HPI recently traveled to Chicago to exhibit at the annual RCHTA (Radio Control Hobby Trade Association - www.rchta.org) International Model & Hobby Expo. This year the format of the show was changed a little: selling was allowed (some good deals could be found), the dates were shifted a little later in the year to avoid back-to-school and the opening weekend of the football season, and the schedule returned to a Thu/Fri trade days and Sat/Sun open to the public. The positive changes resulted in a good turnout and more excitement than the last few years. This year the HPI booth featured all of our newest cars and trucks for the public to see. Here's a photo tour of what we had on display and some of the other interesting items from the show.

The HPI crew kept busy all weekend, showing off the Savage 25, NMT 2, R40, RTR NRS4 3 Evo, a Pro 4 prototype and the Savage SS.		The HPI booth was strategically located right next to the always busy race track. Here's the view from our booth.
Body choices for the Nitro RS4 3 Evo include this silver BMW M3 GT, prepainted, decaled, trimmed and mounted.	And the awesome Viper GTS-R in bright red. Chrome wheels are standard equipment now.	High flow tube header, dual needle carb, ABC construction, standard 2 speed tranny, and Roto Start are all standard on the Evo.	The Pro 4 was on display, getting closer to production and on schedule for a pre-Christmas (2003) release. Click here for details.
The ROAR champion R40 Nitro touring car was on display as well. Click here for details.	The Savage SS kit was at the show for customers to check out. Click here for details.	The soon-to-be-released Savage 25 made its debut at the show.	The Savage 25 features several new updates and a bigger engine! Click here for details.
The NMT 2 body is now prepainted in bright colors, trimmed, decaled and mounted.	We took a page from the Savage design and added a front skid plate bumper and adjustable body posts. New shock towers, longer front shocks, 2.5mm chassis. This is more than a small revision.	A new molded nylon gear guard...with flames! Check out the all-new suspension arms. The dogbones and drive pins are now a larger diameter for increased durability.	Our new split 5 truck wheel and Geolandar tires. Chrome is standard equipment, and the soft compound tires come with inner foam and pre-glued to the wheels.
The guys at Xtreme won the "battle of the booths" for the magazine companies with this industrial looking display. Celebrity Equivalent Rating: 9 -- Anna Kournikova (what's it take to get a 10?)	The RC Driver and Fly RC staff were on hand from Mapelgate media, showing off their excellent new magazines.	The Car Action staff gets my "hard worker" award, they worked non-stop to get the latest show info into their magazine and on their web site.	R/C Car magazine had free samples of their magazine on display.
Xray had their new Micro car on display, the Micro class has needed some competition, let the racing begin!	Bob Hastings from RC Driver magazine shows off his painting skills in the Parma Faskolor booth.	The XXX Main guys were there in force, showing off their line of products.	Hitec had a large new booth with all of their electronics on display.
The SCX slot car demo track was a crowd favorite all weekend long.	1/32 slot cars are gaining popularity due to a shift toward very realistic models and good chassis dynamics, the cars slide just enough to make them drive like real cars.	Team Orion had a booth showing off their latest new items, and a brand new catalog.	Team Associated had the long-awaited Monster GT in the booth again this year. Rumor is that it will be available before Christmas, but they didn't specify which Christmas...
Horizon Hobby Distributors had a wide variety of items on display, including the new Team Losi Mini T 1/18th scale truck.	The guys at Pro-Line had some billet aluminum spinners on display, adding much needed "bling" to the show.	Tamiya had a giant new booth this year, very nice.	Tamiya also had a "How To" section in their booth, showing how to detail their excellent plastic models.
The 2005 Mustang concept car was on display in one of the die cast booths. If Ford can make it look like the display car they will have a smash hit on their hands.	Team Novak showed off their latest new products.	The Boy Scouts were out in force again at the show this year, the "make and take" section is always a hit.	Hardcore Racing had a bunch of hop-ups for the Savage on display. Chant together in a Homer Simpson voice: Titanium.