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They're The World's Most Expensive Cars- Let's SMASH 'EM UP!
Racer Boy Explains Some Extremely Low-Buck Racing
Move Some Iron, Malaise Era Style: Dealer's Choice Board Game!
Toy Car Wall Art
Model Find Of The Week: Revell Gaga
1:16 Scale First-Gen Honda Civic Model Kit: Another One Gets Away
Life Imitates Art, 80s Style: Shot Wheels Cars
Transformers 2 Corvette Centennial Concept Transformed
Nissan GT-R Transformers Toy Poses Next To Real Nissan GT-R
The Air Hog Zero Gravity Micro R/C Car Uses Vacuum To Drive On Walls And Ceilings

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TexanIdiot25- needs moar horse powah
09/28/09

In reply to They're The World's Most Expensive Cars- Let's SMASH 'EM UP!
Like the crash test dummies of today, only classier.
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☠Grяrяrяrяrя, portrait of a chickenwolfmoosepig.
09/28/09

In reply to They're The World's Most Expensive Cars- Let's SMASH 'EM UP!
And so now we all know where the big three got their quality standards for their malaise era cars.

(And yes, the little pull-cords were indeed good for whipping your sister. So was that orange hot-wheels track).
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coupeZ600 promoted this comment

coupeZ600
09/27/09

In reply to They're The World's Most Expensive Cars- Let's SMASH 'EM UP!
I was sitting here at the bar, and when I saw this and was waiting for the main page to finish loading, I asked some friends if they remembered the Kenner SSP Smash-Em-Up Derby cars, and when they gave me a kinda' weird look, I said,
"Remember back when you were a kid, and it had that rip-cord thing that would get that wheel in the middle spinning so fast it would burn you?"
"Oh Yeah, I remember!! And you could just yank on it, and put the wheel on your friend and burn him!"
"And the pull-cord was great for whipping your sister!"
They were trying to remember the song, and were getting pretty close, but when this page finally loaded and I clicked on Murillee's vid, they all sang the song perfectly and loudly, like it was some Irish-Pub-Drinking-Song with one guy finishing the dialogue right to the"....'cheer" at the end!
Murilee, you made these guys day! Now they're talking about that little helicopter thing on the wire that flew in little circles on the top of the table........
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Edited by coupeZ600 at 09/27/09 6:09 PM coupeZ600 was starred coupeZ600 was unstarred

AlienProbe
09/27/09

@coupeZ600: Priceless! Wish I was there.
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TAInvestor
09/27/09

@coupeZ600: Do you bring your laptop to a bar or do you have a bar at your house? Either way I find it rather badass
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Froggmann
09/28/09

@coupeZ600: I can't relate to you how many shades of awesome that story was.
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coupeZ600 promoted this comment Froggmann was starred Froggmann was unstarred

Franzouse
09/27/09

In reply to They're The World's Most Expensive Cars- Let's SMASH 'EM UP!
Now I know what was missing from my childhood.
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Prawo Jazdy and The Velocity Trumpets: I miss Deartháir II
09/27/09

In reply to They're The World's Most Expensive Cars- Let's SMASH 'EM UP!
I can't find them anywhere on the internet, but, does anyone remember the Matchbox cars that when hit, a spring loaded panel would rotate to reveal damage?

It might have been Hotwheels. I remember having one or two when I was very young.
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Edited by Prawo Jazdy and The Velocity Trumpets: I miss Deartháir II at 09/27/09 4:48 PM

900pilot
09/27/09

@Prawo Jazdy and The Velocity Trumpets: Yep, I remember. I believe they were Hot Wheels. I had a couple, I think a regal and a Camaro.
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Vexorg
09/27/09

@Prawo Jazdy and The Velocity Trumpets: I had some of those... They were Hot Wheels, and I think they were called Crack-Ups.
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kleinlowe
09/27/09

@Prawo Jazdy and The Velocity Trumpets: Yes! I also had one that had a plastic hood that would pop open when the spring-loaded front panel would rotate. Probably still in a box at my parents' somewhere.
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Prawo Jazdy and The Velocity Trumpets promoted this comment kleinlowe was starred kleinlowe was unstarred

Prawo Jazdy and The Velocity Trumpets: I miss Deartháir II
09/27/09

@Vexorg: Thats them. I had a cop car and something else.
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1300ccsoffury
09/27/09

In reply to They're The World's Most Expensive Cars- Let's SMASH 'EM UP!
And somehow, as if by magic, we did not lose a generation of children due to ingestion of small parts.
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skulldriveshaft picasaweb and youtube
09/28/09

@1300ccsoffury: because kids actually knew to CHEW
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skitter promoted this comment

Al Navarro
09/21/09

In reply to Racer Boy Explains Some Extremely Low-Buck Racing
The Hobby Store semi-permanent layouts are amazing....and not that expensive to have fun with, especially compared to RC cars. I just bought 2 Traxxas Slash trucks for my girls with Spektrum digital radio upgrades and a few good battery packs each and it was close to $1k total.

I have about the same amount "invested" in Ninco home-grade slot track and cars, bought before things went digital. Good fun as well, but you need some serious real estate to set up a track worth setting up.
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vdiddy210
09/21/09

In reply to Racer Boy Explains Some Extremely Low-Buck Racing
i love slot cars but i have to wonder.... how is this actual toy racing? is there variable power or something? because so far as i can tell, you pull the trigger the car goes around. how can one be faster than the other is this is the case??
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dalejrfanfreak
09/21/09

@vdiddy210: The remote increases the voltage as you pull down on the trigger. Therefore the higher the voltage the faster the car will go. Also, these cars are just like real race cars when it comes to speed and handling. Cars that sit lower to the track and have wider tires usually handle better than those that have a high center of gravity and skinny tires. Even things like the motor you use, the gearing, tire compounds, and weight make a huge difference in performance for these tiny cars.

Also, another new form of slot car racing is digital slot cars where you can actually run up to 6-8 cars (depending on the system you use) on just two lanes of track. This means you can switch into your opponent's lane at certain crossover sections and block or bump draft. Plus, they now have fuel mileage races as well so you can actually do pit stops with your slot car! It's amazing stuff.
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Al Navarro
09/21/09

@dalejrfanfreak:
Note that running one power pack per lane is de-rigeur, IMHO. Otherwise, you can let off on your controller while your your opponent is going into a turn and cause a momentary power surge for him/her and SUPER CRASH POTENTIAL!!!
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parkrndl
09/20/09

In reply to Racer Boy Explains Some Extremely Low-Buck Racing
i have a 16-foot long track table in the basement with a 4-lane Atlas/Lionel layout. i have a collection of a few hundred HO cars--my favorites are the old Aurora Thunderjets from the '60s, followed by AFX and Magna-Traction, but i take anything i can find cheap. my kids and i go downstairs and race every chance we get. in the past, i've raced in a couple of organized leagues, but haven't had time lately...
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Al Navarro
09/21/09

@parkrndl:
Can you adopt me? My Shadow UOP Can-Am racer was my favorite. AFX, and not even a G-Plus car, IIRC.
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parkrndl
09/21/09

@Al Navarro: ahhh, the old black Shadow. the only one i have is missing the wing... but that's a fairly common car, easy to come by. you should cruise Fleabay for one...

[cgi.ebay.com]

[cgi.ebay.com]

you can pick up track cheap too...
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Theimbellis
09/20/09

In reply to Racer Boy Explains Some Extremely Low-Buck Racing

We think this option is safer.
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area_educator
09/21/09

@Theimbellis: I read everything you write in the voice of Katamari's King of All Cosmos.
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AustinMiniMan
09/20/09

In reply to Racer Boy Explains Some Extremely Low-Buck Racing

Yeah; it's kind of a sickness.

Cheaper than real racing though!
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Forgetful - GT Junkie
09/20/09

@AustinMiniMan: I'm familiar with a couple of cheaper forms of motorsport... R/C and now sim racing
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eggwich del fiero
09/20/09

@AustinMiniMan: Woah. How much is plain track by the foot/yard? I could party like this. I have a really long hallway just begging for this.
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eggwich del fiero
09/20/09

@Forgetful - GT Junkie: this is pretty hot stuff, too. I've been set on getting rid of the wii and buying a system for forza/gran turismo (whichever is best), but maybe I should be focusing on PC racing with a setup like this. Tell me more, I am here for teh learning.
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AustinMiniMan
09/21/09

@Forgetful - GT Junkie:

Trust me... RC is NOT cheaper than slots. I used to race 1/10th Spec Touring... I ran a Tamiya Evolution IV MS, about a $750 car, tires were $35, bodies about $55, controllers $300, batteries $50, charger $250, speed controllers $200, plus a shit ton of tools and support stuff, and breaking carbon fiber a-arms, tierods, etc isn't cheap. It's more technical than a lot of people believe. Tyco is not how you spell RC.

Umm... out setup is about 75 feet of slot. It goes under and then doubles back into a hairpin at the end there. We have a variety of cars, just anything 1/32 really. Doesn't matter as long as you have two that are comparable. It runs a G gauge train power supply, and has an infared timing system routed to a laptop. We designed the track layout so that the inside and outside lane are within 1/8th a foot of being the same length.
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mechimike
07/25/09

In reply to Move Some Iron, Malaise Era Style: Dealer's Choice Board Game!
Mille Borne! I loved that game...we play it every Christmas, its a family tradition. When my brother and I were younger we used to run around the house holding up cars at each other to signify how fast the other should run. We'd hold up like a 200 card and then hold up an Accident card, and the other person would go careening across the room into the couch or something. Good times.

I never heard it called "Touring". "Mille Bourne" sounds so much cooler.
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VadinDadger
07/25/09

In reply to Move Some Iron, Malaise Era Style: Dealer's Choice Board Game!
"all flash, no dash" was always my favorite... I seem to remember it coming up frequently with the Continental Mk II. Oh, and that new blue Monte Carlo on the game box cover? I could cry...
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Accident
07/25/09

In reply to Move Some Iron, Malaise Era Style: Dealer's Choice Board Game!
I actually still have this game somewhere, but if I remember right the cards have been seperated from the rest of the game and I need to find them.

I've never actually played the game though, everyone always wanted to play Life instead...
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Black Stig Lives!
07/25/09

In reply to Move Some Iron, Malaise Era Style: Dealer's Choice Board Game!
That tank seems a little under blue book. It must not be DOT approved.
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