Scalextric from Hornby Hobbies: Knight Rider vs Back to the Future

Last year I reviewed the Micro Scalextric No Time to Die set, that was all the rage in 2021. As I said at the time, the set was great fun and we ended up adding to the set with an extension pack, and a second hand My First Scalextric, which happened to be compatible with Micro Scalextric.

We had quite the set up going, with four cars and an impressive set up in the kids’ playroom, but when I was offered the chance to review a full sized set, and one with two of my favourite ever childhood cars in it, I jumped at the chance to share the 80’s joy with our two children.

Here’s my review of the brand-new Knight Rider vs Back to the Future Scalextric set from Hornby Hobbies.
From the moment you open the box on a full sized Scalextric I knew the kids were going to enjoy this set.
“Can I be the DeLorean?” our ten-year-old son, Harrison, asked as soon as the box was open.

I was slightly taken aback that he recognised the car as he’s never seen Back to the Future, or Knight Rider for that matter (I know, bad parenting) but it turns out he recognised the DeLorean instantly because it happens to be a collectable vehicle in one of the Roblox games he plays.

Ella, our seven-year-old, was happy to use either of the cars “They both look so cool!” she cooed.
And she’s right, the level of detail in the 1:32 scale cars compared to the 1:64 Micro Scalextric is noticeable as soon as you set eyes on the cars. Every detail of those iconic 80s vehicles jumps out at you and you even get a mini David Hasselhoff and Michael J. Fox sitting in each of the cars. But it’s when the cars were put on the freshly assembled track that they really wowed Harrison and Ella, thanks to the working lights, which include K.I.T.T.s iconic red strobe light on the front and a “working flux capacitor” on the DeLorean, which is actually just a lighting system – so please don’t worry that your new car is going to end up in 1953.

“Where is the loop?” Ella asked as we sat down to race for the first time.

“These sets don’t have a loop, but they have got a danger zone and a side swipe lane.” I then explain that there is a crossroads on these sets where racers need to either slow down to dodge each other’s cars or try to ram one another from the track, likewise the side swipe area brings the two cars close enough together that it’s possible to ram your opponent from the track.

Racing the full-sized cars around is great fun and requires more skill than the Micro set, where the cars seem to stick to the track no matter how fast you go into the corners. At first Ella found this a little frustrating, being at the younger end of the recommende age range but she soon got the hang of slowing for corners and accelerating into the straights, while avoiding the danger zone and her competitive brother’s attempts to side swipe her. Once she’d got the hang of it the overall racing experience was on a different level and things got really competitive between them both…okay and me!

We even managed to talk mum into racing with us at one point, and she very seldom involves herself in racing games. Personally, I think it’s because she has a thing for The Hoff, as she always wanted to use K.I.T.T.

I would highly recommend any full sized Scalextric after testing Knight Rider vs Back to the Future set. The racing experience really reminded me of gathering around my friend’s Scalextric as a child, with the added bonus of the cars being iconic vehicles from the TV and movies in the 80s. The kids love racing it and I’m sure we’ll end up adding more track, as we did with the Micro version. As far as the cars are concerned Ella would race pretty much anything, I’m a big fan of 80’s cars, Harrison is attached to the DeLorean (thanks to Roblox) and I’ve a sneaking suspicion that my wife has been taking K.I.T.T. to bed with her!

I’m sure there’s a Scalextric set out there for everyone, but as far as I’m concerned, the Knight Rider vs Back to the Future set is the one for us.

Related posts:

The name’s Scalextric, Micro Scalextric Collector’s Cars from PLAYMOBIL: Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Flying Pixie Scores 9 / 10 Review: Build & Play ‘Ford Mustang GT’ by Revell Reader’s Review: Family at the Treetop