I know Blogs are supposed to be my thoughts, but yesterday in our FV store, a customer and I were talking, and he was asking a lot of questions about the hobby and new products. So, today, I thought I would just say, if you have questions, leave them as comments and I will do my best to answer them. Have a great weekend
I just received a call from a customer in Dallas to talk about Mark Engines. He had purchased one online from us, and was blown away by the craftsmanship. He has had many Mark/Moki engines and he believes they are some of the finest quality engines in the world, with unbelievable performance. During our talk, he told me that most people do not realize that the Mark Engines are made by Moki. We know this to be true, but we are working hard to get the word out. The long and short of it is that the Moki name was registered in their US agent, so they had to re-name their engines when that relationship ended.
We began importing the Mark engines within the past year, and are very excited to represent this factory. We had been trying for many years to work with factory, and when the opportunity presented itself, we jumped at the chance. The Mark engines are consistently powering the planes of top pilots like Hal Parenti, who need the power and performance that only Mark can provide. The Mark engines are some of the real jewels of RC and we are proud to offer them to you. The craftsmanship in the molding is amazing and is matched in its performance.
The call today made me happy as carrying the finest products is our goal, and clearly we have made another modeler more successful with Mark. Thanks to all of you who fly Mark.
Have a great weekend, and get flying!
We just received an early version of the January issue of Model Airplane News. Unbelievable cover of the new BH Models T-28, a Hobby People exclusive. We brought in the BH line of ARF airplanes a few months ago after deciding they were some of the best flying, best looking ARFs we have seen. We sent one of our early production airplanes to Model Airplane News for review, and were stunned to hear they were going to put it on the cover as well as doing a full review.
I hope you all get an opportunity to see the cover as it is really fantastic, some of the best photography I have seen in a RC magazine. The review was very positive as well, confirming what our customers have been saying, the T-28 is just a great airplane. The good news is that we are back in stock, however, demand has soared for this airplane as so many modelers have discovered its great characteristics. We have stock now, but we are just about sold out. We have literally just about sold out of our shipment in the 10 days since it arrived, and we will be out soon. I am sorry for those that will have to backorder the airplane, please know we are doing our best to expedite shipments. Thank you again for your support, and great flying.
As I read the papers and websites, there is much about the writer’s strike. Although I do watch tv, especially late at night, I’m going to do the same as the writers, I am going to strike. Yep, I am going to strike TV. No longer will I sit and eat ice cream in front of some terrible show with terrible commercials. Its not that I don’t care about the writers, its more about I think I can find better things to do. The writer’s strike is just my motivation to improve my life! (btw, I am guessing the end result of the strike will be that prices for movies and tv shows are going up; the only re-distribution that will occur is from our pockets to theirs. I doubt George Clooney or Julia Roberts will reduce their 20 million dollar movie salaries nor do I think the CEO will take less shares to “help the writers”, so call me a pessimist!) No longer am I going to sit brain dead in front of my TV, and with that, no longer will my kids.
Tonight I am going to bring home a plastic model, either a car or airplane, and my son, and hopefully my daughters, will spend time building it. They will use their brains and their hands, and do something that is smart! So many things to do, we may play games, read a book, draw, and maybe, just maybe (you can dream? can’t you?), we may talk.
For you hobbyists, I hope you spend more time with your hobby, and that you share it with others. Maybe turning off the TV will give you the most important life changing product back, TIME! Time to build, time to play, and time to enjoy life. That’s really what makes the hobby so worthwhile, the fact that its fun! So enjoy your time, and get back to your hobby project!
Today, we had a round table discussion about the hobby. In a nutshell, the topic was building/innovating vs. flying/driving.
Over a meal today, we had a very interesting topic come up, as to whether most modelers prefer building and working on their planes/cars/helis, or rather flying and driving. With so many RTRs and RTFs, it would seem that most modelers would rather have their products finished so that they can just use them. However, all 6 of the hobbyists swore up and down that they prefer working and tinkering and that flying is just the icing on the cake. During a walk through our Fountain Valley store today, I asked 10 of our customers what they preferred, and 8 out of 10 said they really enjoy working with their hands and minds and the hobby is more about working on their projects. I asked why then they mostly bought arfs and rtrs, and all responses were time, limited time. The hobby is about using your brain to get the most performance out of your project. In many ways it is a brain game, and there is great satisfaction in making something good into something great.
It is amazing that in a very informal survey, most everyone likes and prefers the upgrading, modifying and fixing more than actually using their hobby products. So tell me, what do you prefer?
Over the past year, I have become a big fan of the Heli-Max Axe CP helicopter. This is one of those rare products that I think is the best in its class, RTF CP helicopters, and that is very aggressively priced. When we received our first sample almost a year ago, we were impressed with the superb design and Heli-Max’s dedication to quality materials, as the product was simply the best we had seen. The heli had a modern design, with excellent blades, good motor, and really clever use of technology to allow great performance for a RTF.
Looks matter in some things, but performance always trumps looks, and the Axe CP was excellent. We had 5 of our pilots test fly the heli and the results were fantastic. The heli, right out of the box did the basic aerobatics, and did them well. Controls were rock solid, and the heli was durable. We intentionally crashed it to test breakage, and we were impressed with the durability and the intelligent design which limited parts breakage. We knew we had a winner, and our customers confirmed it, as this is the best collective pitch heli we have ever stocked. Amazingly, word of mouth has created greater demand, and our sales continue to grow.
If you are interested in a truly great CP heli, check out the AXE CP, you will not be disappointed. This heli is a winner!!!!!!!1
Yesterday my son and I had plans to meet with another family and race electric trucks around a dirt field, unfortunately, my son’s friend was sick, so instead, we asked another friend to join us and we went to the park instead, and they took turns driving the electric xcellerator. What was amazing is that our friend, Ryan who is 10, had never driven a real hobby RC truck, only using the toy cars. He could not believe the speed and jumping ability, especially when we launched the truck off a small skateboard ramp. Me, I just watched and was happy to spend time with my son.
What was equally interesting was watching the number of families at the park, some playing frisbee, some shooting off air rockets. We were at the park for about 90 minutes, and there had to be 14 families coming and going. Really cool actually, as it is nice to see. And no, this was not a perfect scenario, as these are families, and there was a fair amount of yelling to go get the rockets, or fighting on who was able to stomp on the rocket launcher, and yes, there was some crying. Yep, this was real life, families spending time together and working, fighting, and crying together, and that is really the most important aspect, together. Its always better to be together.
Well we received the Phase3 P-38 yesterday, and it is superb. If you love RC and you are passionate for electric warbirds, this is the perfect plane. We have test flown a few of the P38 samples at the flying field in Costa Mesa, and so we were really excited to get our shipment. I am happy to report that the production looks even better, just excellent. Nicest P38 I have seen. This airplane is going to make a lot of modelers happy, and will help build a great reputation for Phase3.
We are shipping the planes to stores, so be sure to go into your local Hobby People or Hobby Store and check it out. Superb!!
At the 2007 IHobby RC Show, I have to say I was most impressed by the modelers who attended. Although I have been attending the show for the past 13 years, we had not had a booth for the past few years, and I missed the interaction. The crowds were larger than I remember, and the enthusiasm was greater than ever. An amazing phenomenon was the huge increase in families, with fathers and sons; fathers and sons and grandfathers; mothers and sons; and mothers, fathers, and kids. This was really the most fun I have had at a show in a long time, so thanks to all of you that stopped by. Chicago is a cool town.
In our booth we featured XTM. The response was excellent, as we had about 250 drivers stop by and tell us how much they love their trucks. We were really excited that so many Chicago RC fans loved XTM. It seems the XT2 and Nitro Xcellerator are very popular. We were thrilled by the interest in the MMT, as drivers had seen the reviews in Car Action and wanted to see this truck in person. Impressive was the word most used.
We also featured the Airtronics line of radios and servos, and the big winners were the new RDS8000 2.4 FHSS Airplane/Helicopter Radio, M11 2.4 Car/Boat Radio, and the MX-3 2.4 FHSS Car Boat Radio. Clearly Airtronics is the radio to own for racers, and for the drivers who want the best. We had many “A Main” drivers stop by and tell us they were making the switch to 2.4G radios and they were happy Airtronics was delivering the systems.
We also showed the Phase 3 Flit, which was a huge hit. This is a 6g 3 Ch Hobby Grade RC airplane that is designed for indoor use. We new we had a hit but we were amazed at the response for this little plane. Modelers who saw it fly said they had never seen a micro plane fly so well. The attention to detail and design, which uses carbon fiber, was appreciated. We actually ran out of the 3500 flyers we brought to the show, as modelers wanted info on this plane. We are already heavily backordered as demand is beyond our ability to produce. We expect first shipment end of November. We should have video within next 2 weeks.
Some other items that I think are really cool are the new Traxxas E-Maxx with brushless system, which just just fasssst! I think this will be a great item for those that want big time speed and jumping, without the need for nitro.
Another item to keep an eye out for is the Hobbico Diablo. I think it was one of the best items at the show. It is a jet like plane that is designed for the beginner, and allows you to upgrade the wing as your skills improve. I like the design and the use of magnets to hold the wing which allows swapping wings very easy.
Since I really like the VQ models, I will suggest you take a look at these as well. This is a high quality, richly detailed, line of airplanes. The designer is very talented, and has built a superb line of planes, such as the Invaders, Migs, and Hurricanes. Response has been great, so much so we have run out of most of our stock. More are coming, and these are worth the wait.
I am sure there are more items to check out, but these were the ones I thought were hot.
FYI, we just received more Phase3 EF-16s, these are our best selling plane and just hot right now. check it out.
Enjoy!!!!
This past Thursday - Saturday, I attended the IHobby RC Convention in Chicago. The 1st 2 days were for hobby dealers and Saturday and Sunday were set for consumers. I wrote yesterday about Ipods and their causing the lack of social interaction, and today, I wanted to write about the hobby and its social and competitive promotion.
During the show, I spoke to people who are passionate about RC. We had over 2k people come visit us at the show. It was an amazing opportunity to discuss many aspects of RC, and one dad told me that he has been modeling for 25 years +, and now he and his son build models together a few hours a week. It was really cool to see a father and son with similar interests, and really enjoy being together. The dad told me that he liked the private time where he could enjoy the building and detail work, while the time flying and working with his son and their friends really made the hobby social as well.
Over the 2 days I was at the show, I experienced this phenomenon many times, watching families, including grandparents, walking the show and talking about cars, planes, helis, and mostly, having a good time being together. I was amazed at how good I felt about being in the hobby, as it is rewarding to work in a business that can bring such accomplishment and joy to our consumers. I also like the fact that RC is a family activity, and this weekend my son, daughter and I are meeting with 2 other families to race our trucks at a local park. Who knows, we may see you there.
Tomorrow I will write about the products from Ihobby.
