Total Newbie Question

[Feldman]

I am a total Newbie. I got hooked after meeting with Carrera last week at the New York Toy Fair. I do have some questions, What size is the most common? For home track should Igo with HO or something larger? What is the difference between Digital and analog? Anything else I need to know? I really enjoy reading through here and look forward to the help!

[RazorJon]

Hi Feldman
and welcome

Size is up to you, Carrera makes the biggest track with the most options and you can run any car on thier track

the dif. in digi or analog is with digi you can race up to 6 cars on a 2 lane track with special lane changers, and analog you just race 1 car in a lane

everything else you need to know is here on HRW, MORE GUYS WILL CHIME IN BUT I AM OFF TO THE RACES :banana-rock:

[DHansen]

If I was to do it all over again I would go with Carrera 1/32 scale. You can race there 1/24 scale, 1/32 scale, and there 1/43 scale cars on the same track. You can go with analog or digital with the flip of a switch on the bottom of there cars. [except 1/43scale is only analog I beleive]. You can all so set up a 4 lane or a 2 lane track. And they have kept there prices fairly reasanable. It all depends on how much room you have to dedicate to your new found hobby. An extra bed room or family room would work just fine. My track is set up in my living room, but then I'm single so I have the hole house to decorate anyway I like, and I like cars.

[TsgtRet]

:text-welcomewave:
The great thing about this hobby is there is some niche for everyone. Scale will be your choice taking space, money, preferences , etc into consideration. All have their highs and lows. My personal preference is for 1/32 because to me it strikes the happy medium of space and detail (plus I'm getting older and anything smaller would be tough to work on). As far as tracks go Carrera is the widest; easily used for 1/24 and 1/32; then there's Ninco (my fave) the next widest but with a much rougher texture; then there's SCX and Scalextric both the same width and the narrowest 1/32 tracks, texture falls in between Carrera and Ninco.
As for analog and digital, I am an analog fan, partially for simplicity and "that's the way we've always done it". I will let some digital fans fill in the details but it is my understanding that there are 4 different, mutually exclusive, systems out there: Carrera, Ninco, Scalextric and SCX.
The bottom line is, check out this site from top to bottom, check out some of the posted vendors. You may find some members that live in your area, PM some and maybe set up a visit to some home/club tracks (I have yet to meet someone on this forum that isn't pleased to show off his/her track and handiwork). That will give you a feel for what is out there and what you like. The biggie is: ENJOY!
Again, welcome.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I seem to be the one with some loose time this morning, so I'll jump in with both feet. There will be more like me, so keep checking this topic. I won't comment on digital, anyone who wants to know what I think doesn't have to look very long on HRW to find out.

But about scales and track types, I'll tell you anything you want to know that I already know or can find out for you. You are coming into this the right way- asking the right questions already. What has been said about scale is certainly true, but I would add that there is a lot of satisfaction that comes from straddling two scales. There are virtually no 1/32 plastic models of the cars you want to convert to slot cars out there, just a very few snap kits with almost no details. It says a lot that those few are so much fun to convert that just about everybody has a few stashed for a rainy afternoon. But for selection, the overwhelming better alternative is 1/24 scale. In ready-to-run cars, look to 1/32 scale, and you will see an amazing variety, and there are many fine manufacturers from starter cars to very sophisticated marvels of engineering and modelling. Its all there.

One more thing about scale... You should take into account how much space you need. If your house/apartment/room is small, HO is the clear choice. A bit bigger, you can still have a long track with 1/43 or 1/32 (most folks fall into this category), and if you have what amounts to a spare house, you can go as large as 250 feet in 1/24 with no real trouble, just a jumper here and there. The important thing to remember is that you can run smaller cars on a big scale track- you can't run large cars on a small scale track with the same satisfaction. As has already been advised, Carrera track is sized to handle 1/24, so 1/32 and 1/43 do just fine on it.

Now, about the track itself, there are some things to consider. If you choose plastic track, you can use magnets (accursed magnets to some of us), and of course the digital stuff goes on plastic. Within the plastic group, there are some with very high conductivity, but they may rust over time, and there are low conductivity that never rusts, but requires a higher level of voltage, so you will be continually retuning cars for 9, 12, or even 18 volts, as you go from track to track among friends. Also, the track surface is important. Ninco track is so gritty it wears tires out, besides it costs too much. Carrera is low conductivity, larger scale, and has a pleasant surface that grips fine but doesn't eat tires. Scalextric Sport track is very high conductivity and has a good surface, but needs to be wiped down from time to time to keep it from rusting. Scalextric Classic can be had very economically, but the slot is shallow, and some cars will have a lot of trouble on it. The available shapes of plastic track varies, too by brand name, so look at that, too.

If you choose a wood track (the favorite of veteran slotters by far), you can have a braided conductor that will last forever, or copper tape that almost lasts forever and costs about 1/8th of the cost of braid. A wood track's surface is changeable. You can paint it any way you want, with any kind of additive you want (grit, magnetic material, etc). Best of all, you can just change it, cheaply, to another surface with masking tape and a paint roller. To reconfigure plastic track, you take it apart and put it together in a different shape. To reconfigure wood track, you fill in the old slot with Bondo, and re-rout it. Simple, either way. Good luck, welcome, and keep coming back with questions- we'll get you there.

[buspor63]

Lots of great advice offered so far.
I'll try to add some valid opinions on digital. I have Carrera D132 and D124 cars, about 20 or so, that a percentage of the total count ..... :shhh: I have an analog small routed three lane MDF track with plans to build a two lane routed track with Carrera digital bits installed. My brother has the Carrera digital track. We have a group of 4-6 that get together regularly to run the digital cars.

Digital is great if you know you'll have friends (3-6) to run against. For one or two, I'd stick with analog and enjoy the different manufacturers cars, tuning and good times. Carrera digital offers the ghost mode but I haven't found it all the useful for thrilling competition, I prefer to run against someone.

All of the manufacturers, except SCX, will allow you to switch to a digital system by adding the digital sections to their existing track. For the most part, each car will have to have a digital brand proprietary chip. Installing chips into cars can get expensive, so think about that going in. That's where the "friends to race against" comes in to determine if it's worth the extra investment and complexity of chipping a different brand car just to try it out. You can also "chip the track", but that that adds another layer of complexity and it's not really plug and play, more like Radio Shack DIY.

[Feldman]

Thanks for all the great help, I know how i will be spending down time at work this week.