Quads:
First off, my awesome wife got me a new quad-copter: the Dromida Verso. The yellow one. And this is one awesome micro/nano (whatever size class) quad. I have flown it a few times already. It can do inverted flight. There is a flip button that will flip the quad 180 degrees in the direction you want to flip. And it does flipping the best I have see! There is hardly any loss in elevation. This makes it very useful in smaller/tighter areas. This quad also has a new feature when flipping. If you flip forward/backward, it changes the front/forward direction. So in normal orientation, the color blades are front. After flipping front/back, the color blades become the rear. This can be confusing. I haven't researched if there is a way to disable this, but it would be nice for those pilots that use other quads with inverted flight. For 1st time flyers, it will probably be good until they start flying other 3D quads.
Another great thing is that this quad comes in 4 colors. So if you don't like the color you initially bought, you can pickup other prop and body colors to change and customize. In fact, this is probably one of the biggest selling points to me for most of the Dromida quads with exception to the Kodo. If would be nice if the Kodo also came in different body colors, Apparently you can also use the Helimax 1SQ props with it. So there is a little customizing you can do.
The downside of the Verso for me, is that the motors are soldered directly to the main board. this means that if there is a motor or main board failure, some serious electronics soldering skills are needed. I don't have that. Which means that I will have to buy another when this one wears out or gets broken. Though with a price point of only $40 as of this post, that's not too terrible of a replacement purchase.
Verso vs nanoQX size
Speaking of the Kodo, mine is currently out of commission. When I do try to fly it, it keeps wanting to drift to the right no matter how much left trim I put in. Dromida support agrees that it most likely is the main board. Unfortunately for me, the motors are soldered to the main board. So it looks like I'm going to have to budget a replacement at $60. But on the good side, I will have some extra batteries, props, and even a body as replacements already. Woohoo!
Micro/mini cars:
Last month, I ordered and received in the new HPI Q32 D8T. I so enjoy the Q32 Baja buggies, and when this was finally release I was happy. However, when I was finally able to get to it, the battery will not charge. A total bummer, dude! I like trucks and cannot wait to get a working one of these. Well I e-mailed support, and worked with them. After all was done, it turns out that the truck electronics are indeed bad. They will be ordering and shipping out a new one just as soon as they have stock. Unfortunately no estimated time on this. I do hope it is soon as I really can't wait to get this Truggy driving and flying.
For my HPI Q32 Baja buggies, I have recently picked up a new clear body, 2 speed gear/stabilization sets, a set of black star wheels, and a set of firm foam tires. I do love customizing and options. I may get another buggy and keep it factory stock.
On the Micro RS4 front, HPI released the 2014 Ken Block body and fifteen52 Turbomac wheels. So I purchased these and updated my Ken Block Micro RS4.
Here is the original kit (top) and new setup (bottom):
New setup installed:
I think this looks better. But then again I do like 8-bit looks.
That's all for now!
