For most of us our slot car days are over with Scalextric tracks gathering dust in the loft, our children racing virtually via consoles rather than limited to the plastic tracks of our youth. That's not so for everyone though, with slot car fanatics spending serious time and money on their sets. Step up David Beattie who creates amazing tracks for enthusiasts and promotional firms alike - turning his life-long hobby into a serious business.
His company, Slot Mods USA, makes incredibly realistic tracks, Beattie using CNC routers to cut the slots for the cars to race around. Unlike the flat, plastic tracks we've all played with, the focus is on realism, Beattie's attention to detail going so far as to airbrush worn effect tarmac and include skid and tyre marks on the track surface.
Hand fabricated trees, fencing, buildings, bridges and everything else creates circuits with a degree of realism that's extraordinary. Much like the prices, with even the simplest layout costing around €7,500, and the larger tracks cost anything up to €60,000. Not a hobby for poor schoolboys then, but we're tempted to get our tracks down from the loft for the hell of it.