Gentlemen of a certain age find
themselves in the basements of their homes. Some noodle around with tools
building furniture of questionable utility and unique design; others build
model railroad train layouts whose complexity rival an Amtrak timetable; and
then there are those who re-create the Indianapolis
500 with electricity and plastic. For those of the latter stripe, the scale of
our dreams has only grown cooler since we were youths. The whining, whizzing
speed demon that beats in the heart of every full-scale driver can find outlet
in 1/32nd scale on a pair of plywood sheets.
The English first started building
tracks for model cars, though the tracks did not have slots and the vehicles
had remote steering. The main goal at the time was to successfully complete one
whole lap with your miniature auto. Americans brought the hobby home after
World War II and added a few innovations: a groove in the track that kept the
cars in a single lane, and racing. Throughout the ’50s, more and more people
got into model cars despite a tendency for the cars to burst into flames (most
were still home assembled out of available materials like old model train
engines, balsa wood, and glue).
Throughout the 1960’s, the hobby grew
like an alligator on a sheep farm. Various companies began producing finished
cars and tracks for home play. Chains of commercial raceways appeared in the
growing suburbs. And, much like Putt Putt on ESPN
today, tournaments were broadcast on national television, hosted by the likes
of Johnny Carson and featuring prominent racers like Jackie Stewart. For a
brief, tire-burning moment, slot cars were more popular than model trains or
bowling.
Then the moment passed like a tiny
Aston Martin shooting off the track on a reverse-banked turn. AMF (the bowling
chain) started buying up the public racetracks and closing them. Public
interest turned in other directions — the magazines and manufacturers that
served the hobby followed all those home tracks into the national attic.
Today, public raceways crop up and
disappear as mostly hobbyists try to expand their circle. Scale Auto Racing
(www.scaleautoracing.com) keeps an eye on the current state of, well, scale
auto racing, including film of national tournaments. Non-US companies like Carrera (us.carrera-toys.com), Ninco
(www.ninco.com), and Scalextric
(www.scalextric-usa.com) still produce race sets. Ridge Road Station (16131
West Ridge Road, Holley) has a nice selection
along with an elaborate model train setup. Once you start working in scale, it
seems hard to stop.
— Craig Brownlie
This article appears in Feb 8-14, 2006.
