new controllers to get an accurate feel for it.

Charlie


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