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For 1/7-scale on-road builders who would rather run a body than paint one, Bittydesign has a new option: the Kanjo-N shell in pre-painted form. The new release fits the Arrma Infraction V2 and Felony, and it is also compatible with the Arrma Limitless. Bittydesign says the shell arrives exactly as it appears in the product photos, with paint applied and trimming already finished, so owners can skip the most labor-intensive part of body preparation.

What’s in the box

Pre-painted does not mean fully assembled. The box includes window masks, a pre-cut decal sheet, the decals themselves, front and rear aero flaps, a pre-cut rear wing, and widened wheel fenders. Screws for the wing are supplied, and the fenders use small M2 screws and nuts to attach. The front side aero flaps go on with double-sided tape.

Bittydesign says the trimming is done by robotic cutting, and that covers the shell plus every included part. The company’s pitch is that builders can set aside scissors and rotary tools and focus on assembly instead.

Dimensions and fitment

The pre-painted body is made from 1.5mm polycarbonate and has protective film on the outside. Length is 720mm, height is 174mm, and wheelbase is listed at 406mm with Arrma dBoots Hoons wheels. The two sources part ways on width: the announcement says 325mm, while Bittydesign’s Kanjo-N product page lists 306mm.

Fitment is built around the Infraction V2 chassis, with Felony compatibility noted in the release. Limitless installations require a few extra Arrma parts: the Infraction Body Post Mount Set (#ARA320517), Front Bumper Support (#ARA320521), Front Bumper (#ARA320515), and Outcast Body Post Set (#ARA320357). Bittydesign also lists the Traxxas XO-1 and Hobao Extreme VTE2 as compatible.

Styling and custom paint

Styling draws from Japanese car culture of the 1990s and 2000s; Bittydesign says the body was developed with Arrma in mind and positions the shell as a style icon for the 1/7-scale segment. The company says the design was aimed at fans of that era’s most iconic machines. The design phase took months of virtual modeling and rendering, and the final shell is produced with five-axis CNC milling. Wide fenders, front and rear aero flaps, and a large rear wing give the model a street-style, racing-inspired look.

The pre-painted release is not the only paint route for this shell. Bittydesign also offers on-demand airbrushing, saying it can handle everything from a one-color street-style finish to a more involved custom graphic. Options include pearlized and chameleon colors, artistic graphics, and racing liveries. A free painting quote can be requested by email, with a quote arriving within a few hours.

Retail context and price

Retailer Hobbies Direct, which stocks Bittydesign, identifies the company as an Italian brand whose catalogue pairs racing shells with custom-paint supplies. The retailer says the brand’s range includes unpainted bodies like the A3-F, Ahura GT, Destroyer 1/7, AR8-GT3, and Hyper-GT8, along with liquid mask, stencil sheets, and the Rock1 airbrush tool. Hobbies Direct says its Australian warehouse stocks roughly 34 Bittydesign lines, and local stock means buyers in Australia do not have to wait weeks for shipping from Europe. The store adds that the moulded shells have clean trim lines, which it says makes cutting and masking easier for first-time painters. It also notes that matching paint tools can be shipped together with a shell.

The pre-painted Kanjo-N is priced at €139, about $155, under part number #BDAR7-KJN-PP.

The 2019 Mac Pro 7,1—better known as the “Cheesegrater”—is no longer in Apple’s lineup, but mechanical engineer Stefan Bond has designed a conversion kit to keep the distinctive aluminum chassis running with standard ATX PC hardware. The kit lets builders replace Apple’s proprietary internals without making any permanent modifications to the case.

“The 7,1 Mac Pro ‘Cheesegrater’ is one of the most distinctive desktop enclosures ever made,” Bond argues. “But the original internal hardware is proprietary and tied to Apple’s platform. This project is designed to change that. The goal is simple. Keep the enclosure. Keep the character. Replace the proprietary platform with standard, upgradeable PC hardware.”

What the Kit Accepts

The conversion replaces Apple’s proprietary motherboard and the hardware tied to it with any ATX-standard motherboard. The install is fully reversible, and the enclosure itself is not modified.

Project specs say the converted case accepts ATX and smaller motherboards, ATX-compatible power supplies, graphics cards up to 308mm long and no more than 140mm tall, and air coolers up to 140mm high. An optional mounting accessory supports 240mm all-in-one liquid cooling systems. There is space for two 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch SATA drives, while Apple’s original front fan assembly, power button, and LED stay in place.

“The conversion is designed around the original chassis geometry instead of forcing the enclosure to behave like a generic PC case,” Bond explains. “The kit is intended for experienced PC builders and enthusiasts. Installation will require completely disassembling the original Mac Pro internals and installing the supplied conversion components.”

A Long-Lived Design

Apple introduced the aluminum Mac Pro in 2006, when it replaced the Power Mac G5 as the company moved to Intel processors. The perforated front quickly earned the machine the “Cheesegrater” nickname, and the design outlasted the cylindrical “Trash Can” refresh that arrived in 2013. The Mac Pro line was retired earlier this year.

The 7,1 model reached buyers in 2019 with a wide range of options. Processors spanned from eight-core to 28-core Intel Xeon W parts, RAM could be specified up to 1.5TB, and the graphics side allowed up to four AMD Radeon Pro cards. Apple also offered an optional Afterburner ProRes accelerator card.

Existing Conversion and Repair Context

Other Mac Pro ATX conversions exist. Laser Hive sells a kit built around a brushed stainless steel tray with integrated standoff mountings that can be repositioned for ATX, micro ATX, or Mini ITX boards. Deluxe versions add a drive holder for up to three 2.5-inch drives beneath the motherboard. Laser Hive’s product notes say fitting a full ATX board into the case can require cutting the top shelf. Bond’s kit is built around the original chassis geometry and designed to be entirely reversible.

iFixit’s teardown of the 2019 Mac Pro gave the machine a repairability score of 9/10. The teardown highlighted easy, often tool-free access to major modules, labeled steps printed on the device, and industry-standard sockets and connectors. It also noted eight PCIe slots, a housing that slides off without proprietary screws or adhesive, and a modular SSD tied to Apple’s T2 chip. Bond’s kit removes Apple’s proprietary motherboard and related hardware, replacing the platform with standard ATX components while the case itself remains unchanged.

Crowdfunding Details

Bond is crowdfunding the kit on Kickstarter. Physical rewards start at CA$699, which is about $491, before shipping. Kits are expected to ship by March 2027, with the usual caveat that fulfillment is not guaranteed for crowdfunded projects.

A public leaderboard for LiPo packs

“We changed the game in 2018. Now we’re doing it again.”

That’s how RC Discharger is introducing its latest project: an online battery leaderboard. The company introduced its Regenerative Discharger in 2018; now it’s collecting test runs from team drivers and customers around the world. The idea, according to RC Discharger, is to give racers a data-based reason to choose one pack over another.

On the leaderboard page, battery packs can be sorted by size, capacity, and cell count, or searched by brand and model. Each entry highlights a pack’s best submitted performance, with RCD Score, voltage at 240 seconds, time to 4 V per cell, average internal resistance, and temperature.

Standardized discharge tests

Every submitted result is tied to a set procedure: 35 A for 1/10 and 1/12 packs and 4 A for 1/28 packs. The same site includes an online compare tool. Visitors can pick up to four packs, lay their discharge curves on top of one another, and open three data sheets: voltage by capacity, time to voltage, and voltage by time.

Benchmark app comes to Apple devices

The leaderboard relies on RC Discharger Battery Benchmark, which was already available on Windows and Android. It’s now on the App Store as RC Discharger: LiPo Benchmark for iPhone and iPad. The App Store entry lists the download at 4 MB and requires iOS 15.0 or later. The same entry lists compatibility with iPadOS 15.0 or later, macOS 12.0 or later on Macs with Apple M1, and visionOS 1.0 or later. The app is designed exclusively for compatible RC Discharger Regenerative Dischargers.

With the app, racers can run two packs side by side, watch live curves for voltage, current, capacity, and temperature, and automatically archive every completed test. Up to four saved packs can be compared, and users can organize their collection with unique battery numbers and saved test history. Break-in and cycling programs are built in, and the app can calculate C-rate-based currents from a stored capacity. Result sheets include an Average Voltage column and the highest temperature recorded during the run. Users can also print battery labels with the optional Battery Benchmark Printer, and a tablet stand is available for pit-side testing.

Hardware is a key part of the setup. A temperature sensor is mandatory—without it, an RCD test won’t run. Users also need a compatible iCharger and a supported connection. RCD Link handles wireless setups from an Android tablet, iPad, or Windows PC. For wired testing, Android uses the USB Benchmark Adapter and a separately sold charger data cable, while Windows can connect a USB-C iCharger directly to a PC with a USB-A to USB-C cable. The App Store listing notes USB support on compatible iPad Pro models. RC Discharger maintains a validated iCharger list with firmware requirements, and says it updates the list whenever another model is added. The company also calls out the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 for a documented USB-C port issue and says Amazon Fire tablets and Android 12 or older devices with less than 4 GB of RAM are not recommended for the app.

Driver-submitted data

One caveat runs through the whole system: the leaderboard is not an independent lab verification. The runs come from team drivers and customers. RC Discharger says it cannot verify the condition of any battery, whether it’s fresh, heavily used, or swollen/puffed, and it takes no responsibility for the submitted tests. The company describes the data as informational only.

After nearly two years of tariff whiplash, toys have made it onto a U.S.-China list of products recommended for preferential tariff treatment. But the recommendation is not yet the relief importers have been waiting for.

In a Global Toy News blog post, Jay Foreman walks through the industry’s battle over China tariffs — and explains why the next steps matter as toy companies lock in 2027 plans.

What the Board of Trade recommended

The U.S.-China Board of Trade has recommended roughly $30 billion of non-sensitive products on each side for more favorable tariff treatment. Toys are among the Chinese-made goods positioned to benefit.

The consumer-goods category named for potential relief includes Chinese-made small appliances, toys, holiday decorations and children’s car seats. On the U.S.-export side, agricultural goods, fish and seafood, logs and wood products, cosmetics and medical devices are identified for consideration.

The recommendations come from a body first proposed in May and set up through the recent presidential talks. Its stated purpose is to optimize bilateral trade and give both governments a forum for trade-related proposals. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the move unlocks improved market access for about 30 percent of U.S. exports to China while benefiting consumers with imports of household goods and toys.

A messy path to this point

The fight began about 20 months ago with a 10% tariff on Chinese imports. Within months, the effective rate on many Chinese goods reached 145% — a level Foreman says briefly functioned like an embargo. China’s retaliation went as high as 125%.

There were legal challenges along the way. The Supreme Court ruled that IEEPA did not give the president the authority to impose those tariffs, in a case brought by Learning Resources and others, with the Liberty Justice Center playing a central role. Basic Fun! and Burlap & Barrel mounted a separate challenge to a Section 122 tariff. On May 7, the Court of International Trade ruled in the importers’ favor; the government appealed, and the litigation continues. A Section 301 tariff regime is being challenged separately.

“We’re on the list. We’re not across the finish line.”

Foreman’s message to the industry is cautious. The current status is only a recommendation for preferential treatment, not final, implemented relief.

“For an importer, the ultimate test is very simple: What does U.S. Customs charge us when containers full of our toys arrives at the port?”

Until the administration completes implementation, sets the new treatment and effective date, and Customs begins collecting the reduced rate, importers are still paying tariffs. The White House has not specified reduction amounts or an implementation date, and future duty reductions are supposed to follow each side’s domestic legal processes.

Trade watchers see that uncertainty. Wendy Cutler of the Asia Society Policy Institute said the White House document is vague on when consumers might see tariff cuts in stores.

Why timing matters for 2027

For toy companies, this is not an abstract policy question. Foreman says the industry is making 2027 commitments right now: pricing decisions, factory orders, retailer-program negotiations and inventory planning for next year are all happening under the old tariff rates. The sooner importers know the real tariff rate, he argues, the sooner that certainty can reach businesses, retail partners and consumers.

He credits The Toy Association — including Greg Ahearn, Kathrine Belliveau and Chairman Geoffrey Greenberg — plus industry advocates and executives who spoke up, for getting toys onto a list that includes only about $30 billion of imports out of more than $400 billion.

Foreman also cautions against expecting manufacturing to move out of China. For much of the toy industry, he argues, China is still essential now and for the long term — an ecosystem built around tooling, engineering, safety, quality control, materials and specialized manufacturing. Companies that can economically diversify have reason to consider it, but for many, moving out is not an option.

His hoped-for end point is Liberation Day 3.0: the moment the board’s recommendation becomes actual, collectable tariff relief. Until then, his message to Washington is to see the job finished.

Looksmart has shown the first painted sample of its upcoming 1:43 scale Lamborghini Manifesto Concept Car. The model is cataloged as LS571A, with Giallo Crius listed as its color. Preorders are open on the Looksmart Models website, but the finished production piece has not been released.

The Concept Behind the Model

The full-size Manifesto was shown during the 20th anniversary celebration of Centro Stile Lamborghini, the automaker’s in-house design center. Design Director Mitja Borkert presented it as a statement about the brand’s future design DNA, not as a preview of a coming production vehicle.

Borkert said of the study: “Manifesto is fantasy and inspiration made tangible. It is not about an engine or technology, but about imagination, about keeping the Lamborghini dream alive.”

The styling follows that idea. Lamborghini describes the car as an exercise in “radical purity and powerful presence,” with long, uninterrupted surfaces replacing visual noise. Every surface, angle, and proportion was shaped with emotion ahead of engineering. A long, massive front window focuses attention on the Y-shaped light graphic first established with the Reventón. Hexagonal geometry appears throughout, drawing on Italian architecture and industrial design from the 1960s. Large openings carry sharp Lamborghini-style creases, and massive wheels fill the arches under super-wide tires. At the rear, vertical Y-shaped lights extend the lighting language previewed in concepts such as Fenomeno. Open bodywork around the wheels and a dramatic diffuser give the car a wide stance, with no visible doors or panels. Photos of the concept also hint at a cabin with a pair of bucket seats positioned close together.

Borkert also said: “The side view of a Lamborghini must be recognisable even from a distance, whether seen on a road near Sant’Agata or on a bedroom wall.”

The concept was conceived as a pure design study rather than a production car, free from engineering constraints and market demands. Lamborghini has not disclosed a powertrain for it, although early coverage noted that a dozen vented rear slots could be a hint at a V12 beneath the clamshell.

A Reference Point for Future Design

Centro Stile has shaped every modern Lamborghini from the Murciélago to the Revuelto, and the Manifesto distills two decades of that in-house design work into a single object. The studio was founded to protect the brand’s creative voice and ensure continuity between design, engineering, and production. Lamborghini positions the concept as a reference point for what comes next, similar to the role played by the 2017 Terzo Millennio concept, which later influenced both the Revuelto and the Temerario. The name fits: a manifesto, by Oxford’s definition, is a public declaration of policy and aims.

Road & Track, covering the concept when it appeared, described the Manifesto as a statement of intent. The magazine also noted that it is not a preview of a particular production car, but aspects of it could make their way into future Lamborghinis.

The Looksmart Model: LS571A

Looksmart’s product page identifies the 1:43 model as LS571A and calls it an official product. The listed color is Giallo Crius, and availability is marked “future production” with a preorder option active. The first painted sample offers an early look at how the concept translates to scale, but the production model has not yet been released.

The same page adds that Looksmart is an official supplier of Ferrari at international car shows and world premieres, and that MR Group builds the models for Ferrari’s Contact Plan, an exclusive service creating 1:43 replicas with the same colors and features as cars purchased by Ferrari customers. Those models are sold in Ferrari stores worldwide.

For now, collectors watching LS571A will have to be patient: preorders are open, the listing says future production, and the finished model is still to come.

LEGO has made it official: Hello Kitty is joining the brick universe. In a release datelined Billund, Denmark, and Tokyo, Japan, on 6 October, the LEGO Group and Sanrio Co., Ltd. announced a multi-year partnership to bring the character universe of Hello Kitty and friends to LEGO sets for the first time. The first products are planned for 2027.

A teaser full of familiar faces

The announcement came with a short teaser video centered on a yellow LEGO bag. Hello Kitty rises from the bag holding a bunch of balloons, followed by Kuromi, My Melody, Pompompurin, and Cinnamoroll. That lineup has not been officially confirmed as the first wave of products. No set images or detailed product information have been published yet, and LEGO has not said exactly which characters will appear in the sets. One outlet read the five teased characters as first-wave picks, but the roster remains unofficial.

Sanrio’s character roster extends beyond the teaser. A separate story about the announcement listed Gudetama alongside Cinnamoroll, Kuromi, My Melody, and Pompompurin as characters Sanrio is known for, while another outlet floated Charmmy Kitty and Bonbonribbon as possible appearances in some form. Neither detail amounts to an official product list.

What the two companies are saying

The LEGO Group describes itself as a Danish family-owned company with a 94-year history of play built around the brick. Sanrio is a global entertainment and lifestyle company whose characters are meant to inspire happiness, friendship, and connection. Both sides framed the deal as a first-time collaboration.

Lena Dixen, Senior Vice President for Global Product Groups at LEGO, called Hello Kitty “an iconic character, an instantly recognizable, global lifestyle phenomenon.” Wataru Nakatsuka, Senior Managing Director at Sanrio, called the collaboration “an exciting milestone” tied to Sanrio’s vision of “One World, Connecting Smiles.”

Hello Kitty, by the numbers

Hello Kitty was introduced in 1974 and has become one of the world’s most recognized characters, according to Sanrio. The company says she appears on approximately 50,000 types of merchandise sold annually in more than 130 countries and regions. Sanrio also says Hello Kitty, along with many other characters, connects with audiences through media, consumer products, digital content, and immersive experiences, while remaining a symbol of friendship, kindness, and kawaii culture.

The calendar of teases

LEGO has set up a dedicated Sanrio page with the “Hello Kitty and Friends” emblem, a new LEGO Sanrio logo, and an interactive October calendar. The symbols on it have already sparked guesswork, and media reads differ. Jay’s Brick Blog reads the 14 October symbol as a pudding for Pompompurin and describes the 21 October symbol as cherries tied to My Melody’s favourite fruit. Dexerto reads the 16 October symbol as a football and floats Pochacco as a possible nod, then suggests the next symbol is apples rather than cherries, possibly pointing to Hello Kitty. All of this is outlet speculation; LEGO has not offered an official explanation of the calendar or confirmed the first-wave lineup. The page tells fans to keep checking for monthly hints and invites them to sign up for the newsletter or become Insiders members.

Not the first Sanrio bricks

LEGO won’t be the first brick maker to put Sanrio characters into brick sets. Keeppley has been releasing Sanrio sets, and the brand has also released Pokémon sets for the Asian market. Brick Craft has put out licensed medium-scale character builds, according to Rambling Brick.

A busy stretch for LEGO licenses

The Sanrio announcement lands in the middle of a run of licensed collaborations. LEGO’s first Pokémon sets arrived earlier this year, and a debut Dragon Ball set has been announced. The Hello Kitty partnership is another addition to that stretch.

For now, the companies are pointing to 2027 and calling the collaboration multi-year. The next tease on the calendar is 14 October, when a pudding symbol appears, according to Jay’s Brick Blog.

Losi Micro-T owners who would rather skip the messy side of mounting tires now have a ready-to-run option. Pro-Line has released a four-tire set that pairs a steering-focused Edge tread up front with a traction-biased Step Pin pattern in the rear. Pro-Line suggests the package turns any backyard, park, or patch of dirt into a Micro-T playground, and the kit is priced at $24.99.

Pro-Line’s product description puts it directly: ‘The Edge fronts provide confident steering, while the Step Pin rears dig in when you hit the throttle.’ Buyers can order the set as PRO1035112 with yellow wheels or PRO1035113 with white wheels. Both versions are built for the Losi Micro-T, and Pro-Line posted the release on October 6.

Mounted and Ready to Run

Pro-Line says the complete set arrives with all four tires already mounted on 7mm hex wheels, so owners can skip both gluing and extra prep. The box includes two Edge front tires and two Step Pin rear tires, allowing owners to replace every corner at once with the intended front-and-rear pairing. The tires come pre-fitted, and Pro-Line says that helps ensure they are properly seated and ready for use.

Edge Fronts: Steering First

The Edge front tires use a ribbed tread pattern focused on steering response. Pro-Line says the tread is designed to break through loose dirt and keep the Micro-T on its line. The directional design is meant to give predictable front-end behavior, so the driver can place the truck accurately at corner entry and while moving through the turn.

Step Pin Rears: Traction First

Out back, the Step Pin tires are built around multiple rows of raised pins meant to grab the surface and put power to the ground. Pro-Line describes this as a traction-focused pattern that lets the Micro-T hook up under acceleration, hold momentum, and push hard out of turns.

A Matched Front/Rear Setup

The set deliberately uses different treads instead of the same tire at all four corners. The Edge fronts carry steering and directional control; the Step Pin rears handle forward drive. Pro-Line calls the combined package a balanced dirt setup created with a 2WD truck in mind.

More Pre-Mounted Micro-T Rubber From Pro-Line

The Edge/Step Pin combo is one of several mounted Micro-T options from Pro-Line. The company also offers the 1/28 Prism Front/Rear Carpet Tire on mounted 7mm wheels, available in yellow or white and aimed at carpet racing with attention to steering precision, corner speed, and consistency. Another option is the Electron 2.0 front/rear Micro-T tire, which uses connected tread technology with square center pins for forward and side bite. It is sold pre-mounted on yellow or white 7mm hex wheels, and Pro-Line describes its latest-generation carcass profile as rounder and less edgy. Horizon Hobby lists the white-wheel version of the new Edge/Step Pin set as PRO1035113.

A Different Option From INJORA

For Micro-T owners who want to look beyond Pro-Line, INJORA sells a comparable pre-mounted pin buggy tire and wheel package for the 1/28 truck. That set also uses 7mm hex wheels and is available in white, yellow, or magenta, with foam inserts included. INJORA builds the tires on its high-traction B1 rubber compound and uses a micro pin tread pattern aimed at off-road control. The wheels are lightweight one-piece nylon items with a scale-inspired design.

Price, Part Numbers, and Where to Find Them

Both the yellow-wheel and white-wheel editions of the new Pro-Line set are $24.99. The part numbers are PRO1035112 (yellow) and PRO1035113 (white). Pro-Line has the mounted set listed on ProLineRacing.com, and Horizon Hobby’s product page confirms the white-wheel configuration.

A 1990s camera look, reborn

In 1998, Nintendo’s Game Boy Camera brought a 128 x 128-pixel CMOS sensor to the handheld, capturing shots at up to 128 x 112 pixels and rendering them in the Game Boy’s four-colour palette. That palette made dithering essential: a patterned noise technique that mixes limited colours to create the illusion of more detail. DITHRPIX brings the same effect to Pimoroni’s Badger 2350.

Developer Jonothan Hunt built DITHRPIX for the Badger 2350, one of Pimoroni’s Badgeware wearables. The hardware side uses a PTC06 TTL serial JPEG camera that shoots 320 x 240-pixel stills. DITHRPIX then applies dithering to produce the classic Game Boy Camera-style four-colour look.

With 1MB of storage available to the app, the badge can hold 60 dithered images. That is almost double what the original Game Boy Camera provided. The camera connects through the Badger’s Qw/ST connector, with a little soldering required on the camera module itself. The badge itself ships fully assembled and ready to run; the soldering work is on the camera side.

Shooting on e-paper

The Badger 2350’s 2.7-inch, 264 x 176-pixel four-level greyscale e-paper display doubles as viewfinder and gallery. A live preview helps line up a shot, and pressing B captures it. The other front buttons cycle tones, switch dither patterns, open the saved-image gallery, and refresh the preview for the next picture. The board also has a reset/sleep button and a home/boot button.

On the connector side, the badge offers USB-C for charging and programming, an I2C connector for Qwiic/STEMMA QT breakouts, and an SWD debug connector. With its case, it measures 84mm wide, 76mm high, and 20mm deep.

Pimoroni describes the Badger 2350 as a smart interactive badge with a fast-updating 2.7-inch electronic paper screen, built-in rechargeable battery, and polycarbonate case. It ships with a matching lanyard, so it can be worn or propped up on a desk. Badgeware is a trio of all-in-one wearables designed to put customisable tech within everyone’s reach. The boards share five front buttons, translucent jewel-coloured polycarbonate cases, a LiPo battery with USB-C charging, and rear-mounted mono lighting. Inside is a 1000mAh LiPo battery with an MCP73831 charger and XB6096I2S battery protector, plus a PCF85063A real-time clock for waking from sleep. Under the hood is Raspberry Pi silicon: a dual-core RP2350 chip plus an RM2 radio module for wireless and Bluetooth connectivity. The RP2350A runs dual Arm Cortex-M33 cores at 250MHz, with 520KB of SRAM, 16MB of QSPI flash, and 8MB of PSRAM.

The badge is programmable with MicroPython, and custom apps can be added to the BadgeOS launcher. Pimoroni suggests the four-level greyscale screen is suitable for charts, signage, or QR codes; DITHRPIX puts it to work as a camera.

A case, docs, and an open build

Hunt also designed a translucent case for DITHRPIX, modeling it in Blender and 3D-printing it on a Bambu Labs A1 Mini. The case’s translucent plastic fits the project’s late-1990s inspiration, and it lines up with the Badgeware range’s own translucent polycarbonate shells.

The project is fully documented. Hunt has published build notes on his blog, and the GitHub repository includes source code, a full bill of materials, and instructions for making a DITHRPIX of your own. Pimoroni’s announcement also points to a Printables project that helps Badgeware owners design their own cases around the boards.

Hunt has already pushed the first updates to DITHRPIX, with better sleep management, a boot tutorial, and other speed and usability improvements.

Losi knows its No. 38 in RC form. For this year’s Brickyard 400, the RC brand got to watch the full-size version of that entry race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Losi joined Zane Smith and Front Row Motorsports for the NASCAR Cup Series weekend, then shared a behind-the-scenes look at the event. The No. 38 Losi Dark Horse Mustang was part of the field at one of motorsports’ most iconic tracks, and Losi’s recap includes time with the team, behind-the-scenes access and race-day footage.

“Come with us to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a race weekend we won’t forget,” Losi said.

“We’ve spent plenty of time racing the Losi No. 38 RC car,” the brand added. “This time, we got to watch the full scale version race at Indy.”

A solid day for Smith and the No. 38

Smith knows the number well. The 2022 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion won that title in a No. 38 Front Row Motorsports truck, and he is now in his third full Cup Series season. At the July 26 Brickyard 400, he started 30th and finished 15th, completing all 160 laps.

He ran 17th in Stage 1 and 22nd in Stage 2 before finishing the day in 15th. After the race, Smith credited his team’s strategy calls for the gain in track position.

“Honestly, pretty solid day considering the challenges you have passing here,” Smith said. “Our team made some good strategy calls that gained us spots during the race, and hopefully that gets the ball rolling again getting some of that momentum back we had in June.”

The rest of Front Row’s Cup lineup also went the distance. Noah Gragson started 33rd and finished 22nd, while Todd Gilliland started 36th and finished 24th. All three FRM entries completed 160 laps at Indianapolis. In the Cup points standings after the race, Gilliland sat 23rd, Smith 24th and Gragson 31st.

A historic Brickyard 400

The Brickyard 400 presented by PPG was race 24 of 38 on the Cup Series schedule. Corey Heim won the race in the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota, holding off Christopher Bell and Joey Logano over the closing green-flag run. Heim crossed the finish line 0.287 seconds ahead of Bell for his second career Cup Series victory in his 15th Cup start.

Heim’s win made him the first part-time driver to win the Brickyard 400, and only Jeff Gordon has won the race at a younger age. Heim led four times for a race-high 58 laps. The win also gave 23XI Racing, co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, a second consecutive Brickyard 400 victory.

There was also a big-money story involving one of Smith’s teammates. Gilliland won the $1 million NASCAR In-Season Challenge winner-take-all prize, finishing 24th to fellow finalist Ryan Blaney’s 26th after Blaney wrecked on Lap 120.

The RC-to-full-scale connection

For Losi, the weekend tied its RC line to a real Cup Series car. The brand’s recap ties its RC No. 38 to the full-size NASCAR entry that ran at Indy.

Losi is directing fans to Losi.com for more from the weekend.

Front Row Motorsports at a glance

Front Row Motorsports was founded in 2004 by Bob Jenkins and is based in Mooresville, North Carolina. The organization fields the No. 4, No. 34 and No. 38 entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, plus No. 34 and No. 38 teams in the Craftsman Truck Series. Its honors include a 2021 Daytona 500 victory and the 2022 Craftsman Truck Series championship.

The No. 38 Losi Dark Horse Mustang was one of three FRM Cup entries to complete all 160 laps at Indy, and Losi’s behind-the-scenes video captures the weekend from the team’s perspective.

Google Japan’s Gboard team has another weird keyboard out, and this one brings the keys to you instead of making you chase them. The Gboard Conveyor Belt Version — revealed on October 1, 2026 — places keys on four moving tracks that loop past the user’s hand like a small vertical conveyor. The result: someone can type with one hand, or even a single finger, without shifting their arm or palm much. It is a prototype, not a product, and the build files are available on GitHub.

Keys Come to You

The team’s argument: normal keyboards expect fingers to travel around a wide layout, which can mean wasted movement and strain. Their solution is to make the keyboard move instead. In the demo, four columns of keys run on a vertical conveyor, so keys for uppercase and lowercase characters pass right in front of a stationary hand. The user taps whatever key is in front of them as it goes by.

Because the keys do the traveling, the team says it can be used while drinking a cup of tea or holding a mouse in the other hand. For people who want both hands in the game, the team suggests pairing two units.

As the announcer in the demonstration video put it:

Just as conveyor belts ramped up factory productivity, we wondered if we could streamline typing in the exact same way. This key advancement allows you to fluidly convey your ideas.

A Functional Hand-Built Prototype

This is not just a mockup. The Gboard team built several working units for the video. A gear motor pulls the belt around, and the switches are wired through flexible PCBs. An M5Stack AtomS3-Lite development board scans the keys and provides the USB connection to a computer. The build pairs low-profile Kailh Choc switches and keycaps for what the team described as optimal feel.

The team also demonstrated specialty variants. One High Speed Model spins the belt at comical speed. Another model adds a Voice Guide Mode that announces each key out loud, using audio cues to make it easier for people with visual impairments to find the right key. A third version uses cardboard keycaps, which the team jokingly compared to a cat scratcher. The team is also considering color variants, a long version supporting more characters, and a smaller portable version.

Open Source and an October 1 Joke

The date is not random. October 1 was chosen as a play on the classic 101-key keyboard — 10/1. The series started as an April Fools’ Day tradition, but it is no longer tied to April 1. When a PR representative asked why, the team reportedly said they had realized they weren’t actually telling lies.

This is the 15th keyboard proposal in Google’s recurring Gboard hardware series. Earlier entries include the Japanese Input Drum Version from 2010, a 2022 bar keyboard with keys in a single horizontal line, a head-mounted input device in 2023, and last year’s rotary-dial version.

Although Google Japan is showing off the concept, don’t expect to buy one. There are no plans for a commercial release. Instead, the design files and firmware are available on GitHub under the google/mozc-devices repository. The directory includes KiCad schematics, PCB layouts, 3D-printable STL files for the case and mechanism, and a build guide. The repo page also notes that the Gboard Conveyor Belt Version is not an official Google product.