Have you ever spent days watching cars go round and round the same 3 metre racing track? If you have, you probably used to own a Scalextric set... Adrian Norman still does, so he’s the perfect chap to bring us up to speed...

Fred Francis with an early tinplate set

W hen Fred Francis (pictured, left) filed the patent application for an ingenious keyless clockwork device in October 1952, little did he know that he was laying the foundation of Scalextric, an organisation that would become an internationally recognised household name and would still be in business over 65 years later.

These first models were called Scalex and Startex depending on the method of operating the clockwork motor. His company, Minimodels Ltd, traded initially from Mill Hill, London but the great success of the Scalex cars soon necessitated a larger factory and modern mass-production methods. A new factory was established at Havant in Hampshire. Further development of Scalex saw the spark of innovation that gave birth to Scalextric. Replacing the clockwork motor with an electric motor and adding a gimbal wheel which would follow a rail in a slotted track was the way to go, and Scalex went ‘electric’ – hence, Scalex-tric, Scalextric!

Scalextric sets and cars were put into small-scale production in 1957 and demand was significant! Far greater financial and production resources were required.

An early toy fair demonstrating Scalextric

What to do? Well, in 1958 Fred Francis sold the company to Lines Bros Ltd., the Tri-ang toy company. Scalextric survived the collapse of Tri-ang in 1971, hobbled along under Rovex until 1981 it transferred to the care of Hornby Hobbies Ltd. and continues to innovate and flourish to this date.

Scalextric undoubtedly fired up the public’s interest in this form of model car racing so many years ago and it is a tribute to them that the Scalextric system has continued to be a ‘must have’ toy at some stage in many a child’s life.

Apart from the joyous times countless youngsters have spent playing Scalextric, the return of those, now as adults, has led to a thriving collectors’ market, with many clubs and magazines dedicated to the subject. Scalextric is not only a toy, it is often a passion, and importantly it remains of interest to children and adults alike.