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 Posted - April 19 2018 : 11:13:55 AM
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I see various references to this make and model, but don't quite
get its function. Does Aurora hold up well over the decades, or
not so well? My one venture into slots seemed to be some cheap
knock off and the cars quickly stopped working reliably and
no amount of rail cleaning improved their function.
Is there any such thing as a slower running slot car, or are they
all whiz-bangs? The tires on some of the vintage, more Plain
Jane type of cars appear thinner- will they run a little slower,
at least?
Edited by - Chops124 on April 19 2018 11:38:54 AM
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Posted - April 19 2018 : 11:58:38 AM
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Hey Chops, have you seen this page:
http://webpages.charter.net/stessendorf/slot%20page/ho/aurora/vibrator/aurora%20vibrator%20cars.html
According to the info in the above link they were originally designed as accessories to model trains rather than race cars. You've made me curious as well about how fast/slow these cars run. Tyco US1 Trucking is probably the closest thing to slow running slotcars. A few years back when I was dabbling in slotcars on my layout I found the older cars to be much more fun to operate. The new ones all came with magnets and high speed motors while the old ones were slower and actually had some drift in the corners! My favourite is the TycoPro II chassis.
Edited by - DaCheez on April 19 2018 11:59:21 AM
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Posted - April 19 2018 : 11:40:38 PM
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Another slow qaulity car is the Thunder Jet. Sometimes a motor will need magnets and brushes. Hobby lobby even sells them! I like AFX track. Not cheap but the best of the best.
" Heck with counting 'em rivets, TRAINS ARE FOR FUN! Not called the Mad Scientist for nothing either!"
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Posted - April 20 2018 : 12:19:59 PM
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Thanks, Justin, appreciate the tip. Are you
OTR? If so, where you at?
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Posted - April 28 2018 : 11:11:09 AM
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Chops, Justin is correct, can't beat an old Aurora Tjet for what you describe you're looking for.
Made 1968 - 1972 or thereabouts. Most often all they require is cleaned up, oiled, new rear tires,
and they run like new again.
I would advise avoid the early 1960's vibrator cars as they were a finicky buzzer design with no actual motor
and sought after today for their collector value rather than actual use for the most part.
Dan
Edited by - Thunderjet500 on April 28 2018 11:13:01 AM
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Posted - April 28 2018 : 11:18:51 PM
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The guy who designed the Vibrator motor, first made it for Playcraft in the UK. Playcraft Highways was launched in 1959 there, but was not successful. Aurora liked it and picked up the idea. The original Playcraft track and cars are interchangeable with Aurora. In fact the standards he developed for HO slot cars became universal and are still used today.
The geometry of the roadway track section was derived from Atlas HO Railroad Snap Track. He made the standard roadway straight the same 9" length as he anticipated his roadway system as being an add on to model railroads.
The 9" radius curves and straights based on the 9" length are still common in many HO slot car systems. It also enables great combination layouts to be made with model railroad systems that copy Atlas Snap Track geometry: For example Life Life Power Loc
He later went on the design the Thunderjet Chassis and much later Tyco US-1
His name was Derek Brand. Here is a tribue to him from a fan: http://www.daveshobby.net/derek-brand-tribute.html
James
Edited by - Highwayman97 on April 28 2018 11:23:33 PM
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Posted - April 29 2018 : 12:35:48 AM
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| Remarkable background. Thanks!
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Posted - April 29 2018 : 09:33:37 AM
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Chops,
My final thoughts on all this for now:
All the early HO Slot car brands were envisaged as roadway systems. Playcraft, Aurora, Minic Motorways and Faller.
Playcraft failed quite quickly, but news of the development of Playcraft Highways led Tri-ang to develop Minic, which tried really hard to be a roadway, until the last few years when it did just racing the same as everyone else.
In fact the release of the Aurora T-Jet chassis panicked Minic to bring out the plastic Jet Speed chassis as their earlier Gimbal pick up stamped metal chassis, (copied from the original Scalextric concept) were seriously slow!
Aurora soon gave up being a roadway, but Faller tried really hard and didn't fully give up roadway aspirations until just before it went out of production.
Tyco US-1 was only ever a roadway AND it was the last slot car roadway system to be introduced, sadly it only lasted 6 years, which I guess sums up why slot car roadways are generally not commercially successful.
James
Edited by - Highwayman97 on April 29 2018 09:43:41 AM
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Posted - April 30 2018 : 02:36:10 AM
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| Again, most interesting insight, and very useful. Thank you!
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Posted - April 30 2018 : 7:30:58 PM
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Chops, if you want to go slow and stay loyal to the brand then Tyco Speedways ( Tyco-S ) could be for you.
1960's worm drive is low gearing such that they rarely crash. Some have the most detailed beautiful HO
bodies ever made while some issues are plain jane. A few cars even had a double guide pin which steers
the front wheels thru a turn. As with any old used toys there are good ones and tired ones which require
repairs. Problem there is that the parts can be difficult to find.
Dan
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Posted - April 30 2018 : 10:21:47 PM
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Don, thanks for the tip! That's exactly what I want to accomplish.
I never heard of Tyco S. I'll be on the look out for it! And welcome
to the Forum, it's a great place to chillax and discuss vintage
trains and slots. I hope you will post some of your stuff here.
Edited by - Chops124 on April 30 2018 10:22:37 PM
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Posted - May 01 2018 : 07:19:46 AM
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Try: http://tycotrain.tripod.com/tycoslotcars/
http://www.modelmotorist.com/web-content/idchass.jsp#tyco
and: http://www.modelmotorist.com/web-content/idtrk.jsp#tyco
The earliest Tyco Track was called Tyco Pro but was later replaced by Quick Clik. US-1 uses Quick Clik, but molded in gray instead of the usual black and with the special junctions and docks.
James
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Posted - May 01 2018 : 11:03:23 AM
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The links are great, I didn't know the depth and breadth of
model motoring. It will give me some to read for a while!
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Posted - May 05 2018 : 12:08:43 PM
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Chops, The above upload went flawless but having trouble with "server timed out" message
when trying for another upload.
Dan
Edited by - Thunderjet500 on May 05 2018 12:26:56 PM
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Posted - May 06 2018 : 06:29:12 AM
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Wow, these are really nifty. Don't see them up on eBay, tho. Will
keep an eye out.
The "server timed out" is a troublesome bug with this Forum.
It goes down from time to time, but magically reappears
after midnight.
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Posted - May 13 2018 : 3:19:02 PM
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Tyco Speedways Cheetah video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU8ux8BzdKo
Jaguar D's....
Edited by - Thunderjet500 on May 13 2018 3:27:24 PM
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Posted - May 14 2018 : 01:41:50 AM
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That looks awfully fun. And the speed is such that one can actually
see it!
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