I don't know about the AXE 400, but I have had the original AXE CP. I also own a Blade CP Pro. Heli-Max seems to have the better tail and stability of the 2 CP's. However, parts support is not as good for the AXE helis as they are for the Blade helis. When I bought my AXE CP, it was only out for a couple of weeks at most. Mine was the first one sold at that hobby shop. I crashed it the first time up, and went back to the LHS for parts. They didn't have any in stock. I called EVERY hobby shop I could find a listing for within 120 miles, none of them had the parts yet. The only place I could find the parts I needed was on Tower Hobbies. At the time, I had no way of ordering the parts online, nor did I have the time to wait (I was on leave in TX and had to return to NC before the parts would arrive) for the hobby shop to order them. It was 2-3 weeks before I had the parts, and still had issues with certain parts breaking too easily, then finding replacements.

The AXE 400 does seem to be about the same as the Blade 400, so in flight characteristics it seems like Ford/Chevy. However, if your LHS doesn't have the parts on hand, it can be like finding the parts for an MG in a rural area that is nothing but Ford/Chevy/Dodge.

The AXE 400 is also a bit pricier to get airborne, since you have to supply your own battery and charger with the RTF version. The RxR would run you about the same as a Blade 400 PNP. Also, the Heli-Max birds are also more expensive on upgrades than the e-Flite birds. I spent nearly $200 to upgrade the head on the AXE CP to aluminum, I only spent $90 to do so on the Blade CP.

I've also read that there is a lot of reports of problems with the Futaba FASST system that the AXE uses. Problems like only one aircraft being able to fly on the FASST system at one time. Spektrum (Spektrum DX6i is included with the Blade 400 RTF) is not without it's problems either. I have heard horror stories of radio lockouts and such, but have not personally experienced them (I use a Spektrum DX7 to fly EVERY RC aircraft that I own from a Blade mCX up to an 80.75" wingspan Decathlon and everything in between). Those are usually from pilots that tend to fly farther out in areas of questionable RF quality (which happen to be areas that I would not want to fly something as small as a 400 size helicopter in to begin with). Futaba FASST, from what I've heard, does not have a "model match" feature (a failsafe to keep from flying the model on the wrong model memory). Spektrum and JR 2.4ghz over 6 channels (Spektrum DX6i, DX7 and JR x9303, 10X, and 12X) has that feature.

That being said, the AXE 400 is a fairly new model, with minimal information on it (might check out the Heli-Max forum for more specifics on the AXE 400). On the other hand, the Blade 400 has been around for nearly a year and has proven itself to many pilots. The weak servos are the biggest complaint that most Blade 400 pilots have about their bird (they can be upgraded, or as they strip, replace the gear set for under $3 per servo).

I'm not trying to be biased towards either heli, just lending my experience with both brands and a little bit of hearsay to give you some things to look at. I'm sure either bird would be a good choice, just look at the available parts support before jumping in.