Total Control Racing

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Total Control Racing (TCR) was a toy brand from Ideal which debuted in the late 1970s, similar to slot car sets, with approximately HO scale cars (and smaller scale semi-trailer trucks) that operated on a slotless track.

The plastic track contained lanes of three metal strips about 2 mm (0.08 inch) wide, which made contact with a configuration of two brass pads on the underside of the cars, providing power. The brass pads could be arranged in one of two possible configurations by the user. Which configuration a car was set to would determine which two of the three power providing metal strips were being drawn from and, hence which of the two controllers was for which car, The plastic track had two such lanes, and cars could change lanes with the flick of a switch on the controller. TCR sets came with "jam cars", a slow moving drone which both racers had to avoid crashing into. Like Matchbox's Powertrack, some cars featured lights.

The first sets consisted of up to 4 Formula 5000 cars. The track (which stayed the same throughout successive generations of cars) was wide enough for two cars side by side and had raised edges along both sides to prevent the cars from leaving the track. No more than one or two cars could be controlled and raced. They were controlled by the user by means of a trigger controller which also carried a toggle switch. When switched up, the car would travel in the outmoster lane of the track, when switched down, the car would travel in the innermost lane of the track. By this means, the user could genuinely overtake their opponent by switching lanes at the correct moment. The two remaining cars were 'Jam Cars' which would run around the track when either or both of the trigger controllers were depressed. The Jam Cars were slower than the racing cars and had front wheels that were fixed to steer permanently left or right. This meant that a Jam Car was relatively easy to pass, or manoeuvred automatically out of the way as you approached (as a lapped vehicle would in a race).

The first generation of cars worked on the principle that, when the lane changing switch was flicked, the motor of the car would reverse direction, sending the power to only one of the rear wheels. The resultant bias of having one driven wheel forced the car to run (up against the raised edge) in one or other of the lanes. Later, more complex generations of TCR cars steered by means of the reversal of the motor triggering the steering mechanism of the front wheels to be fixed left or right. These later cars have driven power to both rear wheels and had much greater performance than the earlier generations. If scaled up to actual size, a TCR car would run along a straight at perhaps 350mph and corner at not much less.

The original sets consisted of only two different types of track part. A 15" straight and a 90 degree bend. Later sets added 45 degree bends and 10" straights. More elaborate sets included a 4 lanes wide straight that allowed you to drive off onto a second track or a pitlane, a banked corner where the centrifugal force generated by a fast moving car would allow it to run off from the electronic power strips onto a banked extension to the outside of the corner and, from a Dukes Of Hazzard TCR set, a ramp and jump.

Subsequent editions of TCR vehicles included articulated lorries, ambulances, dune buggies, trucks, go-karts and numerous replicas of road cars and many famous cars from film, television and motor racing. As can be seen below, many car companies and famous brands allowed TCR licence. Each of these different editions of vehicle sat atop an identical chassis and drive train.

In use, as a toy, TCR was compromised by three factors.

1 The speed of the cars, when they were working well, was so high that the possibility of overtaking another car was very low. The cars were all thrown to the outermost lane in every corner. Because of this, the outermost lane in an oval track would always be the fastest lane to run in. This meant that the cars being raced were using the same lane of the track, often nose-to-tail. The act of changing lanes along a straight to pass your opponent would cause a relative drop in performance as the cars left one set of electric strips in the track and steered across to the other. This effect meant that all but the slowest of opponents could not be passed, even along a significant straight. (The later addition of 45 degree bends made it possible to create overtaking spots by placing all the cars in the innermost lane at the start of a straight. Since the cars would then naturally steers themselves immediately into the outermost lane, an overtaking manoeuvre could be effected by flicking the lane changer switch to make the car stay in the innermost lane down the straight before then being thrown by centrifugal force to the outside of the next corner in front of your opponent. The manoeuvre would then be finished by switching the lane change controller to return to driving in the favoured then from then on).

2 Due to the raised edge along the outside of every piece of track, a car would almost never leave the track from going too fast. Whilst this did prevent TCR from having the stop/start, run-to-fetch-a-spun-vehicle nature of Scalextric (particularly in young hands), it did mean that a TCR race required no particular skill and the user of the faster car would always win. (Speed equalisers and power boosters were later made available to attempt to level the playing field).

3 The cars themselves (particularly the later generations) were relatively delicate and only worked properly within a narrow margin of track cleanliness and overall car wear. The brass pads or shoes on the underside of the cars were easily knocked off and quick to wear away. An entire chassis of a TCR car would sag after many hours of use, causing it to drag along the track and lose performance. Dust and lint would gather inside the chassis around the moving parts, causing a great drop in performance. Tyres, shoes and motors all had a short life and required frequent servicing and replacing. This might not be unexpected in a toy that is running at a high speed, with constant friction and subjection to the battering of track sides for several hours. Numerous spares were available, but expensive. Whilst the cars themselves rarely lasted (certainly not in the hands of a child), the track pieces remain cheerfully indestructible to this day.

Withdrawal Of The Product The product was withdrawn from the market in the mid 1980s (after a brief attempt to reinvent TCR as a slot racing system, which was incompatible with all earlier cars and track).

TCR may have failed next to its most obvious competitor Scalextric for these and other reasons. TCR cars were matchbox sized and much smaller than Scalextric cars. This did mean that (relatively) more track could be laid out in one room.

TCR sets are now relatively collectable items on internet auction sites. Many spares in original packaging, as well as entire sets, individual cars and smaller selections of track are sold to collectors. Since the withdrawal of the Ideal Toy Company TCR slotless system, many matchbox or HO Scale racing car games have become available, often only briefly and always employing a slot-racing system.

Contents

[edit] Sets

  • Champion Challenge (Lane Changing)
  • Indy Jam Circuit
  • Freispur-Autorennbahn 500
  • High Banked Speedway
  • Lane Changers (3 level raceway)
  • Lighted Jam car Speedway
  • Lighted Blazers
  • Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 set
  • Super Jam car Speedway
  • Zig Zag Jam Raceway (Featuring 3 cars)
  • Jumped trailer set (German)
  • Convoi (German)
  • Rallye 1 (French)
  • Formula 5000

[edit] Cars Non Themed

Make/Model Chassis Paintjob Number on car Featured in Sets Liverys Jam Car Lights Part Number Image
Articulated Lorry White Cab with Red stripes along bonnet to rear, Silver Trailer Yes N/A
BMW Mk 3 White with red sill and blue band down wings Advert on Bonnet 28 Yes N/A
BMW MK2,MK3 Mostly red with white doors and rear wheel arches. 90 Yes N/A
Chevrolet Chevelle Mk2 Silver and black Yes N/A
Corvette MK2 Silver with black chequer on bonnet with "Green Bios" on side None No N/A
Datsun 280 ZX Mk2 Blue with red and white stripes on wings 33 Pioneer Yes N/A
Dodge Magnum Glow Car Mk1 Yellow with faint blue line around wings 33 None Yes N/A
Dodge Magnum Mk2 Red Roof white mid section and yellow sills 23 HEMI Yes N/A
Dodge Magnum (never released in UK) Mk1 Blue Wings red bonnet 34 None Yes N/A
Dune Buggy Mk3 Yellow with red spoiler and bonnet None No N/A
Ferrari Testarossa Red 3 None N/A
Indy Jam Mk2 Black with white centre stripe down middle 19 Indy Jam Circuit None No N/A
Indy Jam Mk2 Red and white stripes on wings 1 Indy Jam Circuit None No N/A
Indy Jam Mk2 White with yellow stripe to right of driver 8 Indy Jam Circuit None No N/A
Indy Jam Black 8 Indy Jam Circuit Union No N/A
Indianapolis 5000 Blue with red and white stripes on wings 8 None No N/A
Jeep Orange with Black roof None N/A
Lancia Stratos White 3 None Yes N/A
Mclaren F1 MK3 Red & White None No N/A
Mercedes Berlingo Red & Blue with yellow spoiler 9 None N/A
Mustang (Rat Trap) Mk1 Blue with yellow stripes 55 Yes 5A-1885 N/A
Pantera MK1,MK2 White with blue and red lines on bonnet and roof 25 Lighted Jam Speedway None Yes Yes 3497-5 N/A
Pinto (Rat Trap) MK1 Red White and Blue 77 Yes N/A
Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 MK3 Red white stripe through centre of car 88 None Yes N/A
Porsche MK3 Yellow with blue and white stripes down wings 36 Michelin Advert on Spoiler N/A
Porsche MK2 Black with red and yellow stripe through roof 88 Yes N/A
Peugeot 205 Blue with red and white stripes on wings 2 or 4 Peugeot Turbo 16 None N/A
Pickup Yellow with black bonnet and chequered roof None YES N/A
Police Car MK3 White with black doors red lights on roof None N/A
Pontiac Trans Am Firebird MK2,MK3 Yellow with red bird on Bonnet No N/A
Racing Rig MK1 Red N/A
Porsche Glow in the Dark MK2 Yellow with red Stripes on bonnet 77 Yes N/A
Truck / Tanker Blue with red and white stripes on wings None N/A
Triumph TR7 Yellow with blue and white stripes down wings 7 N/A
Triumph TR7 Mk1 White with blue stripes down wings and blue roof 7 (Yellow) N/A
Triumph TR7 Silver 7 N/A
Chevrolet Super Nova Orange with blue bonnet 231 None Yes Yes N/A
Lancia stratos MK1,MK2 Yellow 3 Lighted Jam Speedway None Yes N/A
Pantera MK1,MK2 White blue bonnet yellow and red wings 11 Lighted Jam Speedway None Yes Yes N/A
Van Black with red and white stripes alongside picture on the rear panel. N/A

[edit] Cars TV/FILM Themed

Car Chassis Film/Tv Show No on Car Featured in Sets Liverys Jam Car ? Lights Image
Boss Hogg Car White Car with Black Bonnet and Sheriffs badge on the door Police lights on roof. Dukes of Hazzard N/A
Boss Hogg Car White Car with Sheriffs badge on the door Police lights on roof. Dukes of Hazzard Yes N/A
General Lee Orange with the Confederate flag on roof and 01 on doors. Dukes of Hazzard Yes N/A
Pontiac Trans AM Mk2 Black with Knight 2000 in red on doors Knight Rider None N/A

[edit] Accessories

  • Lap Counter
  • Electronic Super Kick-Down :-This accessory allows the cars on the track to have equal performance. Another function is to allow cars an extra power increase which would then allow overtaking for a few seconds once per lap. This accessory replaced the original terminal and was not released in the UK.

[edit] Track Specifications

Length Type Packaging Part Number
10 Inch Straight Blue Box
15 Inch Straight Red or Blue Box
12 Inch Curve Red Box
Crossroad Jump over Comes with Rallye 1 Set

[edit] Trackside Advertising

  • Shell
  • Dunlop
  • Texaco
  • GTX

[edit] External links

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