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.

You know what? My 2 are 12 and nearly 14 and have been through most 'boys' toys'. The scalextric, meccano, lego etc are all gathering dust, but they still get out the Brio sometimes!

I too would say get micro scalextrix unless you have masses of spare room in the house.

The 'my first' scalextrix is a red herring really as any micro scalextrix (or similar)will do the job and probably come with more pieces of track. We have 2 sets, the my first and mini racers and we join the tracks together to make different ones.

my ds thinks it's great fun and dh also likes to get involved!

My ds (6) loves Hotwheels, but although he's had the big flashy kits they tend not to last long. What he plays with a lot is the track. He has a big box often spends ages making a trach that goes all the way down the hall and round the corner into the living room. He has a launcher and lots and lots of cars. I buy extra track when it appears on ebay. His ambition is to have enough track to go outside and back in through his window! He also plays with is a LOT when friends come round.

This doesn't slove your racing track dilemms but I thought it might be useful for the future.