Hot Scalextric Part 2

Boring jobs done, house and garden straight and so me and the boys can now start our Scalextric again!! A few months away and I unpack the boxes excited about what we can create then it dawned on me...........putting together a track with the same pieces on a different shape board is a bit like making a puzzle without a picture to follow!!

It took all day but I got there, a track that fills the board and an improvement by splitting the hairpin corners to let the boys drive with some abandonment without a crash at every corner.

Now to spend some time making it look pretty over Christmas, can't wait!!!!!

All Good Things Come To An End

We are moving! We are all really excited but unfortunately it's time to pack away the Hot Scalextric :(

My wife has told me we must get boring things like furniture sorted and moved before I can start building the scalextric again so for now it is boxed safe in the attic.

A few months away with the knowledge of what works and doesn't from my first track and me and the boys will be back in a couple of months with an even bigger and better track I am sure! Until then, keep racing! Hot Scalextric part 2 will follow :)

Don't Leave A Scalextric Unattended

So I have just learned a valuable lesson. NEVER LEAVE YOUR SCALEXTRIC UNATTENDED!

After all the work on the track recently I thought I would send the cars round the track for a bit in pace car mode with a little oil on the track rails just to clean everything up. The door goes so I rush downstairs not thinking, got caught talking to a neighbour for 5 minutes, return to find a mass pile-up. Not so bad until I realised the Audi was still on the track but boxed in but 2 other cars and guess what..............

IT DOESN'T RUN ANYMORE!

Right, I thought, it must be a burnt out motor so I strip it down.

Take apart an old Austin Martin and switch the motors.

Woohoo an upgrade for sure. An Audi with an Austin Martin engine! This is bound to be fast!!!

Everything back together, ready for a test run and.................

Nothing happens. Turns out the old motor still runs but the wiring loom has got so hot it has welded itself together! The Audi can now sit in the pit garage until another day! On the plus side I did rescue a stronger magnet form the Austin Martin so I can upgrade one of the other cars that refuses to stay on the track.

Making A Race Track

Basics done, it's now time to turn a Scalextric into a race track.

Buildings, barriers and curbs in place and it's getting there. Now time to add a little greenery with some trees.

I'm happy with how it will look but as most of the trees and bushes are going to be hand made this is going to take a while!

I am hoping to get a good balance between the scenic green twisty part of the track and the aggressive concrete jungle of the quick start / finish line.

More trees and it's starting to look like a moving fun work of art. Time will tell but I'm very please so far.

Growing Grass And Laying Asphalt

Time to plant the grass seeds (well lay the fake grass!) and put down some asphalt, but first things first, take up all the track!!

Grass down first all glued in place to stop it moving about. Let's hope little fingers don't peal it off like the wallpaper in their room!!!!!

All done and looking good. Now to see how accurate the measurements are when the track is back down. Please, please let it line up right!

I'm really pleased with the result, now to make it look like a race track again.

Early Morning Visitor

The boys love their new Hot Scalextric track but thought Daddy's work could do with some improvement. Early in the morning the Scalextric track has a visitor!!

Now with all the wooden trees and signs that looks much better! Time to start planting the 'real' grass and trees soon because it looks like the boys aren't going to be patient!!

My Barriers Were Up But Now I've Decided To Be More Open

Do I have my barriers up with you? Well I did. I put barriers all around the track but in the end decided it was too enclosed so I have removed some to produce a more open section of the track so I have more space for advertising boards at a later date.

The twisty section at the end is now completely enclosed for driver safety because hopefully this will end up being the forest section of the track.

I had to modify (I mean cut to pieces!) some sections of barrier and border to get them to fit and in some places I just added a tyre wall just to break things up a bit. I'm fairly pleased with the result and can't wait for the grass to be delivered now.

Test Race

After all this hard work it was time to test out the track, yay!!!! :)

I might slowly add a few barriers and need to add in the lane change corers once I have returned the faulty items but for the next few day it's time to sit back and enjoy out new Hot Scalextric in all it's glory! Trouble is the boys are getting better than me so I must find time for practice! (Very competitive household :))

Grass and asphalt to lay next but I'm still considering the option so until then, if you want me I will be in the play room playing Scalextric.

Building Buildings

Morning comes and the boys are happy with Daddy's progress overnight but it still doesn't look like a proper race track so it's time to add some atmospheric buildings. I asked the boys what they wanted and their suggestion was a tran track that goes down the stairs, a jump and strawberry's or raspberry's so I had the casting vote and decided some proper buildings were in order.

First up was the garage for the pit lane.

I later decided there wasn't enough room behind the pit lane so it has moved but I'm sure we will find something for the pit lane in time.

Next was the grand stands.

Because they are simple push together construction the boys loved helping. They chose the stickers but it was Daddy's job to stick them on (a wonky Fiat may be true to life but may send me over the edge!)

Next up was a Dunlop footbridge. The bridge to nowhere I would refer to it as because you would still be trapped in the circuit but it looks good.

Finally a control tower so I can disqualify any bad drivers for dangerous conduct on the race track and yes this has already happened more than once!!!!!

I'm happy with the outcome so far and it's starting to come together well.

How To Prevent A Crash

Boys being boys will want to see how fast a car can go before it crashes and even crash into other cars just for the fun of it so barriers are essential before letting them loose with the track.

As I mentioned before, don't put the track in a corner of a room, fitting barriers was even harder than the track itself!!!!!

Good job I'm of slim build and not scared of confined spaces!!

More barriers and tyre walls to add for effect but this should do the job at keeping the cars on the track rater than the floor but time will tell!!

Track Time

Building work done and while the boys sleep it's time to lay down the track.

For now I have decided not to fix the track to the board so I can be flexible if I decide something isn't working right or the track needs a slight tweak. A note to anyone building a large track: DO NOT build it in the corner of a room as I have because reaching the far corner is problematic to say the least!!!

Track down and tested and it's already looking good but it could be better. Time to add some buildings and let's make a proper race track :) !!!

Building Work Complete!

After two days hard work and a lot of help from an inquisitive four year old (who has memorised how to build a kitchen cabinet so there is no excuse to not have a go!) the building work is done!!!

Now to add the fun. Time to start building the track :)

The Big Build

We started the day with an empty room, a pile of track, a flat-pack kitchen and some random pieces of wood and started to create.

Good job I had expert building help from King Arthur! The base units are almost complete (these were a deal breaker to create storage space where the old furniture just had to be removed to make way for the extra large track!)

Base units are now done, except for doors but they aren't important are they? There is no way a door will hold up the track!! Time for some sleep before another day of hard graft with my boys.

Holiday Over. Time To Set-up A Test Track

Back from holiday, bring the bags in and unpacking can wait, I have received the missing parts of the track so time to set it up and see what it's going to look like!!

Tomorrow the big build begins but until then I can practice for an evening before my boys see it when they wake up.

A Few tweaks to make. The start line needs moving but I placed it in easy access for now and I have 2 lane change corners but these need replacing as they short out the track. I also have buildings and barriers to fit once it's on the board. Can't wait now to see the finished result.

Must Be Patient :(

After all this excitement over the last couple of days (and the boys loved the new cars and track when they saw it) I now must be patient :(

Building materials ordered and replacement track for my moment of stupidity is on the way.

We are now away on holiday for a week but as soon as I return me and the boys have plans to get building! Watch this space!!

Before I go this is the track plan :)

It's going to be more awesome than a Ninja Turtle driving a Transformer being chased by the Avengers, and that is saying something!! Until next week..........

First Race

Following the disaster of the incorrect order I couldn't build the track like I planned but that wasn't going to stop me. Out came some spare track and I made a simple layout so I could see just how amazing this was going to be.

It was amazing! All six cars racing around on their own and even changing lanes!!!

DISASTER!

I am officially an idiot! Only gone and ordered the wrong hairpin corners and so I can't build my planned track :(

Time to get out the old track so we can make a small circuit and see the cars run :)

What's in the box?

First things first, unpack the boxes and see what we have!

This is going to be epic! Lets go back to the track plans and get it set-up, for test purposes of course!!

So Excited!!!!!

I am so excited. My delivery came today and I can't wait to share! I have taken a sneak peak into the boxes and couldn't resist opening the cars first.

Hot cars for the Hot Scalextric

Why 6 cars? I say why not!! I considered the options for all of 10 seconds. When I discovered you could run 6 cars at once that was it, I was sold. I justified it to myself by saying it would stop any arguments but really I just can't wait to see 6 cars speeding round the race track at once. It's going to be awesome!!!!!

Hot Scalextric - The Beginning

What is Hot Scalextric? Amazing that's what, at least me and my boys think so. Hot Scalextric came from my 5-year-old son who loves cars. Being a thoughtful Dad (and wanting to play Scalextric myself!) I started collecting bits of second hand track and cars to make my boys a super cool, massive race track. My eldest who has always been into Hot Wheels saw it, knew it was a Scalextric track but in his head combined the two and it's stuck - Hot Scalextric.

After setting up numerous different layouts and taking over the living room it was decided, by my wife who wants her living room back and the dogs who love to eat anything left on the floor, we would move the Hot Scalextric up to the playroom and create a super cool, permanent raceway for me! Sorry I meant for my boys :)