The name’s Scalextric, Micro Scalextric

It’s true what they say about it getting harder every year to choose gifts for your child. I’m already worrying about what to get our two for Christmas, and we’ve still got Ella’s seventh birthday in a couple of months too.

Nine-year-old Harrison already has all the usual things you’d consider for someone his age, a decent bike, hoverboard, a couple of consoles, gaming chair etc.

Ella needs a new bike but apart from that and the usual plastic tat that she always seems to want we are completely at a loss for her birthday.
And then I noticed her watching Peppa Pig playing with what looked like a Scalextric, and her little eyes were mesmerised. “Would you like one of those for your birthday?” I asked.

“YES PLEASE!” was her resounding answer.

So I set about looking in the usual places for Scalextric sets and soon came across the new James Bond No Time to Die Micro Scalextric. I was going to wait until after Ella’s birthday to review it, but when I heard that No Time to Die was finally getting it’s premier this week, well I thought I better open it up and quality test it with Harrison beforehand.

Here’s how it went

There are other brands when it comes to slot cars but Scalextric has been a trusted name for families since I was Ella’s age (almost four decades ago). I still have vivid memories of kneeling on the carpet with my brother as the cars zoomed around the track. So there was a fair bit of excitement for me, as well as Harrison as we carefully opened the box to test the Scalextric.

Once the box was open – and what a box by the way, it exudes sophistication just like 007 himself – we carefully pulled out the various track pieces and started to slot them together. The feeling of nostalgia while doing this was timeless and anyone who owned a Scalextric when they were a child will know instinctively how to build it. I could quite easily have sat there building the most complex circuit out of the nine different possibilities, but unfortunately we only had an hour before Ella was due home from dance class so I wasn’t able to make full use of the 4+ metres of track. Instead, Harrison and I put together a simple round circuit with a loop the loop.

Being a Micro Scalextric, the Aston Martin DB5 and a Jaguar XF were a bit smaller than the cars I remember as a child, but they were the perfect size for small children like Harrison and Ella and they look great.

But it’s once they’re on the track that the cars really dazzle you. They are so fast that my camera wasn’t able to capture them as they zoomed around. Every photograph I took showed a blur that was difficult to even spot at times. What wasn’t difficult to spot was Harrison’s beaming smile, which again reminded me of how I felt when I was his age. Even his mum – who isn’t one for joining in with the kids’ toys – really enjoyed racing against him while I tried (in vain) to photograph the moving cars. The way the cars stick to the track is unbelievable considering the speeds, and even on the tightest of corners they just flew round without leaving the track.

“Do you think Ella will like this?” Harrison’s mum asked him, as his littles eyes tried to keep up with the Aston Martin.

“She’ll love it,” he replied, beaming. “Can I have one as well?”

Our verdict

A definite 10/10 from both Harrison and myself. I can’t wait for Ella to try this out.

Micro Scalextric is probably the best introduction to slot cars for children aged between 6 and 9. The cars a 1:64 as opposed to the standard sets which are 1:32. The sets are also considerably cheaper, with the James Bond No Time to Die costing around half the price of the standard sets. Micro Scalextric sets all have similar track layouts but come with a number of different franchises. At the time of writing there were a number of different Batman sets, emergency vehicle sets and even a Ryan’s World set (Ryan being a very famous young YouTuber). Younger children might be more interested in the My First Scalextric kits and older kids in one of the standard sets. Check out scalextric catalogue for more information and a lot of options.

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