Our Bluey recently had a rough go of racing our slot-cars one afternoon.
Of our two cars, he could only get one to go around the track much at all. It would stop periodically and need an adjustment. The other car hardly moved on the track.
We were so excited to do some racing so it was a real disappointing time while we tried repeatedly to adjust the track and wiggle the wires trying to figure out why the cars wouldn’t work.
Finally, while trying to clean the bottoms of the cars, we noticed that the contacts (where the cars touch the copper strips imbedded in the track) had holes worn through them.
We didn’t know what to do, so we headed to our local hobby store thinking maybe we could buy new cars to race.
Instead, we found out that if you’re willing, you can replace these worn out parts yourself. Rather than spending $20 or more on new cars- as much fun as that would be!- we were able to get replacement contacts and springs for just $3.
In a few minutes of repair time back at home, we were in business and tearing up the track! The process of repairing the cars was fun for our Bluey, who loves to know how mechanical things work. Even though he lost part of a day of racing, he still had a great time.
So here are some tips:
1. When in doubt, ask the experts for advice.
2. Many things, even your toys, can be repaired rather than replaced.