Wednesday, January 09, 2008

BladeRunner i-Fly VAMP RC Remote Control Bat





This scary-looking bat is right at the bleeding edge of toy design. Packing state of the art technology, alongside the Power Wings Pterosaur, it's one of the latest generation of RC flyers that provides an unparalleled level of control and stability both indoors and out.


So far, so good -- although it bears noting that despite its intriguing name, the "BladeRunner i-Fly VAMP" has nothing to do with the famed Ridley Scott film.

The Vamp differs from most other flying toys because it's an 'Ornithopter' -- which means it flaps its wings to fly through the air -- just like a real bat. Not for the faint-hearted, the flapping wings and glowing red eyes give the eerie illusion that it's a living (or undead!) thing, swooping through the darkness, for a truly terrifying sight.


By now you might have noticed a passing similarity to the "Mothman" apparition witnessed by residents of Point Pleasant, West Virgina and immortalized in John Keel's Fortean classic, "The Mothman Prophecies." Which puts me in mind of other paranormal toy ideas. We've already seen the faceless Pascagoula "wrinkled robot" rendered in multi-colored plastic; why not a remote control Hopkinsville goblin? Or an animatronic Flatwoods monster for discerning UFO geeks?

7 comments:

COOP said...

The Flatwoods monster already exists in vinyl toy form, made by a Japanese company called Marmit. I'll try to find mine and shoot a photo. More recently, an "urban vinyl" toy designer, David Horvath, has done stylized versions of both the Mothman and the Flatwoods monster.

COOP said...

Photo link:

http://toybotstudios.blogspot.com/2007/02/ufo-crash-landing-confirmed-horvath.html

Mac said...

Thanks, COOP! Now all we need are some interactive, Sharper Image-esque versions!

Greg Bishop said...

Have you seen the flying lawnmowers, doghouses, and witches?

Not as fun as Mothman, I'll admit, but they'll chop up that little toy just by flying close by.

e said...

Ok, folks - click on the black Mothman icon and have at it!

http://davidhorvath.com/

platts42 said...

I received an RC Ornithopter for Xmas (not Mothman, but a dragonfly) and I cant control it for shit. It only goes forward and down. It's attracted to walls and book cases

Anonymous said...

One of my reviewers Tom reviewed this back in November for me, you can see the review HERE if you wish with videos: http://www.dragonsteelmods.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5047&Itemid=38