Another new brand name from Spain has appeared in our hobby with a fresh take on an old classic. More selection in our hobby is usually a good thing and with my interest in the classics, I had to take a closer look.
This review is a mix of videos and photos.
The new Falcon slot cars website tells us we are in for a “epic and wonderful premium” piece of work. I won’t go that far on the slot car, but I will give them credit a for a fresh web presence. Having an updated and working site seems to be the last item on the list for some brands and seeing this effort was a good start in my opinion.
Newcomers to our hobby should know that we have had a handful of brands from Spain over the last several years and sadly most of them were just not that appealing. The recipe seemed to be choosing some very unappealing (in my opinion) model choices and mixing them with lower than industry standard quality running gear. Top it off with above premium/collector sticker prices and the end result left most of us cold. The ones that are left are very far from being the our hobby’s favorite.
Some of these brands had something in common: In one way or another they reminded us of an actual longtime favorite: FLY. Even if they claim there are no ties to that older brand, the close similarity to it just cannot be ignored. Even it’s own name change to Flyslot made little sense to most and a majority of my close friends still just call them Fly.
Because you can keep changing the name on the box, but what we get inside just seems like just another Fly car.
Enter Falcon Slot Cars.
As I stated in the video, Falcon may not have anything to do with our old beloved Fly, but what is in front of me sure speaks “Fly Classic” to me. Or as we like to say around here: “If it walks like a duck…Looks like a duck…”
The attractive box art will appeal to collectors which I feel has always been the main audience for brands like this. Nothing wrong with that of course, collectors are one of the groups that help keep the doors open for these companies. But usually when appealing to collectors first, what is inside that box and how it actually performs is low on the priority list.
| Length | Width | Height | Weight | Gearing | Motor |
| 136.65 MM | 66 MM | 45 MM | 76g | 13/35 | 21K |
*This car worked out of the box, or rather functioned. The tires are harder than expected and simply would not grip my track surface. So I did not waste time with a road test. In fairness the car was made for plastic track with magnet in place. I knew full well this model would need tuning before I could enjoy it, so that is what I did before racing.
The car in front of me is not a bad effort. The markings seem to be accurate enough but there is definite fading/bleed through on the red stripes. In some areas they just look pink as I stated in the video. As fas as the rest of accuracy goes, I’ll simply let those of you passionate about this particular model to come to your own conclusions.
Let’s take a look at a couple technical notes.
Now the axles being larger than the standard may or may not be an issue.
EXAMPLES:
- Most advanced racers and even casual tuners like myself usually just go all or nothing anyway.
- The stock equipment is good enough to tune and use as is.
- You are just collecting and wouldn’t even know if it had a motor inside.
But I can see where it will not please all of you. And a word of caution: The Falcon website lists these axles for sale and indicates they are standard 3/32nd (2.38 MM). This simply is not accurate.
My advice? Either make you have work…or go all out.
The chassis itself is fine. And veterans can see our familiar rear pod in use once again. This pod as well as the old standard sized Fly classic wheels are two main reasons why it reminds us of the past.
PAUL GAGE 21137LM are the tires I used. Any tire you prefer that worked for your Fly Classics will work here.
The stock guide isn’t that bad either. No, it may not be the deepest blade for all, but it certainly is a smooth system with very little, if any, freeplay.
The motor is no slouch and has great response and decent braking. The gearing is a little different than our old Fly cars with the massive 13T pinion driving the 35T spur gear. (2.69)
I have to give good scores when they deserve it. The gear mesh and bushing to axle fit is just fine. In fact I was impressed with the wheels as they were good enough that my Tire Razor cleaned them up nicely.
The adjustable single axle system works. Simple and effective. Yes, you can see the crack in the tire. No matter to me as I fixed the cheap and way and it worked out.
I did perform some tuning and the results were well worth the time.
The ONLY added expense was one pair of tires. Everything else is stock AND unmodified.
So is this car worth the price of admission? Only you can answer that. It was for me. I like the classics and also something a little different. It has been quite a few years since the first Fly classic was delivered to my door. Over the years I would guess there were very few classes of cars that saw the combat they did. No matter what the new flavor of the month was at the time, we usually always ran our classics. Just something about them I suppose.
And here we have a new brand name and a new car to join the fun with some welcome improvements. It certainly isn’t for everyone, but I do not regret choosing it. I wish the team at Falcon Slot Cars good luck in the future. Seeing a few more like this wouldn’t bother me at all.
-Harry
Model purchased online at Cloverleaferacing.com
Falcon Slot Cars
