#1085 SCALEXTRIC UK - B.R.M. (C72.85) (1964)

I was never interested in Scalextric slot cars from Lines Brothers for the English (and other) markets, I decided to focus on the Spain-made by Exin, Tyco or Tecnictoys). But, as a collector of toys, I sometimes get things I didn´t look for.

I got this pristine model of a B.R.M., boxed, together with a large lot of old toys from the 70s and the 80s, although this car was originally released in 1964. I guess it was sold during many years without any changes, so, maybe it was available until the early 1970s.

The model is done at a scale of around 1:32 (as most Scalextric models are) and is British green. The tip of the car is yellow, but in some other models is white. This way, two models could compete against each other if they had this small difference. 

The construction is slightly different from the other cars I have. These older models "hide" the motor inside them, so it is more difficult to oil, repair the cables or simply replace the contact brushes. This is usual in other models from this first years of slot cars, especially from the models from Lines-Bros.

The box is smaller than the ones I know from Exin. The car also looks nice, much better than I had thought, when I saw the pictures online. The detail level is similar to the early Exin models. So, nice to have it.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: B.R.M. (C72.85)
• Scale: 1:32
• Year: 1964
• Company: Scalextric UK (Great Britain)
• Size: approx. 12 cm

#1003 AURORA AFX G-PLUS/G+ – FERRARI 312 B3 (1975)

Sometimes you find surprises like this one. I was in a flea market, searching in a big box in which the seller had indicated “1 piece = 1 euro”, and found this nice slot car. I had no idea what it was, but I simply took it, and put it in the bag. It is actually very rare to see toys "Made in Singapore" these days, so I thought it might be something special. I recall that during my visit to the National Museum of Singapore, I found a small display of toys made there, but I don't have any memories of Aurora cars there...

Several days later I had the chance to search a bit on the internet. What was that strange Ferrari I had bought? I found this fascinating history here.

Aurora is the well-known toymaker from New York,  but this Aurora AFX was unknown to me. These small cars were the first to introduce the ground effect magnet to achieve higher speeds withour making the car impossible to drive. That is how the G+ or G-Plus (gravity plus) series was born. This was premiered in January 1975 and became an instant success, although Aurora was actually not doing as well and in 1977, the AFX line would be purchased by Tomy, that used the license in the Tomy AFX toyline.

The car is slightly smaller than the usual 1:64, and it is missing a mirror, but it is otherwise complete, and I would say it is still functional, I didn’t try, I guess if I apply 9 V to the motor, it will start.

The model represents the Ferrari 312 B3, as driven in the 1975 season by Clay Regazzoni and Niki Lauda, but the RN 6 does not represent any of them. I guess this small f1 was among the first produced. The same model was also reproduced by Scalextric in Spain, but in a different scale.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: FERRARI 312 B3  
• Scale: Approx. 1:64
• Year: 1975
• Company: Aurora AFX G-Plus (U.S.A. / Singapore)
• Size: approx. 5 cm

#896 SCALEXTRIC - FERRARI 312 B3 (Ref. 4052) (1975)

Collectables from decades ago are each time more and more difficult to find. It is natural. They end up in hands of collectors, and these keep them for long periods of time.Only in extraordinary events, like the last crisis (from 2008 to 2012 or so), the offer grows and the prices fall. Since 2016 or maybe even slightly before that I have observed that prices are going higher and higher. At some point in the future, the prices will fall, but this is another topic.

With Scalextric I have observed exactly this behaviour, and I haven´t bought many in the last 3 years. This is one of them and the second is a yellow Porsche Carrera that will be shown when I update entry #420.

This is a car that I didn´t have yet in any version, so I was happy to find it. It was not very expensive considering it is complete, but still used and without the original box.

The car was first released in 1975 and discontinued in 1982, although rests could still be found in shops during a few years more.

A Ferrari is always an attractive car, but this model here was also 1975´s World Champion, driven by the young Niki Lauda. In the decals we can read the name of the Austrian pilot or the name of the Swiss pilot Clay Regazzoni, the "first" pilot at the time and the one who recommended Lauda to Ferrari in 1974.

Scalextric represents the model from 1974, using decals with both names, but also 4 different race numbers (RN): 11, 12, 20 and 35. This is also a common practice, since some sets were sold with two identical cars in different colours, and they needed at least two race numbers, and in case of Formula 1 or other famous racing cars, two pilot names.

The car ran the 1974 season with RN 11 (Regazzoni) and RN 12 (Lauda). Scalextric also assigned RN 20 to Lauda and RN 35 to Regazzoni in the alternative decals.

In 1973 and 1975 the same car that took part in some races, although the decoration used at the time may differ a little bit from the one chosen by Scalextric.


By the way, this car was available in red (like the real Ferrari), (dark) green, yellow and blue. So far I have only the green one, but I keep looking for the other three. If I ever get them, I will update this entry to make it more complete. Making cars in different colours was of course cheaper than making them with different casts, and most times, a circuit came with two cars of the same brand, only with different colours. That way the races were tighter, since different cars have different behaviours during the race. This F1, like most F1 is quite flat and has long rear axles, so I guess it is very fast. Green is maybe the less atractive colour, because some details have low contrast with the grey motor part, and also low contrast with the black tracks.

Note that the model has lots of pieces, many more than the average scalextric car. And also that the base or chassis has the same colour than the body. A real beauty.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: FERRARI 312 B3 (Ref. 4052)
• Scale: 1:32
• Year: 1975
• Company: Scalextric Exin (Spain)
• Size: approx. 15 cm

#772 SCALEXTRIC – CHEVROLET MONTECARLO “COOPER” (Ref. 6021) (1998)

The NASCAR racing has never been popular in Spain, probably neither in other European countries. It surprises me that Scalextric still launched this model in 1998, being the first NASCAR racer in the whole history of the brand.

Tecnitoys somehow decided to bid on this new cast, maybe as an attempt to check what would be the response to such an exotic racer, and in 1998, they launched references 6020 and 6021, the Chevrolet Montecarlo in “Du Pont” and “Cooper” decorations.

The “Du Pont” version is much more colourful and nicer to the eye, while the “Cooper” colours are much more elegant. There would still come a third version which is referred as “55 mph” in 1999 with the reference 6030.

Those are the only three models that share cast. Tecnitoys would present a few years latee (in 2006) an improved cast for this model, with 8 different decorations between that year and 2008. I am not sure if they were ever sold in Scalextric boxes, or only in SCX boxes for the foreign markets. Probably they made good sales in the US and other countries where the popularity of this championship is bigger.

The car is ultra-light (cames with an SRS2 chassis) and the body is hollow and missing every unnecessary detail. Despite this, I think the NASCAR cars are actually like that maybe it is even an accurate reproduction of the real car.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: CHEVROLET MONTECARLO “COOPER” (Ref. 6021)
• Scale: 1:32
• Year: 1998
• Company: Scalextric Tecnitoys (Spain)
• Size: approx. 13 cm

#740 SCALEXTRIC – MERCEDES WANKEL C-111 (Ref. 4044) (1970)

The Mercedes Wankel was one of those legendary concept cars of the 70s, from which only a few units were made. Most accurately, there were 4 versions, that were made between 1969 and 1979.

It included revolutionary advances in their motors, like the Wankel and diesel motors as well as motors with turbocompressors, and avant-garde features like gullwing doors, air conditioning and carbon fiber body.

The car was fast like hell, it broke several speed records thanks to its powerful motors, and of course, it was a car that appeared on the press and TV, gaining a certain popularity those days. That made many toy manufacturers to put their attention in this model to reproduce it on different scales.

Scalextric did a wonderful job turning this model into a 1:32 slot car. It was released in 1970 (it corresponds to the first C-111 version from 1969). The car was available in green, orange, white and yellow, although there is a rare “red-ish” version. This rarity could be explained in which the orange plastic mixed a little bit with red plastic from other models, or maybe there was a mistake and somebody feed the injection machine with the wrong colour.during the production. The fact is that several units came with a colour which looks more like red, and they are scarce. If the guys at Exin noticed that, maybe many red models were destroyed or recycled into new models.

So far about the car model. Notice I also have the original box (with yellow dot) in very good shape and the instruction sheet. This is the one I show in my blog, because I never worried about not having them, and I do not dare buying them online because thez have been reproduced and you never know if the one you’re buying is original or not, until you have it on your hands and analyse it through a powerful magnifying glass.

The complete document comprises 4 pages with an approximate A5 size (each page).

I love this piece of paper. Note that the illustrations are made specifically for the Mercedes, every reference had its specific drawings. Most sheets found today are bent in the middle and the paper has yellowed a little bit, but this is not a problem for me. The fake instructions are also artificially yellowed and bent, making them almost indistinguishable from the original ones.

 

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: MERCEDES WANKEL C-111 (Ref. 4044)
• Scale: 1:32
• Year: 1970
• Company: Scalextric Exin (Spain)
• Size: approx. 12 cm

#676 SCALEXTRIC - SIGMA (Ref. 4047) (1973)

One of the first models I had in my collection, belonged actually to my father or my uncle, and survived several years until I got it in 1990 together with the white Porsche Carrera shown in a previous entry. Other cars, like some old Mercedes didn´t.

The Sigma model was designed by Pininfarina in 1969 over the chassis of a Ferrari 312 V12 (a F1 model). It incorporated several security features. It never raced, because it was not intended to do that, but due to its futuristic design it became very popular in publications or as a toy.

Scalextric´s Sigma was not very accurate. The spoiler it is too high and the car it a bit narrower as the original, but still very impressive. It was available in three colours: yellow, orange and white. I only have the yellow one, twice. The original one described above, and another one boxed I got later. The first I got had no mirrors, so I had to buy repro ones, but the second is was complete.

A typical problem in this car is that the spikes ot the spoiler are very often broken. In the model in the picture these two spikes are broken (see picture above, right). The exhaust pipes are also fragile, since they stand above the body of the car

The car was very interesting for competition because it is very low and very stable in the curves and has long axles, so it is already very fast, doesn´t need much changes to be a winner.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: SIGMA (Ref. 4047)
• Scale: 1:32
• Year: 1973
• Company: Scalextric Exin (Spain)
• Size: approx. 14 cm

#618 SCALEXTRIC - LANCIA LC2 “TOTIP” and PORSCHE 956 “SKOOL” (Ref. C016 and C018) (1985)

Scalextric owners have always taken competition very seriously. Especially in the old days, many people used to trick their cars to make them faster and more estable: by modifying the motor, change the axles length, the width of tyres or making the car lighter and lowering the gravity center. As a "scar" of these practices, there are many old cars in which the body of the car over the wheels has been modified to allow bigger wheels than in the original model.

Slot cars manufacturers never payed attention to this fact, or at least the most popular ones. Scalextric Spain (at the time controlled by Exin) noticed this and in the early 80s (from 1982 on), they released a line of cars designed especially for the competition. I got two one christmas (they were among the first cars I ever got/bought) and they were really amazing. Faster like hell (mostly compared to the ordinary models), never got out of the track, but ugly... this is something we understand, since the normal inyected plastic car bodys have been replaced by a very thing and fragile flexible plastic, with almost no weight. Fortunately these cars had very few "accidents" thanks to their powerful magnet. Otherwise, they would be very difficult to find in good conditions nowadays.

Another weak point of these models is that the plastic (if originally white) yellows rather remarkably.
Among the models released by Scalextric I got the least ugly models: a Ferrari F1 and a McLaren F1. There were also several Sport Prototypes (like these two) and several rally cars (among them a Peugeot and a Mercedes).

To increase the feeling of having a great piece of machinery, each car was sold with 2 extra axles to customize the car and a small wrench. All cars were of course equipped with soft, wide slicks and aluminium rims.

The SRS series was updated a few years later by the SRS2 series (starting in 1992 or maybe a bit earlier, since some models with the fragile body have also been spotted in blue SRS2 boxes), in which the bodies of the cars were adapted to look like ordinary models, and the chassis was also modified and, I guess, improved in some way. We will maybe talk about the SRS2 some other time.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: LANCIA LC2 “TOTIP” and PORSCHE 956 “SKOOL” (Ref. C016 and C018)
• Scale: 1:32
• Year: 1985
• Company: Scalextric Exin (Spain)
• Size: approx. 15 cm

#600 SCALEXTRIC – PORSCHE 959 (1988)

One of the most impressive cars of the latest 80s was the Porsche 959, the other one was the Ferrari F40, and Scalextric Spain reproduced both. This time, I am going to talk about the Porsche 959, which is one of the latest cars that I bought for my collection. I first found the white version and then the black one, which are the two I currently own. There were other versions made, as I mention at the end of the article.

The cars were made by Exin from 1988 to 1992, year in which the company disappears and Scalextric is sold to Tyco. The car is a good sample of what Exin was doing in those last years, decent casting, very light cars, with stickers applied and cars with head and rear lights.

All Porsche 959 versions came with driver and co-pilot inside, which were the classic figures with integral helmet (newer model).

The car was have also all-wheel drive.

There were a total of 5 versions made, the first two that I own, then a silver coloured version with RN 577, a green version with yellow spoiler and “BP” stickers, and the final version, which is also the most difficult to find, “Club Scalextric 1995”. This last car was orange with green spoiler and was only given to club members back in 1995. For some reason, the run was short, there were not many subscribers that year or whatever, that car is quite difficult to find, as well as the previous model from 1994 (a red Ferrari F40) and the cars from 1997 (either the Bugatti in blue –rare- or the Audi in green –ultr rare-).

You can read a bit more about Club cars from the Tyco era HERE.

 

The rest 959 versions are:

• Ref. 4083 “180” (white)
• Ref. 4083 “Hertz” (black)
• Ref. 8330 “Silver” (silver)
• Ref. 8393 “BP” (green)
• Ref. 8366C “Club 95” (orange)

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: PORSCHE 959 "180" and "HERTZ" (Ref. 4083)
• Scale: 1:32
• Year: 1988
• Company: Scalextric Exin (Spain)
• Size: approx. 15 cm