Every year, Roger and I take a busload of our customers down to Toledo, Ohio, for the annual Weak Signals Toledo Show. It is a show dedicated to radio control aircraft and accessories, populated by some of the biggest manufacturers in the industry. In recent years, I’ve been a critic of the show, lamenting the arrival of numerous Asian vendors selling their cheap wares. This year, however, the show floor was dominated by legitimate hobby vendors selling mostly decent products. Better yet, from my perspective, was that Horizon Hobby kept back almost all of their recently announced products, and showed them off at the Toledo Show before they arrive on store shelves. It’s these products I’m going to talk about in this year’s Toledo Trip Wrap Up.

In 1992, Roger’s Hobby Center had grown to the point we needed more than the 3,480 square feet than we had at our original address (5658 State). It was a milestone in our history, like when a teenager goes off into the world to ultimately become the person he or she wants to become. It was a rite of passage, confirming that Roger and Darlene were making the right decisions; that the house that Roger built was successful and lasting.

And so it is with great ambivalence that I must announce that Roger’s Hobby Center is again moving. We have reached another milestone, perhaps not as positive as the last, but equally as important.

When Horizon Hobby launched the Spektrum brand back in 2005, it revolutionized the world of radio control. They were the first to come to the table with a 2.4GHz radio system. Though they started out on the car radios, it was the original DX6 that put Spektrum on the map. None of the other radio companies were even close to a production run on a 2.4GHz radio, which gave Spektrum about a year, maybe a year and a half, of total radio domination.

In Part 1 of my Toledo Trip 2011 Wrap-Up, I was pretty down on how much unadulterated junk there was at the show this year. But there were a few good things there this year as well. I'm not talking about product specific stuff; that strikes me as pointless at this point (I'm really late getting Part 2 up). But there are still a couple of points I want to hit.

This year's Toledo Bus Trip was destined to be epic from the start. A new webpage was launched, dedicated to the trip, with more information than had ever been available online before. It was the first year we were to accept online payments for the trip. It was the first year we included a stop in Clio for our friends to the south of us. It was the first year that selling out the trip was a legitimate concern. But as with all "firsts", there were many opportunities for road bumps and headaches along the way.

But we didn't hit a single snag. Not one.

I can't put into words just how pleased I am at how smoothly the entire process went. Everyone was either on time or early. We were ahead of schedule at almost every turn. Even with an unprecedented fifty-two passengers on the trip this year, everyone was where they were supposed to be, when they were supposed to be there. I can't thank our passengers enough - you guys make all the hard work that is put into this trip every year completely worth it. Thank you!

But you didn't click on the link to hear me gush about the trip. You want to read about the show. So let's get to it.

It was recently brought to my attention that one of the larger R/C blogs (it doesn't seem like there are many, unfortunately) recently linked to my previous blog post, Auld Lang Syne. As we've gotten a bit of traffic from that link in the last few days, I'd like to take the opportunity to return the favor.

As the new year quickly approaches, I’ve been reflecting back on the days now behind us. It seems like only a moment ago that we were ringing in 2010, full of hope for the new year and a fresh start. For some, the promise of new beginnings was fulfilled. For many others, 2010 is a year wrought with disappointments, job loss, and debt. But as a country, I think we’ve picked ourselves up off the floor, dusted ourselves off, and rolled up our sleeves. It’s time to get to work rebuilding our economy, piece by piece.

Let me start off by saying that I’ve been on record as have never been a big fan of anything smaller than 1/10 scale vehicles. I have many reasons for this, but the most relevant one is terrain - or more to the point, the lack of terrain options that smaller vehicles have. They don’t have the ground clearance to do most of the off-road options (grass being the biggest issue). Historically, if you look at the smaller R/C vehicles, starting with the Team Losi Mini-T, which started the trend, they are strictly dirt, gravel, and pavement (or carpet, if you’re indoors) cars. And since the vast majority of our customers tend to run around in the backyard, this can be problem.

I say this because you need to understand why I think the newest addition to the Traxxas 1/16th scale lineup is so cool. Even though it has the moniker of 1/16, it does not act like one. It is 1/10 scale through and through, and handled some of the roughest terrain I never thought it would.

Hey there, boys and girls! We've got the new Traxxas 1/16th scale Summit VXL in at the store, and of course yours truly had to open one up and see how it handled. And my first impression is: WOW! And while I'll still do an in-depth review of the car (which I've already begun), I think this is going to be a must have for any backyard basher as we go into the winter. This thing is going to be a blast in the snow!

Check out our first hands-on video below, and be sure to subscribe to us on YouTube! Your support is appreciated!

It’s been a few days since the iHobby Expo ended for me. While the show continued on until Sunday, I left halfway through the day on Friday. In that time, I was able to accomplish everything there I wanted to accomplish. I was able to chat with Traxxas representatives (for nearly two combined hours), see the new items Horizon Hobby had to offer, and see every booth that had an impact on my segment of the store’s business (meaning that I, being the R/C department head, wasn’t really concerned with trains or plastic models).

Contrasting it with my experience nine years ago (the last time we attended the show before this year), it was a small show with minimal attendance. It isn’t a usual thing at a trade show to command anyone’s attention for two hours, but I was able to do that at Traxxas’ booth of all places. While I am pleased that Roger and I were able to attend the show this year, I am dismayed at the abysmal decrease in attendance that the economy as wrought on the show.