New Blade nQX Announced, Due Mid-June

Blade has been a bit behind in the super small quadcopter market. Heck, even Traxxas beat them to the punch, and HeliMax gapped the field with their immensely popular 1SQ. I even named the 1SQ as one of my "Hits of 2012". But the playing field is about to get evened out.

Today, Blade revealed their newest helicopter, the uber-tiny Blade nQX. It's about the same size as the 1SQ. But it has some cool tech inside. It features SAFE, the beginner-friendly technology, that helps prevent beginners from getting into unfortunate situations. It also has, as you can see in the picture, built-in blade protectors to prevent striking the propellers on the wall.

The Blade nQX comes with a 150mAh LiPo battery, USB charger, two canopies, and extra propellers. It will be avialable in Bind-N-Fly or Ready-to-Fly for $69.99 and $89.99, respectively. It's due out Mid-June. Pre-Order one now, because I suspect we'll be selling out of them quickly! Video is after the break.

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Apprentice S, with SAFE Technology, Coming Soon

I know one or two of our customers will be happy to hear that the Apprentice is back! The Apprentice has been a staple in our airplane lineup for years as the best club-style trainer electric airplane. Horizon discontinued the Apprentice only a few short weeks ago. But now the Apprentice S is coming. The new version is similar to the original airplane, but differs in one key factor. The new Apprentice S has Horizon's new SAFE technology built in, allowing beginners to have an easier learning experience. This new Apprentice also has the option for floats, which is a new addition. The new Apprentice S will sell for $299.99, and is estimated to be available sometime in June. Check out the video after the break their first takeoff is a great example of how cool I think the SAFE technology will be.

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Horizon Debuts SAFE, a New Way to Learn to Fly

Horizon Hobby has done plenty of work in R&D for the radio control hobby. Today, they announced the next leap forward. It's called SAFE. SAFE stands for Sensor Assisted Flight Envelope. Horizon has a video about it that I have embedded after the break, but basically, it's a way of preventing a beginner from over-extending the airplane. It limits the amount of roll and pitch to a specific 'envelope' depending on the flight mode. So even if an airplane is capable of rolling, for instance, the SAFE system will not allow it if set to beginner mode.

SAFE also features full-time AS3X stabilization, to eliminate turbulence from wind and other environmental factors.

Is SAFE just another gimmick? I don't know. AS3X sure sounded like one, but that turned out to be a very popular technology. SAFE doesn't appear to really have a role much past the beginner stage, but this technology could make learning to fly easier than ever, thus broadening the market and allowing more people to experience the thrill of flight. Only time will tell if this technology takes off.

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Testors Drops Pactra, Floquil, and Polyscale

In a surprise annoucment, Testors has revealed that they will be dropping Floquil, Polyscale, Pactra and ColorArtz paint lines. The Floquil and Polyscale paints are very popular among model railroaders, and are the premire train-specific paints on the market. Pactra is a huge loss for the radio control car hobbyists, for many of whom Pactra was the number one choice for polycarbonate body paint (and is the only brand of R/C car paint we've carried regularly for over 20 years).

This is a huge loss to the hobbyist world. If you have any particular feelings about this (and I'm sure many of you do), let Testors know about it at their Facebook Page or email their customer service at customerservice@testors.com.

We will continue to carry and sell all of the dropped brands until we cannot order more. What brands we pick up to replace these losses, we do not know yet. If you have a recommendation, please stop by our Facebook page and let us know. Oh, and you can read the press release after the break.

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Red Baron Adhesives Now In Stock

As I mentioned in my Toledo Trip Wrap Up, we agreed to pick up a new line of CA glue from a company called Red Baron Adhesives while we were at the show. Red Baron's prices are a little lower than the other lines of glue we stock, and everything ships from Illinois, making it quicker for us to re-supply.

Our first order of the Red Baron CA glue has arrived. We have all the usual viscosities of regular CA (Thin, Medium, and Thick) as well as their "Max-Thick" glue, all in 0.5oz, 1oz, and 2oz bottles. We also have their Foam-Safe CA, Debonder, and Quik-Shot Accelerator.

Committed to using our existing glue lines? Don't worry: Bob Smith Glue isn't going anywhere.

ProLite 4x4 Dropped to $339.99, While Supplies Last

The Team Associated ProLite 4x4 has been marked down for a limited time. Usually it sits on the shelf for $359.99, but right now, you can get your hands on one for $339.99, a full $20 cheaper. That's half of a new Dynamite LiPo Battery, or a solid chunk of change you can use for a charger!

This price is only going to be around until the two trucks we have on the shelf sell out, so hurry in and pick up yours today!

KBDD Blades Now In Stock!

As I mentioned in my Toledo Bus Trip 2013 Wrap Up, one of the things we did at the show is pick up a new line of products. We had originally met KBDD at the iHobby show in Cleveland, but we weren't sure at the time that we needed another line of helicopter blades. When we got back, we found that many of our customers already flew with KBDD blades. So we decided to take them on.

We now have blades for the blade mCPX, mCPX BL, Nano CPX, and the Blade 130X in both Neon Yellow and Pearl Blue. We also have matching tail rotors for those helicopters. And they are pretty reasonably priced: either the same or cheaper than Blade's offerings. We can special order for other helicopters too!

Velineon Power Up Price Increase

Afraid this one can't be chalked up to April Fools.

Traxxas' prices have been on the rise. It was only a matter of time before the Power Up prices increased as well. The first (but probably not the last) Power Up Price increase is on the Velineon 1/10 Brushless System. Starting today, it goes up to $165 + $5 (for the shipping/handling). The selling price for the combo has risen as well, up to $199.99 (it you're buying it outright).

It's hard to recommend the Traxxas Power Up option now, given the price increase. Dynamite's Tazer offerings have been good for us, and at $129.99 (purchased outright, no trade-in required), the case for Traxxas' Velineon System just got harder to make.

You can see all of the current Power Up pricing and info on our Traxxas Power Up Page.