New Models from VQ Models and BH Expected End of October

The wait is almost over. From Twin “Shrikes” to an Agwagon, BH and VQ are releasing some cool models. We’ll post the details as soon as they arrive.

It’s the Holiday Season!

OK, I’m guilty… It’s been truly FOREVER since I’ve posted anything! I appreciate everyone who’s read and commented and I hope I didn’t make anyone feel like I abandoned them or the blog here. The last couple of months are always crunch time for us at work. This year was simply busier than most.

Let’s get back to it!

Product is the name of the game here and in the last 2 months, we’ve been working EXTRA hard to get everything done and out for you. Look at the list of new stuff we’ve released in the last few months!

Phase 3 – Mini Spitfire

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/107117.asp

I like this one because it’s tiny, but in the air it still flies great. It’s an OUTDOOR airplane even though it’s small. It’s zippy and fun. And , it doesn’t come with a radio so you can just drop in a receiver from a radio you already use and you’re good to go. The Receiver from the RDS8000 fits, no problem!

I mentioned this one earlier this year, but I will again. The Mini Mach Racer came in from Model Tech.  It’s small and fast and will take a pretty wide range of small, hot motors.

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/123779.asp

The ASM Big Sukhoi arrived last week. Perfect for a Mark 1.35 or OS 140, this is a nice plane that has scale looks and flies well. I think it’s a value at 250.00 too.

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/190123.asp

For the big planes, you need big servos. The new Airtronics 94780M servo has 423 in-oz of torque, it’s a standard size servo, and it delivers that power on 6.0V (It does not require a 2 cell lipo to deliver this power). I know, our competition now makes a standard size servo that runs on a 2 cell lipo direct. But here’s what I don’t get.. It only produces 40 in-oz of torque more than the 94780M and it costs 75.00 MORE!!!! The 94780M is only 125.00 bucks, making it the most powerful servo, with the lowest price, in its class. I think everyone will be pleased with the performance. It’s impressive.

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/474380.asp

BH released a ton of new planes. For electric:

BH52 J-3 Cub Electric, the BH53 Decathlon Electric, the BH55 Extra 260 Electric, the smaller BH43 Trojan Electric, and the very impressive BH 51 B-25 Mitchell (with retracts!).

They’ve also released a P-40 for Glow. This plane is a 91 size plane with a 40 size price tag. Normal price is 200.00 and for the holiday season it’s 170.00 And… That’s with retracts!

Check them all out here:

http://www.hobbypeople.net/mfr/bhorse01.asp

VQ has released a TON of planes as well.

http://www.hobbypeople.net/mfr/vqmdl01.asp

The highlights:

Dago Red 46 seems to have a TON of interest., the new 60 size Hien’s are simply stunning, and the 46 size zeros have attracted a LOT of attention. But let’s not overlook it, there’s TONS of planes there. VQ has by far the widest selection of Warbirds in the market today. Scroll through the list, I think you’ll be blown away.

Ultrafly has released what I think is the most beautiful private aviation aircraft on the market, the Cirrus SR-22. Elegant yet practical. Fuselage is fiberglass and the canopy removes very easily for battery access. The wing is plug-in and easily removed for transport. The firewall as a built-in sub-firewall that places the motor in the right spot without much work and it has air inlets built in to cool the battery. This is a superior design like no other in its class.

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/116544.asp

You might check this link too:

http://www.hobbypeople.net/specials/arrivals.asp

If anyone has any questions about the products, let me know.

Mike

Hobby People Warehouse Sale Pt.2

The Warehouse Sale last Saturday was GREAT! There were tons of people, tons of crazy stuff to sell, tons of prizes, and I think it went great! We even had display items to show!

First, the line was HUGE. Check out these pics. It went from the parking lot, down the street, back up the building, around the corner, into the building, and up the main isle in the main warehouse to the door that connects the main warehouse to the 2nd warehouse.

The First 50 people in line (most of whom camped out the night before!) got to spin the wheel and win a prize! This gentleman won a BH Models Mosquito!

In addition to this buying-frenzy, we also had tons of interest in many of the new products we exhibited!

We displayed many new products including the new BHModels B25 and the Model Tech PHil Kraft Superfly! The B25 has retracts and is a twin. It runs on 2 2814 motors and 3 cell lipo. The Superfli is a scale model of the full-size Superfli designed by Phil Kraft! This one from Model Tech is designed by Chris White and blown up to 84 inch from the original Model Airplane News plans of the model.

We received a TON of interest in this model! It’s a SR22 from Ultrafly. It’s sleek with a high aspect ratio wing. The amazing shape of that fuselage is done in fiberglass. A huge amount of work went into making this beautiful model. This is an early prototype.

We also showed the VQ Cap 10. I know it’s not a brand-new model. But it’s a beautiful airplane and I think maybe a little overlooked.

I want to thank everyone who attended! The customers were certainly dedicated hobbyists getting there so early, and with a great outlook! We do this for you and I think you all enjoyed it. Everyone I talked to sure seemed to be enthusiastic about the sale and about the hobby. Thank you so so so much for coming out!

Also, recognition needs to be given to the HP staff too! The behind the scenes staff who worked a ton getting ready (days and days it seemed, going through all of that stock!) and then got there at o-dark:thirty to ensure everything was ready for our 7am opening, thank you! And a BIG THANKYOU to the FV Store staff and all those who worked there that day. You all did a GREAT JOB!

So, there you have it, another BIG warehouse sale. I think it was a HIT!

Developing New Products – Installment 1

I get a lot of questions about what we do when we bring in a new proprietary item. Here at Global, we essentially have 3 types of “proprietary” products.

For this first installment, we’ll talk about what I call an “Agency”. In this example we are simply the importer and service center for the item. What this means is the product is represented by us, but we did not participate in the development. A lot like domestic buying, we can inform the company about our customers and what they request but we really can’t affect the factory very much. The good news is these products are quick to market because they’ve already been flown or used by their agents throughout the world. (Sort of like a Chevy Dealership.. they don’t really get to tell GM what to make, but then again, they don’t have to spend any time on development, that’s GM’s job). Agencies come and go according to how well that company responds to customer’s demand.

One company that has so far turned out to be a tremendous “agency” for us is Vinh Quang RC Models (formerly VQ). Vinh Quang Models is a line of very nice sport ARF’s that range in size from very small and affordable electrics on up to some nice twins. However, they are most famous for their 40 and 60 size warbirds (which can today be flown electric or glow).

 Vinh Quang models are made by the Vinh Quang family in Viet Nam. They are a very small family run company. As most companies in Viet Nam, they are very resourceful because almost NOTHING is easily available there. In the USA, we just pick up a Source Book and “blam” we can get anything we want. In Viet Nam sourcing of every single material and part is difficult to almost impossible. There’s hard work in every metal clevis, nut, bolt and wheel in each of those planes.

 But that’s not what makes them cool. What makes them cool is that each one has a printed surface with tons of detail from weathering to panel lines. There are even painted pilots included which really makes the model have that “finished” look. Inside, you’ll find fiberglass cowls, all high-quality laser cut wood airframes, and even some good hardware like metal clevises. In all, they are nice kits that look good in the air.

 The other great thing about VQ is that they are not afraid to try different models. They have enough agents throughout the world that they can take risks, knowing that at least one agent in one country somewhere will buy enough planes to make the effort worthwhile. So, you see the line not only has Me-109’s and Mustang P-51D’s, but also B model Mustangs, Hawker Hurricanes, and coming soon Heinkels and Focke Wulfs.

The only downside to this line is that the directions are a little sparse. But since they are intended for more experienced modelers for the most part, the sparse directions are “ok”. In the future, we’ll be trying to work with them to make the directions more complete.

This brings us to Installment 2 I’ll post soon, the “partial” Agency where even though we’re technically an “agent”, we’re so much more ACTIVE!!!

Along the way, if you have any questions, please let me know!

 Mike Greenshields