Some of you fellas might remember this post. In it, I asked for help discovering the wonder that was AMT's "Turnpike On A Tabletop" for my 4-year old that has developed a need for speed. Well, the se... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
HOLY COW!!!! That is too cool!! I've only ever seen the box of one of those and not the actual car and track! Man..he's going to have a blast with that!! (If you let him have a turn!) By the way....that little dude looks like a chip off the old block if I've ever seen one!! Great pic of him by the roadster too. VERY COOL!!!
Never heard of this but remember the fun I had with slot cars, at home and at area tracks. Judging by the smile I'd say he's hooked! Enjoy the ride Dad, enjoy the ride.
What a generous gift! That's beyond awsome. Think of the stories your kid is gonna have when the other kids talk about the latest video game... "Ya, well I learned to drive when I was four!"
Congrats on getting a set! The Authentic Model Turnpike was really cool. I had a set ages ago and remember that it was pretty laborious to set up the track, but the steerable wheels in addition to throttle control made it a lot of fun and I loved the fact that it was based on 1/25th scale kit and promo models. My guess is that it's complexity and expense compared to Aurora Thunderjets and the various other slot cars in 1/32nd and 1/24th shut it out of the marketplace after about 1963. Since the cars actually snap on to the runner pickup in the track making it virtually impossible to spin out and crash off the track, I've always wondered if that was a benefit. Or perhaps a drawback that took part of the fun out of it?
Since the cars actually snap on to the runner pickup in the track making it virtually impossible to spin out and crash off the track, I've always wondered if that was a benefit. Or perhaps a drawback that took part of the fun out of it?[/QUOTE] This feature definitely took some of the fun away. Crashing, or not, was a big part of your skill test. I had a track set, still have it, but haven't looked at it in years. We had a commercial track locally that was a roundy round and had a drag strip. Great fun!
What a grin. Slots are fun. I did a lot of slot car stuff back in the day. I had a little Topolino that was set up for the drag strip and a bunch of circuit cars. Have fun dad and let Miller drive some. Later, Dick
I remember the Christmas of 1962 and getting a race set very similar to what you have,,trouble was my dad & granddad & uncle played with it more Christmas day than I did! I'm sure the young Cochran lad surely won't have that problem,,will he dad? HRP
Better watch out , RC. That kid of yours has a competitive twinkle in his eye, if ever I've seen one!
I remember my Strombecker(sp?) slot car set when I was a kid.... I used butter on the rear wheels of the Cheetah to do burn outs. great stuff.
Ryan - Very, very cool! The pic of Miller with his AMT Turnpike set (and the "Tardel-Cochran Coupe" in the background) reminded me of this circa 1970 pic of me with my Eldon 1:24 "garage track" (and the "HEMI32 Coupe" in the background):
Nice pick up Ryan, what a generous gift. Thanks for sharing and helping to make the HAMB such a great place to spend so many hours. Cheers.
I didn't have that, as a kid, but my brother and I had slot cars. If that stuff doesn't keep him into cars, nothing will. And flying off the track was the best part. What's the fun in not crashing?
Great Picture! This story reminds me of my brothers race set that had 2 roadsters. We had many hours of fun with that set and crashing around the corners was pretty fun.
When I was a kid,my parents bought me a killer slot car set-up for Christmas.I could tell from the size of the package what it was and I anxiously awaited 12-25.On Christmas day,I opened the package and appeared surprised(an Oscar winning performance)and waited for my Dad to help me set it up.A friend of the family,Terry Kiser(the actor who went on to play Bernie in "Weekend at Bernies"),stopped by for a little Christmas cheer.He and my dad finished setting it up,and proceeded to play for hours,while I sat there and watched.I finally went to bed,and when I got up about 1:00 AM,they were still racing.Ever since then,I've gotten more territorial.In other words,it's about Miller and if you forget that,I'll lend him my services in order to procure his right to play
I sell vintage model kits and dealer promo from amt like this one. You got a very great gift. Those amt turnpike slot cars are very hard to fine.
Wasn't there another thread on them recently? I had a set in high school, $100 bucks in the early 60's was very BIG bucks. But the set came in a very BIG box and was BIG fun. It was my only Christmas present that year. I ended up giving my set to one of my younger cousins when the draft and the Army came along. There should be a law that we keep all our toys! Gary Forgot to ask, in one of the photos it appears you can see the rails below the track. If so, this shouldn't be... did you forget to snap on the covers that fit over the gutter and hold the pickup carriage under the track?
One of the best memories from my childhood were from racing my Dad and my Uncle on their AFX tracks in the late 70's. Something I've managed to do with my girls as they love getting out the "mini racetrack" as they call it and wasting a rainy afternoon racing. I've gotten quite a few of the old cars I had so far. But the ones I'm waiting to get my hands on are Dads old 1:24 kits he used to Race in the 60's. Now they're something special.
cool. I have seen them for sale on EBay but I never had one of those sets. My first slot car set was a Eldon 1/32 scale. One set that I saw for sale on Ebay and would love to have (and this was like 12 years ago and I haven't seen another one yet) is a Cox slot track for those gas powered Cox cars. This was a outdoor track complete with a Corvette Stingray and a 63 Buick Riviera. Both gas powered. Maybe that could be your next quest since you have a Riviera.
It was a Scalextric set for my brother and I in the early 70's. Not as cool as but loads of fun. That pic of Miller with the kit and the TC coupe is ace!
These are some of my favorites, early slots from AC Gilbert's American Flyer. Promised all the thrills of real stock car racing. Flathead powered with two deuces! Although my son is now in his early 30's and was more of the video game generation, I've got a young grandson who I hope will be interested. . .though I don't think he will be playing of any of these!
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