"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
11/19/2018 at 14:14 • Filed to: None
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"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
11/19/2018 at 14:14 • Filed to: None | 0
| 21 |
I want to get my kids a little electric race track set for Christmas. The #1 best seller on Amazon is !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! but the reviews are mixed. Like, lots of really positive ones, but then a full 20% (~73 reviews) are 1 star. And they’re not 1 star because the postal service counter was rude, or because they weren’t really full-sized race cars, or because the reviewer keeps losing races to his 4-year-old. They’re legitimate reasons.
“C ar s worked for only [one, two, three] [days, hours, minutes, laps].”
“Controller didn’t work after first use”
“Track did not have continuity despite careful application of the instructions - from an experienced user of slot car tracks.”
And on and on.
So... I’m nervous. I am 100% certain my son would absolutely love it, and I think my daughter would be into it, too. That’s not a gender-biased remark; she’s just 4, he’s 6. But nothing would be worse than a toy that’s as exciting as a race track that breaks in one day. We’ve had toys like this before - a “remote controlled” bulldozer (quotes because it was wired) that worked for like, one day. My in-laws got it for my son and he asked me for WEEKS about that thing. I was amazingly able to get a replacement, and that one broke, too. I gave up and tried to explain it, but i t was probably 6 months before he stopped asking about it.
So... without spending many hundreds of dollars, are there any sets you all could recommend? I feel like this is right up Oppo Dad Avenue, and there are some dads here, so whaddya got?
Or should I ignore the bad reviews as I often do, and get
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
> functionoverfashion
11/19/2018 at 14:26 |
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I;d go with this one simply because being Artin you can buy more track pieces and cars if yo u want to. Not sure if thats true of the other one or not. https://www.amazon.com/Artin-Super-Loop-Speedway-Racing/dp/B01M3XPUR0/ref=sr_1_12?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1542655317&sr=1-12&keywords=slot+car+track+set
vicali
> functionoverfashion
11/19/2018 at 14:27 |
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Love the smell of burning contacts and brushes .. I would roll the dice and get it.
Last Christmas we got my nephew this kit but with more loops;
It was cheap but
and ra
n
on D-
cells. It worked awesome and kiddo and I ran it hard for two weeks over the holidays
. It’s still going almost
a year later..
Tripper
> functionoverfashion
11/19/2018 at 14:37 |
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Can’t wait until my munchkin is old enough for this kind of stuff. I still have my tyco slot cars from when I was a kid.
punkgoose17
> functionoverfashion
11/19/2018 at 14:40 |
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Based off of the reviews don’t get the one above they have poor quality control.
Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
> functionoverfashion
11/19/2018 at 14:54 |
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Once they figure out the secret to winning (stop your car as an opponent approaches a turn giving them an unexpected power boost which causes them to fly off the track) the fun is gone. A friend of mine bought a big set, we used it once and then put it back in the box, discussing all sorts of ways to modify it to work fairly, mostly dual transformers and isolating the power for each driver. We never did anything about this problem and I just gave it to my nephew (who probably didn't get to play with it since it was used and dusty and my sister only likes new things...)
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functionoverfashion
> HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
11/19/2018 at 14:58 |
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The other one has “expansion packs” too... neither one is full of glowing reviews... however I know I can generally dismiss ones that say “instructions were impossible to follow, track was difficult to assemble...” I mean, really?
It seems like there’s not much between the cheapest ones and ones that will be way beyond my 6-year-old’s level.
I might be rolling the dice with any set, and just explaining to him that ‘hey these are finicky so let’s keep that in mind’ - he’s old enough to understand that kind of thing... sort of.
Sovande
> functionoverfashion
11/19/2018 at 15:01 |
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I have a Carrera Go set I bought about 3 years ago for my son. No loops, but we have had plenty of fun with it. It is big, takes up a lot of space and it pretty fun. I have never been gentle with any part of it and it’s worked every time. I have broken a few track clips, but that’s just because I was careless.
I would grab another car or two as the aftermarket cars are much better than what is included in the kit. The cars are surprisingly fast but the controllers have a limiting clip which makes it so you can’t really go fast enough to launch them off the track. Without the clips they will fly off in turns. After a bit of practice you can remove the clips and go nuts.
Have fun!
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functionoverfashion
> punkgoose17
11/19/2018 at 15:03 |
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Well, I’ll at least give them credit that they responded to a lot of the negative reviews. But I’d happily pay a bit more for higher quality.
ttyymmnn
> functionoverfashion
11/19/2018 at 15:06 |
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I bought a set for my kids a few years ago. I’ve been meaning to attach the track to a board but never got around to it. This particular set has three different settings for the controllers. On the slowest setting, the kids can just keep the pedal floored and the car will stay on the track. The other settings require throttle control, and of course, the more you pay the more sensitive the controller will be.
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functionoverfashion
> Sovande
11/19/2018 at 15:10 |
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Thanks for the advice. We just cleaned up our basement to make a larger play space for the kids - it used to be kind of wide open, we have a full wet bar down there, and had plenty of parties... but I digress - so having a space for it where we don’t have to take it apart every time will be key.
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Sovande
> functionoverfashion
11/19/2018 at 15:16 |
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That is key. We would set ours up in my living room (because condo) and then when we were done we would take it apart in four big chunks and store it under my son’s bed til next time.
I am not sure who had more fun with the track, but I am betting it was not my son... I was surprised how well it worked compared to the janky ones I played with as a kid.
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functionoverfashion
> Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
11/19/2018 at 15:16 |
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Interesting. I think my kids won’t figure that out for a while... I’m more concerned the younger one won’t have the patience to learn to use it ... which means I’ll get to play more!?
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functionoverfashion
> vicali
11/19/2018 at 15:17 |
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ohhhh rally subaru
facw
> functionoverfashion
11/19/2018 at 15:20 |
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Sorry, no info for you. In my day, our slot cars didn’t have slots:
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functionoverfashion
> Tripper
11/19/2018 at 15:21 |
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Seriously... I wonder if my parents have mine? I give it 50/50. I also remember trying to fix these cars as a kid, I learned a lot about conductivity / continuity this way.
It is so much fun doing this kind of stuff all over again. Even things like sledding. I have spent HOURS working on our sledding hill, and it’s awesome. It’s basically like a half pipe, and even has lights. Filed to: things I would never have done otherwise, as an adult. But it’s fun!
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functionoverfashion
> ttyymmnn
11/19/2018 at 15:22 |
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Interesting... yeah we could put the track on a sheet of plywood and put it on the pool table in the basement. Obviously that would help keep it together.
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ttyymmnn
> functionoverfashion
11/19/2018 at 15:26 |
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I think it’s just better not to keep putting these things together and taking them apart. Especially if they aren’t that robust in the first place.
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Tripper
> functionoverfashion
11/19/2018 at 15:35 |
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Aw man our backyard is perfectly graded for small child sledding. So pumped for that too.
CRider
> functionoverfashion
11/19/2018 at 15:50 |
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If you trust your kids with smartphones (or maybe want to get them something you’ll also enjoy, wink wink) chec k out the Anki system
The Compromiser
> functionoverfashion
11/19/2018 at 18:19 |
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We got the Anki Overdrive set. Still having a blast.
merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc
> functionoverfashion
11/19/2018 at 22:09 |
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I have a Carrera evolution set and it works great. But I prefer the anki overdrive set instead. More fun for the setup time. The Carrera set gets old pretty quick. But imthe cars are cool.