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Seen a couple prototype shots.

You have my attention sir!
:banana-dance:

Those are some really nice looking F1 cars he's been doing recently. And this STP car is a showstopper.

Nice!

And especially apt today, as homage to a great driver who passed on yesterday.

This one will be on my wish list for sure.

I'd like to hear from Dave and Harry about what is beginning to look like an off-season resurgence of good slot cars. The hobby was clobbered really hard just a few years ago, and we lost some of my favorites along with some that were not my favorites and were already weak and weird (Pinkcar nazimobile). The loss of Fly and GB/Track hurt and the vestiges of them available now cost more than I can conscience, Monogram-Revell pulled out and that was bad, but lately, we are seeing the survivors really step up- Carrera obviously is committed and thriving, Scaley is making odd decisions but still in business, Racer has done a great job making much of their product line much more affordable, Policar, which was nearly unknown to a lot of US buyers even though they have been around a long time, has been pumping out these gorgeous F-1 cars from one of the best eras of F-1... What do you guys see going on out there? Is this really a recovery going on?

New releases are one thing, but the overall market is another. Look at used prices today. The bottom has fallen out. If people are not interested in buying cars from major names like Slot.it or NSR unless they are priced half of retail - or lower - I don't think things are quite where they should be. It used to be that a lot of new racers bought used because they were cheaper, and also because the cars they wanted had already been released. Not sure what the reason is, but it is plain to see that the used market has tanked. I would be willing to place a small wager that the reason behind Carrera's recent success has a lot to do with their digital offerings and the fact that Carrera Digital is becoming the defacto standard for digital slot cars.

Well, my thoughts are contrary to the "reports" and so-called "interviews" that you might have read from other sources.

The hobby is just fine from my seat in the stands.

Some brands that are not around anymore or are hurting is easy enough to figure out. Simply a matter of poor model selection combined with low or equal quality and inflated pricing.
That literally defines my beloved NINCO. SCX as well.

Some companies employ people that are in touch with core enthusiasts as well as the "mass market". They are the ones still with us and thriving I might add.

Policar/Slot.it has an attractive series here and they combined it with a solid chassis platform. One that could cater to the casual hobbyist or the all out club racer.

Of course it won't appeal to all of us. Different strokes, etc.

I'm personally guilty of choosing certain brands because they offer what I want, with the quality I want, and with a price I can accept.
I can't help that Carrera, Slot.it, Racer, offer great looking and running cars for the price. Not everyone has unlimited budgets and someone has to provide products for beginners/tight budgets. Carrera leads that easily. And the digital slice aspect of Carrera is not to be ignored. I'm not a digital guy, but they clearly lead the way around my neck of the woods.

For the more involved enthusiast, how can you go wrong with a Slot.it or Sideways model? Look at the diverse selection, quality, and ice that cake with a support network that allows us to keep them going.

And I will keep getting them because they produce what they do (a lot of slot car) for my hobby dollar.

Now Policar is leaking some nice items out. Very nice IMHO for the price.
Not only that, but the support behind them has arrived. The above link tells me I can now easily acquire spares if I need them.
Depending on your involvement in hobby will make that part important. It is to me.

This little series reminds me of the previous Group C offerings. Started small...not much talk. Not a series everyone identified with, etc.

But once the word spread about the looks and more importantly, the performance, it took off. But we needed support. IE, PARTS! And we received it. A lot of credit goes to Maurizio and his team for continually supporting and improving the line.

I see this series benefiting from that same support.

Ditto that Harry.
A few companies out there have produced hit series.
They are not having trouble selling at all.
The business world always has been a strange world, and if you go deeper in, look at the spinoffs that are succeeding.
Chassis makers wheel and tire , and pod and loads of items for the scratch builder. I think the market is healthy , it is a matter of the manufacturers listening to the end users, and not the so called employee product line researchers.