Welcome to Slotcarcentre.co.uk, the premier place on the net to find out about Scalextric Digital and buy all your Scalextric Digital (and analogue) equipment. Find out more about our store and why more and more people are choosing to buy their Scalextric equipment from us. Images on the left are just a sample of this year's products.
Digital Scalextric (SSD) is just like regular Scalextric - it's not a separate system. But there are now special extra lane-change sections where cars can swap lanes and overtake each other thanks to the latest digital control unit. Just swap your analogue powerbase for a digital one, with digital hand controllers and digital cars. Otherwise the track is just regular "Sport" Scalextric track as supplied in analogue sets, but now, instead of racing just two cars, you can race up to 6 at once on a two or three lane track. Your old cars can be upgraded too. See the "DIGITAL RACING" section of the margin for more details of what you can do with Digital and how to upgrade your old stuff.
About us We are an authorised Scalextric stockist, associated with modelmotorracing.com based in Cheddar, Somerset. Here you will find everything you need to create your own Scalextric Sport Digital race track - along with standard analogue cars and equipment, and the digital chips to convert analogue cars. Additionally we sell some Hornby Skale Scenics for your trackside modelling projects, the smaller non-digital "Micro" starter sets for kids ages 4 and up, and now also run a Live For Speed online racing server (see bottom of page).
You can phone us during the hours above and leave a message at other times - someone will always get back to you if we are not available.
We were one of the first groups of people to start racing digital slot cars on release in 2004, and are amongst the most experienced SSD users in the country. So for anything you need, cars, track, parts or just advice, you are in the right place for down-to-earth, honest information, and a safe, reliable shopping experience.
Our prices include VAT, postage and packing to UK addresses, the price you see is the price you pay and should be competitive in relation to other sites - see this Scalextric price comparison. You don't need to log in or open an account to be able to shop. If you are abroad we only charge you the extra postage and packaging in bands to your part of the world "at cost".
If you find this site useful and easier to navigate than some other slot car sites that's partly thanks to our Actinic installation. Are you looking for something that's not in stock? If you would like to send feedback about the site or ask about availability please contact us or click the Live Help button if available. Don't forget to check our customer feedback too.
To find out about new stock arrivals, remember to set up alerts for changes to any page of this site via the "Watch This Page" button in the margin. You can also find out about latest arrivals and ask for advice by following Martin on Twitter which is proving a very successful means of keeping in touch (see latest "tweets" here).
You can now visit our track in Somerset (by appointment) and try out some of the more advanced elements of digital slot car racing. Also see our gallery of images from the 2009 NSCC Hornby weekend where items such as the new 6-car powerbase and pit lane game were put through their paces.
Troubleshooting guide If you are experiencing a problem with your SSD circuit, click here to view our PDF troubleshooting guide; work through the guide before calling for help as most issues are covered in there. It contains lots of useful ideas to help you track down, step by step, the possible cause of a problem, based on our many years' experience of the system. Then if you are still struggling ask a question via the contact form.
Mini Mille Miglia 2009 We are entering a digitalised Fangio Mercedes 300 SLR in the Mini Mille Miglia, July 2009, in Umbria, Italy. This is a slot car "proxy race" where you send a car to the venue and someone races it on your behalf. The event is in aid of Alzheimer's Research, is sponsored by Scalextric themselves, and Sir Stirling Moss is the event patron. The event organiser Graham Lane is a former fellow resident of Cheddar and ran a slot car club here back in the 60s. The track that is being built for the event will be an object lesson in creating a scenic Scalextric Digital layout.
If you would like to find out more about the event and the layout, and perhaps also get involved, either by sending an eligible car or even attending in person, visit the Mini Mille Miglia web site.
Brawn GP and Scalextric Thanks to our friends at XPB we have illustrated this site with some motor sport pictures to show some real-life examples of the cars you might be driving round your Scalextric track. On the weekend of the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix it was announced that Hornby have a licence agreement with Brawn GP to model the cars for Scalextric, and a Micro Scalextric Brawn set will be produced in time for Christmas, with the 1/32 scale model following in 2010.
"I had a Scalextric when I was young... ...but the cars always kept coming off the track, and the track kept coming apart!" We often hear this from customers looking afresh at the hobby after a gap of 20 or more years. Take it from us - if your experience of Scalextric has been with the sort of Scalextric cars shown in this photo, the cars of today are much easier to drive, if you want them to be. (Some of the professionals still prefer a minimum-grip racing environment but that's another discussion entirely).
Many of our customers aren't aware that older cars did not have traction magnets in the base (or only very poor ones if they did), so did not stay on the track too well. These magnets were introduced from the 1980s onwards, and got progressively better over the years, so the modern cars hence have much better roadholding. But the cars do still come off the track, and that is precisely the object of the game. You have to find and remember the limit of your car on every corner of every lap, without crashing, better than the other guys. Also, modern track, whilst still compatible with the old stuff, has a much a stronger interlocking system, giving solid electrical connectivity. Modern tyres and plastics provide better handling and glorious detail on the cars, and there are many robust models that will survive serious accidents without losing wings and other body parts.
In short, Scalextric has come a long way in recent years, and although still essentially the same concept, you will find it a much more enjoyable experience. The ability to do things like change lanes to overtake, and set different throttle power profiles to help youngsters stay on track better, which you now have with digital, is the icing on the cake; model motor racing the way it always should have been. Sorry it took so long!
One other point about those four cars in the photo above. They are all from the store owner's personal collection and have all been chipped for digital - proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks!
In this video you can see how the latest Santander TV advert was made using giant Scalextric track! Scalextric continues to be popular with all ages, and Digital has been around for a few years now, during which time some of the earlier products have given way to much improved replacements. Towards the end of 2009 we will have a new 6 car powerbase and a new conversion set for those upgrading their old sets. In the interim, technical wizards have developed the PB-Pro, a development on the original 6-car powerbase, and we have had new track pieces such as pit lanes and straight lane changers produced. So if you missed the boat the first time around, 2009 will provide a great opportunity to jump straight in with all the latest products.
Live for Speed If you like your motor racing in both the physical and virtual worlds, we also run racing servers for the Live For Speed (LFS) internet motor racing simulator. Ideal for those times when you aren't able to race your Scalextric, hook up your force feedback steering wheel and go racing on-line, testing your skills against drivers from all over the world. There are regular racing, rallycross, drifting, and drag strip options and a wide selection of tracks and cars including our own liveried ones such as this GTR. LFS is a British-designed, highly popular web racing application - find out more at modelmotorracing.com.
Racing with the NSCC As well as running our own circuit and shop, we are also involved with the NSCC which promotes the hobby both in the UK and around the world. If you are a keen racer or collector, and wish to get more out of your slot cars, we really do recommend joining. Members receive a monthly journal, have access to limited edition club cars, early access to swapmeets, and also get invited to Hornby/NSCC weekend events. This year's club car has just been released and is a Lotus Exige (pictured). Head over to the National Scalextric Collectors Club web site for more information. You can join on line by credit card.
