Think toy cars and track sets, and you probably think Hot Wheels or Scalextric. Here’s the thing: Hot Wheels’ iconic orange track is fun but far from realistic, while Scalextric, though wonderfully detailed with dioramas, relies on electricity. It’s been the status quo—until now. Meet Candycar Roadworks by toymaker Candylab.
Candylab made its name with its unique take on 1:64 toy cars (think Cybertruck, but wooden), and now it’s doing the same with roads. At a glance, the track looks like something out of a Scalextric set, but it functions much like Hot Wheels’ orange track. It’s basically the lovechild of Scalextric and Hot Wheels—if those two ever decided to settle down and have kids.
The Candycar Roadworks system looks like real asphalt, complete with a two-lane setup measuring 3.6 inches (9.2 cm) wide. It uses a proprietary connection system—Bonelock and Bone Channel—that lets you snap, combine, and detach tracks with ease. The track itself is made of a flexible material soft enough to adapt to your play environment, yet stiff enough to support itself. This means you can build slopes by propping one end up with a few books. No spare parts required.
Naturally, it’s modular. The lineup includes straights, valleys, 90° turns, 60° turns, and hills. With valleys and hills, you can form anything from a perfect loop (yes, it can do that too!) to quick hops or full-blown 3D layouts. Once you’ve got a selection of tracks, you can let your imagination—and your Candylab cars—fly.
And did we mention it has flexible, removable barriers too, so you can speed with fewer wipeouts? Even the barriers are purpose-designed for each track type: straights use universal barriers that pop into the center lane, while turns feature high- and low-speed barriers and lane dividers.
As before, Candylab has taken to Kickstarter to peddle its latest (fun) invention. There are several options, including the Jump Playset, Oval Playset, Mega Loop Combo, Hairpin Combo, Grand Banks Combo, Figure-8 Combo, and the mother of all Roadworks kits—the Roller Coaster Combo. Or, if you prefer to play civil engineer, there’s the Roadworks Super Pack, which includes a mix of tracks to let you design your dream highway.
Every combo (except the standalone track kit) comes with at least one toy car to get you started. For the uninitiated, Candylab’s 1:64 toy cars are unlike any die-cast collectibles you’ve seen. They feature a painted wooden body spliced to a metal die-cast base, fastened by a single screw—and yes, there’s even a touch of suspension. What’s intriguing about these cars is that they don’t replicate real-world models. Instead, they’re ultra-minimalist, toon-like designs—and that’s precisely what makes them so charming.
Prices during the Kickstarter campaign start at US$29 for the Jump Playset and go up to US$185 for the Roller Coaster Playset. Meanwhile, the Roadworks Super Pack will set you back US$250, though it ships only within the U.S. The campaign has already smashed its funding goal, so this project is officially a go. Now all that’s left is for Candylab to deliver the goods when the campaign wraps up.
Images: CandyLab.
