Several good books about slot car racing have been published recently. One can only hope that more are on the way. Most of these new publications deal specifically with the Scale aspects of the hobby. Very little attention is paid to 1:24 scale Lexan bodied wing cars, but rather focus on HO and 1:32 scale slot cars with realistic injection molded styrene bodies depicting real race cars.

Vintage Slot Cars by Phillipe de Lespinay is the first new book about slot car racing to be published in over twenty years. As its title implies, this book covers the vintage aspects of slot car racing. If you ever raced slot cars in the 1960's this book will be a walk down memory lane.

This book is full of great color photographs of all the major brands of slot cars produced during the 1960's when slot car racing was in full bloom. If you collect vintage slot cars this book is a must for your collection.

ISBN: 0-7603-0566-8

Racing and Collecting Slot Cars by Robert H. Schleicher is the most recent new publication. Its focus is entirely on the Scale aspects of the hobby. Several chapters are dedicated to tuning and improving the performance of RTR slot cars.

Both HO and 1:32 scale slot cars are included in this new work. Sections with side-by-side comparisons of all of the major brands of track systems are included, along with various track layouts that can be built using any of the major brands of track currently available.

The author has also included chapters illustrating custom built slot cars that can be made from static plastic car models and commercially available RTR chassis from companies such as MRRC and Pro Tracker.

Sections on driving a slot car to get the fastest lap times and organizing a race series make this an ideal book for anyone that wants to learn more about slot car racing in general.

ISBN: 0-7603-1024-6

The Slot Car Bible by Robert H. Schleicher is a compilation of all sorts of slot car information. If you race HO or 1:32 scale slot cars then you should definitely take a look at this fine book.

ISBN: 0-7603-1153-6

The latest book by Robert H. Schleicher picks up where his previous books left off. More tuning and racing techniques, along with recent new slot car releases and plastic buildings are covered in this new release.

ISBN: 0-7603-2101-9

The Slot Car Handbook by Dave Chang is written specifically for the 1:32 scale racer, although much of the information presented in this excellent book is also applicable to HO scale racers.

Chapters on Gearing, Lubrication, Motor Break-In and Controller Selection offer accurate and informative discussions of these important topics.

ISBN: 1-8612-6916-1

Tomy has produced a primer for racers new to HO slot car racing. This guide includes a brief history of the HO racing scene, tips on chassis maintenance and repair procedures. Information about current race sets, track, cars and accessories is also included in the informative guide.

The HO Slot Car Identification and Price Guide by John A. Clark is required reading for anyone interested in collecting Aurora slot cars. This definitive work is a must for anyone collecting Aurora Model Motoring. If you're only going to purchase one book about Aurora collecting, make it this one.

ISBN: 0-8953-8030-7

Greenberg's Guide to Aurora Slot Cars by Thomas Graham while not as good as Clark's seminal work does contain some interesting material. The listed values for some models are not always realistic though, so be careful when appraising the worth of your collection, or the cost of new acquisitions. The more common examples of many models are over-valued, while the truly rare tend to be under-priced.

ISBN: 0-8977-8400-6

The Complete Guide to Collecting Tomy H.O. Scale Slot Cars by Robert Budano is a complete reference work to every Tomy AFX slot car produced. Photographs in black & white, as well as color document the entire Tomy AFX catalog. The book also describes chassis and the different variations of each car. North American as well as European and Japanese catalog numbers are included for each release.

The book also attempts to assign a collector's value to each model and its production variations. Prices reflect MIB examples and should be used as a price guide only.

ISBN: 0-9660-1740-4

The Complete Color Guide to Tyco H.O. Slot Cars by Dan Esposito is a complete reference work to every Tyco slot car ever produced. Photographs in black & white, as well as color document the entire Tyco catalog. The book also describes chassis and the different variations of each car.

Esposito uses a rarity scale for each model instead of attempting to fix a value to a specific catalog item.

ISBN: 0-9654-1710-7

This addendum to the The Complete Color Guide to Tyco H.O. Slot Cars by Dan Esposito documents the new slot cars models added to the Tyco catalog after the Mattel Toy Company acquired the line.

The Complete Color Guide to Aurora H.O. Slot Cars by Bob Beers is a new reference work of Aurora Model Motoring and AFX slot cars. Color photographs document the entire line of Aurora offerings prior to their acquisition by Tomy.

This book has quickly become the de facto standard for Aurora Collectors. The photographs are excellent and include all of the various color variations each body style was produced in.

Instead of attempting to assign a monetary value, each car and color combination is ranked according to production numbers. Cars produced in lower quantities are generally more difficult to find and fetch higher prices at auction than do high-volume production models.

A great Aurora Guide to the Model Motoring and A/FX eras. If you were to only purchase one Aurora guide, then this is the one to get!

ISBN: 0-9700-2130-5

Aurora Slot Cars by Thomas Graham is a recent addition to the current library of books about Aurora Model Motoring.

ISBN: 0-7643-1863-2

The HO Slot Car Journal published by Scale Auto was a full-color quarterly publication that addressed the current HO scale slot car racing scene. Each issue included how-to articles for getting the most out of your HO slot cars as well as a featured race tracks and new product announcements and reviews of the day.

If you race or collect HO slot cars you should be reading this journal. Each issue includes vintage historic articles along with some of the best tuning tips available anywhere. Back issues are still available.

Model Car Racing is the first new American slot car racing magazine in well over a decade. This publication focuses on home slot car racing in both 1:32 and HO scales. Annual subscriptions are available directly from the publisher at Model Car Racing.

Articles include How-To, Slot Car Product Reviews and Home Track Highlights. This new magazine is a welcome addition to the hobby. If you race or build slot cars at home you'll want to read this magazine.