Frequently Asked Questions

What do I put in the box when I want to buy something?

For all pages except the Collectors pages, the box is a Quantity field, so you enter the number that you want to buy. For instance, if you wanted 2 Ferrari F1s you would enter "2". In most cases, of course, you will just enter "1".

For the Collectors pages, as we generally only have one of each available, the box is a simple check box - when you click on it with your mouse it will be "checked" to indicate that you want to buy that item.

 

What currency are your prices in?
Can I order in Euros? Euro
Can I order in Dollars? Dollar

All our prices are in pounds sterling. Try this Currency Converter to convert prices to your local currency.

 

When I try to buy items I sometimes see "we are unable to process this request" or "error while processing request"

 

This is due to a failure at the server that handles our on-line shopping. I'm sorry to say that when this happens, there is nothing we can do except report it to the server providers and wait for them to fix it. Usually it is fixed within an hour, sometimes it can take longer. As we often don't get notified when the server goes down, or when it is fixed, it isn't practical for us to post a warning notice. Please feel free to notify our webmaster when this occurs, he will do what he can to speed up the recovery process. If it proves to be very unreliable, we will look for an alternative provider. Please also note that this affects us too: when the system is down, we can't retrieve orders and, of course, if you can't place orders, we lose business!

 

How secure is this mechanism?

 

Our e-commerce service uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), a security protocol developed by Netscape and supported by most major browsers and web servers. Simply put, information is "scrambled" (encrypted) before it leaves your computer, and "unscrambled" (decrypted) and stored on the server. Once on the server it is inly accessable to people with the proper username and password (i.e. us). When we retrieve your details, the information is "scrambled" (encrypted) before it leaves the server, and "unscrambled" (decrypted) when it arrives at our computer. This mechanism is used by most internet shopping facilities. There is much more detailed information at the Netscape site under:
Home > Netscape > Products > Security > Technology > SSL

 

What scale are the cars you offer?

Unless otherwise stated, all our cars are 1/32 scale. The main exceptions are the scarce 1/24 Scalextric cars, and the Micro Scalextric HO scale cars.

Do all your cars run on standard Scalextric track?

Most cars we sell are designed to run on standard Scalextric track. There are a few exceptions to this:

 

• If you have Banked Curves then many modern Scalextric cars are not suited to them, including F1 cars. This is because the cars have too little clearance between the chassis and the track to cope with the angle. Scalextric draw attention to this in their catalogue.
  
• Some makes (e.g. Ninco) use a slightly larger Guide Blade than others. This does not usually stop them from running, but will result in a clattering noise as the car runs. The solution is to file down the guide blade by about 1mm, assuming of course you wish to keep that particular model.
  
• Carrera cars have a switch underneath that reverses the polarity of the braids. If it is set incorrectly, the car will try to run backwards. The solution is to reverse the switch setting.
  
• Some makes produce models that are much wider (e.g. Ninco Karts) or taller (e.g. SCX and Fly Trucks) than standard Scalextric cars, which may mean they bump together more on curves or hit the underside of low bridges. Even some Scalextric models (the old racehorses for instance) may not pass under low bridges!
  
• We sell a few cars that are not 1/32 scale (either HO scale or 1/24 scale). These are not designed to run on standard Scalextric track. All such cars will be clearly marked as being a different scale.

Do you offer a "status of my order" feature on the site?
Where is my order?
Do you have Order Tracking?
Can I Track my order?

 

We do not have that feature, sorry. The order taking mechanism we use doesn't have that capability, and it would be very expensive for us to move to a more sophisticated system. Order queries should be addressed to info@scalemodels.co.uk

Missing Parcels

If you are concerned that your order has not arrived please contact us by telephone or email to obtain a date of dispatch and details of the postal service used. In the unfortunate circumstance that Scale Models have dispatched a parcel to you and it does not arrive within the parcel carriers allocated delivery time please contact them to make a claim.

Royal Mail customer service 08457 740 740
Parcel Force customer service 08708 501150
City Link enquiries 08700 007 007
UPS customer service 08457 877 877 

Scale Models cannot be held responsible for items not delivered after they have been dispatched.

 

Want to see something answered here?

 

Send it to our webmaster.