Please explain to me about Hot Wheels/ Shake'n'Go/ scalextrics/ other racing cars

[iheartdusty]

Ds will be 4 in January and is asking for 'racing cars on a track like Tommy Zoom has'.

I know nothing about such cars.

Where do we start? Is Scalextric too hard for a just-4 yr old? What do Hot Wheels do? Do I need to buy acres of track? Do they all have their own or is any of it compatible? Will it all fall apart as soon as it is assembled? Can we avoid using batteries ( as I am utterly useless at replacing them when required)? What are those little car things that have a penny in the back? Do Shake'N'Go cars work? (must try not to type Shake'n'vac every time!)

If anyone can talk me through the whole thing gently and slowly, I would be very very grateful.

unless yo are uber mum supreme and he is super nice careful kid supreme - dont spend the vast amount of money on a scalextric.

hot wheels - lots of little bits

the controllers will need the batteries.

a good toy store should have an age appropriate alternative.

ELC have a Roary the racing car track that my 3.5 DS had to be dragged away from when we were in the store last week-I think it would be easy for this age to use as the cars are quite large.Sorry , don't know how to do links

Ds was 4 this week and has asked PIL for scalextrix for xmas. They are getting him a cheap argos set, think it is around £15-20

At 4 he may be getting a bit old for Shake n Go. Ds1 has had it since he was about 2.5, and only plays with it very occasionally now. The problem is there's not much for them to actually do with it - setting up the track takes about 5 minutes, then you shake the cars and watch them race round the track. It's quite a small track and cars go round about 3 or 4 times before they stop.

Haven't tried any other race tracks yet, but I hope this helps about Shake n Go!

forget hotwheels ihd i bought ds the cyclone and we only got it to work a couple of times because it needed charging every time it stopped.
the track was a bit flimsy too.
i love scalextric they do a 1st track too.
as for shake'n'go im not sure only seen it in elc looks quite good tho.

I think that they are all a bit pants really. We got ds a big Hot Wheels kit once (the dinosaur one - can't remember which year that was the boys big christmas present). He was probably a bit older, maybe 5ish. Hre was very pleased to get it, but it lasted all of a few days before losing some vital bit. dh was given a Scalextrics kit as a leaving gift from a job, and we quite enjoyed playing with it, but it was too fiddly for ds until he was 6ish or so, and then not that exciting. I think they need to be able to put them together and play with them on their own really (thinking of the trains paralel, Brio is much better than Hornby for most children). I'd just give him cars (which he will play with for years), but there are I'm sure many basic track kits, and you'd probably do best to see them in action in a good toy shop. Don't spend too much!

www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3699432/Trail/C%24cip%3D1500006108.Toys%2Band%2Bgames%3EC% 24cip%3D1500006158.Toy%2Bcars%2C%2Btrains%2C%2Bboats%2Band%2Bplanes%3EC%24cip%3D1500006159.Other%2Bc ar%2Band%2Btrain%2Btrack%2Bsets.htm

this is what ds is getting, agree shake and go looks good but I know Ds would be fed up after 5 mins of watching the cars going and not actually doing anything. the my first scalextrix is £30

Car mad Ds has lots of hot wheels tracks and cars. The good thing is the cars are cheap (£1.00)and he buys them with any money he's given. The tracks range in price and he plays with them loads. DH would like scalextric

thanks for all comments.

That link looks exciting Omen666 and I am impressed that your 4 yr old is going for it!

I found the Roary one on ELC website, and it does look easy to handle. Suppose I'd better put a batter re-charger in DH's stocking.

(maybe I can persuade him to have more trains instead, train track is made out of WOOD, it doesn't break!)

yes, good advice about little bits, I am so far from being uber mum, he is pretty careful, but then every so often a sort of Tarzan streak emerges and he flings stuff around.

or perhaps a battery charger.

om6 if you leave a space after the link and then type a word before you add ]] you will see only the word eg:24cip%3D1500006158.Toy%2Bcars%2C%2Btrains%2C%2Bboats%2Band%2Bplanes%3EC%24cip%3D1500006159.Other%2Bc ar%2Band%2Btrain%2Btrack%2Bsets.htm like this

opps sorry got that wrong
24cip%3D1500006158.Toy%2Bcars%2C%2Btrains%2C%2Bboats%2Band%2Bplanes%3EC%24cip%3D1500006159.Other%2Bc ar%2Band%2Btrain%2Btrack%2Bsets.htm like this
Pray

24cip%3D1500006158.Toy%2Bcars%2C%2Btrains%2C%2Bboats%2Band%2Bplanes%3EC%24cip%3D1500006159.Other%2Bc ar%2Band%2Btrain%2Btrack%2Bsets.htm this time lucky

ok im only just getting to grips with this im sure someone will put me right

Links The simplest way to insert a link is to enter the link itself, surrounded by and . So if you type www.mumsnet.com, the link will display as www.mumsnet.com. If you want your link to display text other than the web address itself, leave a space after the address then add the text before the ]]. So "Look at this page", would display "Look at this page".

If you're interested in Brio type trains, last Christmas Lidl had a fabulous set for I think £19.99. It had a battery operated train and loads of track and accessories so it might be worth looking on their website nearer to December.

last time

yee haa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A very nice chap in Hamleys last Christmas explained a bit about this to me.

Basically Scalextric is v expensive and for older boys Needs quite a bit of skill and putting together and a bit delicate in little ones hands.

'Micro' Scalextric is more robust and aimed at the younger ones but is still remote control.

We got a set from Woolworth and it was not expensive. Ds has really enjoyed it.

Don't know much about Hot Wheels. I get the impression it's a bit of a faff with lots of bits and not remote control.

What does your Woolies set do TinyGang? Do they race as such, or just whiz round?

lol at kidsrus showing us how to do links! I have only just discovered where the [] are on my keyboard, so am not an expert either. Well done for not giving up

My DS is 3.5 and would love something like Scalectrics. Is the junior set ok for his age?

As to the Brio trains, Ikea do a cheap version. It is good, DS has even stood on the bridge bit and it held out. Or check out www.tchibo.co.uk occasionally, they normally do one nearer Xmas.

It's this one Dusty.

The box picture last Christmas was different, but this is the set. They went down to 19.99 last Christmas in Woolies.

They do race; it takes a certain level of skill to keep them on the track. Ds just like whizzing them round really though. You have to know when to ease off the speed or they fly off.

The track shape - you can just see the layout on the box picture in the link - has a couple of twists in it. I suppose it's around a metre long approx when set up.

The cars have little bristles under them which connect them to the track. They can be a bit temperamental sometimes, but I think that is usual with racing car toys (so I'm told anyway).

Thanks TinyGang, and that's a good reduction as well!

I had a look in a couple of toy shops but it just makes my brain hurt.

My DS is nearly 5 but still loves the Shake and Go set we bought him last year. He'll be getting a couple of the cars for his birthday as they now do the Disney/Pixar Cars for the set.

thanks kinder i love the tchibo site just ordered a fleece and some jeans at great prices too!