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Scalextric offers a comprehensive selection of inside and outside curved borders for its 4 different curve radii as well as straight borders and tapered borders to lead into and out of each curve. Borders are important because they allow the car on the outermost lane of a curve to corner with the tail hung out just as far as the cars on the other lane or lanes. This allows closer and more equal racing. Borders, along with the included Armco-style guard rails, also add to the realistic appearance of your racing layout, since many race tracks today use a lot of Armco barrier to protect off-track areas from errant race cars. The barriers also serve the practical purpose of keeping your cars on the table and off the floor. Scalextric borders come in two styles: the tan "gravel trap" kind with a red and white striped insert at the track edge and the all-black "American" borders that look like a simple extension of the racing surface. Both kinds serve the same function, although the gravel trap borders' insert strip is rounded a bit above the level of the track surface, slightly upsetting the car's balance as the outer rear wheel slides across it to add to the challenge of rapid cornering. The inserts on the all-black borders are flat and do not affect the cars. For the best racing experience the first add-on purchase you should make after your initial race set purchase is outside borders and barriers for all the turns and inside borders and barriers for all turns that immediately follow a turn in the opposite direction. You should also install either a tapered border or two to three half-straight borders on each straight immediately past the outside of the preceding curve. This allows the cars to get straightened out without putting a wheel off the track edge.