Fairy copter bids for girls' attention (Feature)

By Jean-Baptiste Piggin Feb 4, 2011, 2:06 GMT

Nuremberg, Germany - One of the world's main manufacturers of those scary little electronic helicopters seen recently in toyshops has undergone a change of heart - kind of.

The company is now offering helicopters in a cute version, in pinks and yellows, designed for girls.

The toy, the Angelfly, by Hong Kong company Silverlit, is one of the drawcards of the Nuremberg Toy Fair, which opened its doors Thursday in Germany for a six-day run. Outwardly the toy looks like a 10-centimetre fairy doll, with gossamer wings and sequins.

Thanks to a rotor and sophisticated electronics it hovers over its child owner, who gently guides its flight just above the palm of an outstretched hand. Angelfly is expected to arrive in stores this summer, priced at either 20 dollars or 20 euros, Silverlit said.

'Many girls don't like mechanical toys,' said Silverlit's designer, Belgian engineer Alexander Van de Rostyne, who describes Angelfly as a 'crossover product' to appeal to the sensibilities of girls aged 6-8.

Silverlit, which has annual sales of about 250 million dollars, according to another executive, is best known for tiny helicopters that buzz around like sinister dragonflies and seem to come straight out of science-fiction movies.

Another of its new products, a two-rotor helicopter that is stable enough for even a pre-schooler to fly, is black and its looks were inspired by the futuristic movie Avatar, Van de Rostyne said.

Toy executives at the Fair, the world's biggest toy expo, agree that miniature aircraft so far have tended to have almost zero appeal for that half of the market made up of girls. They see this as part of a broader weakness of the toy trade at the moment.

A market researcher, Werner Lenzner of the German unit of US-based NPD Group, said before the Fair that the trade has too few toys for older girls. His company tracks toy sales Europe wide.

'The toy market lacks good, interesting products for girls from 7 and up. It's no use thinking you can just colour any toy pink and then all the girls will love it,' he warned.

Most of the miniature aircraft segment seems oblivious to girls. Many of the little toys are developing even more warlike features.

One toy range seen in Nuremberg seemed inspired by the US drones that do search-and-destroy sallies against the Taliban.

The AR Drone, a toy copter which transmits real-time aerial video from aloft into its owner's iPhone, was introduced last year by French company Parrot.

When two of the toys are airborne, their owners can play an aerial dogfight, steering the craft by iPhone, one firing imaginary missiles at the other. AR stands for augmented reality: the missiles, flame trails and explosions are enhancements on the iPhone screen only.

'It's a mix of virtuality and reality,' explained Parrot spokesman Fabien Laxague.

The toy, introduced last year, sells for 300 euros, and reviewers say mischievous boys, small and large, can also use it for suburban espionage, to check out what neighbours are doing in the privacy of their gardens.

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