133 replies to this topic

[don.siegel]

Yep, it exists Greg and comes up pretty regularly on eBay... 
 
It was almost a vaporware product in fact, because they announced it fairly early, and then it took some time to be introduced, seemingly because of production problems. The problems were discussed in the press, which means they must have been pretty major, otherwise they never would have been mentioned. 
 
Another revolutionary device that may have seemed like a good idea, but ignored the KISS principle... Also, if it didn't come out till '67, which is likely, then even the lowest ohm rating of 8 ohms was already on the high side, and the 15/25 only good for kids who still had an old Cox model... 
 
Don

[tonyp]

I saw and tried one. Junk, stuck all the time.

[zipper]

At least one Classic controller did its way to Finland in late '60s I think. Tried once and it was crunchy crap but yet a nice try, something different!

[Cheater]

Yeah, operating the controller via a sleeved cable was just about guaranteed to slow down the action. Really bad idea...

[Half Fast]

That Scalextric set's price from Polk's (the place that started my addiction to slot cars) translates into $475 in today's money! Pretty damn pricey. 

 

Cheers,

[Cheater]

From what I've read, Polk's must have been a pretty amazing place. 

 

I can't recall ever seeing any pics of the inside of the place. Anybody have any images they can post?

[Half Fast]

In the movie "the Godfather", Tom Hagen was abducted by Sollozzo as he exited Polk’s Hobby Shop at 314 Fifth Avenue.
 
Scouting NY
 

 
Image via forums.mylargescale.com
 
You gotta problem with that?

[don.siegel]

Great photo, wonderful detail about the Godfather film - never noticed that at the time! 

 

Don 

[Cheater]

[Steve Deiters]

Polk's: I talked to Howie Ursaner about it at a recent R4. It may have been his home track.

 

If I understood him correctly you had to ride an elevator to get to the tracks that were on the fourth or fifth (?) floor. First slot car track I ever knew of that you had to ride an elevator to get to. 

 

Anyone know of others?

[Half Fast]

The slot track was on the fourth floor, you could also take the stairs. The elevator was a hoot, max two people and the elevator operator; it was the size of a small closet.

 

Cheers,

[tonyp]

Never got to Polk's when they had slot cars, but did make the trip there once just to look around. Bill, you are right about the elevator.

I wish C&C had an elevator. It was on the top floor of an old mill, probably four floors up.

[Michael Rigsby]

Never saw one of these. Anyone have one?

Or was this another one of those "vaporware" products, to use a much later term, that never reached production. Image shows a 1966 copyright.

 

Greg,

 

I actually had one of these when I was a kid. It had a selector switch and two resistors inside. I had a friend whose dad was an aircraft guy at Piper Aircraft and he got me some aluminum, and with the help of my mechanic dad, reworked the inside to where it was a pretty decent controller with a 5 ohm and 8 ohm resistor. It wasn't as crunchy after the modification and it was reliable. 

 

At least I could run rewinds and not get my hand burned, and I never managed to smoke the unit after we modified it.  It got a lot of chuckles from other racers.....but it helped me win my share of trophies when I was a kid. I pretty much retired my Cox and MRC controllers once I got it working the way I wanted it to......then Russkit changed all that

 

Those were the days...

[Cheater]

During the slot car fad phase, everybody sold slot car kits and controllers. Slot cars were even in the Sears catalog and not just on a single page. I can recall buying a slot car kit in a Western Auto store in my small town when I was 11 or 12.

 

Notice the Cox Cheetah and controller combo offer in both 1/24 and 1/32; just a dollar difference but at the time a buck was actually a lot of money.

 

[tonyp]

Selling slot cars at not slot car tracks in the beginning exposed the hobby to many more people. Once you bought a car, you had to go to the slot car track to run it.

My first car a Cox GT40 was purchased at R&S auto stores, the same place I used to get all my HO parts previously.

[Michael Rigsby]

My mom and dad actually got me the 1/24th scale Chaparral and the Cox Cheetah out of the Sears catalog for Christmas.  Enjoyed them both for quite awhile and was one of my better Christmas gifts as a kid...already had a Cox controller though...I got that Porsche Carrera 6 later from the local Sears store before they sold out of them...For some reason, the Sears stores down here in Florida were very big on slot racing....they had everything in the catalog on hand in the stores. The Monogram Elva was a nice kit too ( at least to an 11 year old boy).

[Cheater]

[tonyp]

Hated those.

[Cheater]

Me, too, Tony. 

[tonyp]

These were one of the favorites to short out the lane on the 220 foot Engleman as they were heading into the high bank so they would fall off and destroy the fink. That will teach them.

[don.siegel]

Another Batmobile: 

 

 

And two of its competitors/copycats: 

 

 

 

 

Don 

[don.siegel]

Even at the time, these prices were pretty amazing... Made In Japan, but you still have to wonder how they made any money on these.. 

 

 

 

When DIY really meant something - England in the 50s: 

 

 

Another very obscure English brand: 

 

 

Don 

[don.siegel]

The counterpart to Dan: 

 

 

The USA had its own obscure items: 

 

 

Possibly the cheapest real slot racing set ever - out of an American Modeler magazine I think: 

 

 

Don 

[don.siegel]

More slot shoeing...

 

 

 

And who doesn't remember these: the fastest production slot racer? Why, MPC of course! 

 

 

Don 

[tonyp]