Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. And he has a new best-of writing collection and “lazy man’s memoir,” called Borg Like Me.
View more articles by Gareth BranwynWhen we asked some of our maker family what they had on their holiday wish lists, I-Wei Huang, aka Crabfu, responded with so many R/C vehicles (this…er-hurm.. grown man likes toys as much as I do!), we decided to make it into a mini, unofficial gift guide. Thanks, I-Wei! And to all you fellow Peter Pans out there, enjoy!
Beginner R/C
E-flite Blade mCX ($120, E-flite)
Indoor-only micro-coaxial (mCX) helicopter. Very easy to fly, with four channels for full control. Comes in BNF (Bind and Fly) or RTF (Ready to Fly).
ParkZone Vapor ($100, ParkZone)
Indoor 3-channel plane. Easy to fly and maneuverable in small areas. (I’ve hacked mine to become a biplane Comes in BNF or RTF.
Micro Rock Crawler ($120, Losi)
1/24-scale rock crawler. I just got one of these and it’s great fun for indoor crawling. Comes in BND (Bind and Drive) or RTR (Ready to Run) models.
Mini Rock Crawler ($240, Losi)
A bit larger than the micro, great for couch crawling. Comes in RTR.
Rovio ($224, WowWee)
Awesome little robot camera that you can drive over the internet. Here’s my review on Trossen Robotics.
Intermediate/Advanced R/C
Ultra-Micro Sukhoi ($100, ParkZone)
Currently my favorite R/C airplane, it is tiny and quick. Made of foam and nearly indestructible. Full function, 4-channels, and comes in BNF.
Blade MSR ($150, E-flite)
Cool fixed-pitch heli. Very easy to fly for a single rotor helicopter, but much harder to fly than a coaxial. It is tame compared to a control-pitch heli, but rather twitchy and unstable if you were to compare it to an mCX. Great for indoors, but can’t handle much of a breeze outside.
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Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. And he has a new best-of writing collection and “lazy man’s memoir,” called Borg Like Me.
View more articles by Gareth Branwyn
You can’t forget the Draganflyer X6 Six-Rotor RC. Yeah, its a biiig chunk of change, but this is a wish-list, right?
Link to video of the “toy” in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nAVxb3O-go&feature=player_embedded