Monday, May 12, 2003 | 8:14 a.m.
First, these are toys for adults not adult toys.
"You can't say 'adult toys.' Right away you think 'porno,'" said Rob Gherman, director of the National Retail Hobby Stores Association's convention and tabletop expo.
The 10th annual NRHSA Convention & Trade Expo, which ran last week at the Riviera Convention Center, featured more than 150 model/hobby companies exhibiting products at the show, including planes, trains, cars and boats.
While the exhibit was not open to the public that's the October HobbyVisions International show at the Sands Convention Center it was a good preview for store owners to see the new product line for the fall.
And just as in years past, the continuing focus of the billion-dollar hobby industry is for ready-made or prefabricated products.
Vanishing are the days when hobbyists would buy a radio-controlled plane, car or boat and spend weeks, if not months, putting it together.
Many model companies now offer the toys either fully or partially assembled.
"Pre-fab is outselling the stuff that you can put together. It's gone from a real scratch-built industry to something that's really easy to do," Gherman said. "This makes it more mainstream to the public."
Chris Chianelli, longtime hobby enthusiast and host of "Radio Control Hobbies" on the Do It Yourself Network (airing locally on Cox digital cable channel 348), said the prefab direction of the hobby industry has removed one of the biggest entry barriers to would-be hobbyists: ease of use.
"It used to be that you had to build things of scrap and match electronic components ... it was almost a rite of passage. Now it's become a consumer-friendly product. And it's going to grow," Chianelli said.
Here's a look at some of the newest, coolest, ready-made toys available soon, if not already, at a local hobby store.
In the air
XRB Mini Lama. Small and light (about a foot long, weighing only a few ounces), this miniature helicopter was designed for indoor use only.
Attached to a 12-foot tether/power cord that plugs into the wall via an AC adaptor, the 'copter is ready to go right out of the box -- making it ideal for new hobbyists. The radio control makes the helicopter go up, down, left, right, forward and in reverse.
"It's full-featured -- just like a real helicopter," said Jeff Green, senior product manager for MRC (Model Rectifier Corp.), which manufactures the Mini Lama. "It's a good stepping stone into the larger helicopters."
The XRB Mini Lama retails for $300.
Air Burst Rockets. Sometimes you just want to launch a rocket -- forget the fuel and model-building. William Mark Corp. has the solution with its Air Burst Rocket. There's nothing to assemble; all that's needed is the rocket and any stand-up bike pump. After a few pumps, simply sit back and watch the sleek, durable plastic projectile rocket up to 1,000 feet, only to crash and bounce harmlessly on the ground with nothing more than a scratch -- even after striking concrete.
The Air Burst Rocket retails for $29.95.
Capitol Flyer and Airstrike RTF. While Ready-To-Fly (RTF) products are not news to the hobby industry, much of the population is still unaware of their ease. Basically, with the Capitol Flyer and Airstrike RTF from Megatech International, there's no assembly required.
"You plug the charger into the car. And by the time you get home, the battery is charged and you take the plane out and you're flying," Gherman said.
For those who would like to at least put forth minor effort in building their planes, Megatech also offers the Nitro Airstrike ARF (Almost Ready to Fly). The radio-controlled gas- powered plane comes with seven wingnuts that are easily inserted by hand.
The Capitol Flyer and Airstrike retail for $299.; the more powerful Nitro Airstrike for $499.99.
On the ground
Reflex Micro Touring. A scaled-down version of a scaled-down version, Trinity's Reflex Micro Touring line consists of 1/18th-scale, four-wheel drive, radio-controlled cars. Which means these sporty cars can be driven as easily over smooth surfaces as those with bumps.
"It's getting harder and harder to find a track to run these cars. But you can run these anywhere. That's their appeal," said Eric Provetti, owner of Trinity.
The cars come ready to run out of the box. There's even the Micro Tire Warmer to better adjust the tread to the road surface.
The Trinity Reflex Micro Touring car retails for $359.99; the Micro Tire Warmer retails for $39.99.
Rocket Powered Blurzz. For those 12 and older with "a need ... a need for speed," Estes Industries has the Rocket Powered Blurzz. These miniature dragsters are powered by a solid fuel rocket motor and race down a tethered 90-foot line. There's a spring braking system at the end of the track, along with a parachute deployment system on the cars, to bring the dragsters to a safe, incident-free halt.
Rocket Powered Blurzz come in three colors and retail for $29.95.
Odds and ends
Kick Dis Power Puck: This hockey puck meets a hydrocar is nothing more than a novelty ... albeit a very cool novelty. The small plastic disc hovers effortlessly an eighth of an inch over any flat, uncarpeted surface. It's perfect for hockey, bowling, shuffleboard or, mainly, just to kick around a room. The power pack lasts about 30 minutes or so before it needs to be recharged. And, judging by the amount of abuse a 3-year-old boy was administering to it, the Kick Dis is rather durable.
Kick Dis Power Puck retails for $39.95.
Terrain Maker. Wizards and dragons have a game. Why not World War II vets? They do now, courtesy of Micro Skirmish Gaming. Combining detailed miniaturization with a role-playing game, Micro Skirmish has made war-themed games for 35 years. One of the biggest drawbacks to the game, though, has always been the need for a large table on which to place the game pieces.
This summer, though, the company introduces the Micro Skirmish Board. The board is made up of 54 individual hexagons ("Terrain Makers") that piece together like a jigsaw puzzle. They can also be interchanged to create various settings and terrains, such as a burned-out town, a lush forest or grass-covered hills. Not surprising with today's headlines, the desert terrain has been very popular. Micro Skirmish even created a miniature mosque for those inclined to play out their favorite Operation Iraqi Freedom moment.
The Micro Skirmish Board will retail for $39.95, with Terrain Makers retailing from $5.50 to $8.95.
Spit Wad Launcher. Where there's a will, there's a way. And William Mark Corp. has willed a way for water-soaked balls to travel up to 60 feet with deadly accuracy. The Spit Wad Launcher is similar to a blow-dart gun, only it launches "spitballs" -- 12 small, fuzzy spongelike blobs that soak up large amounts of water. With its long-range ability, the Spit Wad Launcher virtually doubles the range of a Super Soaker, giving users a tactical advantage.
The Spit Wad Launcher retails for $14.99.
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