Slot Car Magazine – MARCH 2021, issue 60

Welcome to the 60th edition of our magazine. Why, it seems like only yesterday that Marc and I were making a fuss about it being the 50th – a fuss that was shared by almost nobody else as it turned out, but there you go. Mind you, while it was easy to put a few gold bits on the 50th cover, you will notice that there aren’t any diamonds on this one. Times are hard, you see. In the Northern Hemisphere at least there is a whiff of spring in the air, which always gladdens the heart. Usually we’d be getting all excited about the UK Slot Car Festival, of course, but it’s not going to happen this year. In a magnificent example of carry-on-regardless spirit, I see that Pendle still released the 2021 UKSF Limited Edition car – a very fine Scalextric Capri, no less – and, better still, as I write it’s listed as being out of stock. Well done to all concerned! This issue mightn’t quite recreate the heady excitement of the Festival, but at least you’ll save a lot on travel costs. From time to time I have had the sad duty to write about colleagues or friends in the hobby that have passed away. I hope you won’t mind if I give a quick mention to my own dad, who died at the beginning of February. He played a vital part in my own slot career, in that he bought me my first set, an Airfix MR15, for my birthday in 1965. Unfortunately, he opted not to splash out on a transformer as well, deciding instead to hook it up to some three-volt battery packs that weren’t quite up to the job, if I’m honest. Rather than having the great natural ability that I thought I had, my rapidly developing skills were more likely as a result of the cars getting steadily slower as the batteries ran down… Anyway, given that this mag was one of the very few things I did of which he actually approved, I think he might have liked a mention. There you go, Dad, fame at last.