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From the buzz generated overseas at January's Hong Kong Toys and Games Fair, the next big thing is anything but big--in size, that is. Nevertheless, in the eyes of todays kids, the latest cast of miniaturized microchip-driven toys makes for enormous play value.

While they are not a brand-new concept, mini-toys--as opposed to their bulky full-scale counterparts--easily can find a home outside specialty toy retailers, as more toy manufacturers look to widen their channels of distribution, eyeing chain drug stores in particular.

In fact, many in the toy industry credit consumer electronics retailer Radio-Shack with fueling the rebirth of pocket-sized playthings with last year's launch of ZipZaps, micro R/Cs that can be customized and fine-tuned for racing. And while adult men gravitated toward the racing gadgets first, the trend has begun to spill over into traditional toy stores. In fact, K*B Toys, the specialty toy retailer and CVS' recently appointed toy supplier, named Microsizers, licensed mini remote-controlled replicas of professional-class race cars, as one of its surprise hits last holiday season.

The toy industry's resident guru Chris Byrne, editor of The Toy Report and 23-year veteran of the industry, noted that miniaturization always has been big--think Polly Pocket and Micro Machines-but the contemporary versions really are about miniaturized tech toys.

Several toy manufacturers began revving up their creative engines last year. MGA Entertainment has rolled out its Micro-Blast Racers, radio-controlled cars that can barrel down most surfaces, including carpets and concrete. The six MicroBlast Racers are available in two radio frequencies, so kids can race their cars against each other.

Spin Master Toys, no stranger to small with its Flick Trix brand of miniaturized die-cast BMX bikes, is thinking big but executing small for its mini R/C Air Hogs Defender, set to hit shelves this fall. Like its much bigger brother, the Air Hogs Intruder, the miniplane lands at a much cheaper price point of $29.99. The Intruder typically sells for a suggested retail price of $59.9

Word has it that Jakks Pacific also is gearing up to launch a line of mini-infrared specialty racers under its Road Champs brand. The new line of IR-racers, available in several sizes and in both licensed and non-licensed versions, will make its official debut at the American International Toy Fair this month.

While all the bells and whistles of mini R/C racers are causing quite a commotion, plenty of traditional toy cars (sans microchips) are downsizing, too.

X Concepts, the expert in shrinking down any on- or off-road vehicle for the sake of play, has added an even smaller-scale addition to its Modifiers line of licensed die-cast collectibles. Modifiers were borne out of the craze started by modern day hot-rodders, who customize and tune up imported cars with Japanese nameplates. X Concepts' Modifiers cars now will be available in a one-sixty-fourth-scale version.

"The one-sixty-fourth-scale is great because, like the one-forty-third-scale line, it satisfies both the collectors and the car-tuning enthusiasts due to the smaller size and attention to detail ... and retails for under $5," said Todd Ballard, creator and product manager.

Byrne, known in the industry as the Toy Guy, expects the miniature car trend, with the main focus on mini R/Cs, to continue full throttle throughout 2003. "The trend will continue to refine itself and offer various levels of performance," Byrne said. The performance is satisfying enough for the size, and lower price points make the mini R/Cs all the more accessible to collectors young and old.

The lead pack of mini R/C launches may very well have offered margins of 30 percent, but as more cars race to market, those margins are likely to drop to the mid-twenties range, Byrne said. Of course, their low price points allow retailers to blow through their assortment of these must have tech toys.