08/05/2026
HOT LAPS HOT NEWS
August 5, 2026
THE MONSTER THAT REFUSED TO DIE
Tamiya Brings the Original Clod Buster Back for 2026
Some RC vehicles are remembered because they won championships.
Others are remembered because they introduced groundbreaking technology.
The Tamiya Clod Buster earned its reputation in a less complicated way.
It was enormous.
It had two motors.
All four wheels pulled.
All four wheels steered.
And when it appeared in 1987, it looked like someone had taken everything children imagined a monster truck should be and placed it inside one very large cardboard box.
Nearly four decades later, Tamiya is bringing it back again.
The company has officially revealed the 1/10-scale Clod Buster (2026), item number 58762. Rather than replacing its vintage architecture with a modern chassis, Tamiya is preserving the formula that made the truck famous: twin-motor full-time four-wheel drive, massive chevron tires, four-wheel steering and a detailed hard-plastic pickup body.
This is not a modern monster truck borrowing an old name.
It is the old monster returning for another lap.
Built Like It Is Still 1987
The 2026 Clod Buster measures approximately 480 millimeters long and rides on enormous 165-millimeter-diameter tires.
A separate electric motor powers each axle through the truck’s familiar twin-motor drivetrain. Tamiya is including an electronic speed control capable of operating both motors together, but owners must supply the radio system, steering servo, battery and charger.
The steering system is every bit as distinctive as the drivetrain.
When the front wheels turn one direction, the rear wheels turn the opposite direction. This opposing-phase four-wheel-steering arrangement allows the long truck to pivot much more sharply than it could with front steering alone.
The body remains a detailed molded-plastic pickup rather than a lightweight clear polycarbonate shell.
Chrome-plated pieces recreate the front grille and exposed supercharger, helping the Clod Buster look more like an exaggerated custom show truck than a purpose-built racing machine.
None of this is new.
That is exactly the point.
A Monster From Another Era
The original Clod Buster was released in 1987, and Tamiya itself continues to identify that year as the beginning of the model’s history.
At the time, its combination of twin motors, four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and enormous tires gave it a level of mechanical spectacle few RC trucks could match.
The Clod did not behave like a modern independent-suspension monster truck.
It rolled.
It bounced.
It leaned dramatically through turns.
Its steering linkage was complicated.
Its tall body and heavy construction placed considerable weight above the axles.
But those characteristics became part of its personality.
The truck looked mechanical because it was mechanical. Motors, gearboxes, steering links, springs and solid axles were all part of the visual experience.
Driving one was not about producing the fastest lap.
It was about watching a large machine lumber, climb and wrestle its way across the terrain.
The Platform Became Bigger Than the Truck
The Clod Buster’s lasting influence cannot be measured only by the number of stock kits sold.
Its twin-gearbox axle design became the foundation for an enormous aftermarket and custom-building culture.
Owners stretched wheelbases.
Replaced the original chassis.
Installed vertical-plate frames.
Added four-link suspension.
Created racing trucks.
Built scale monster trucks.
Converted them into crawlers.
And used Clod-style axles beneath vehicles that shared almost nothing else with the original Tamiya kit.
Even current organized monster-truck racing rules continue to recognize Clod Buster-sized wheels and solid-axle platforms as their own category of vehicle.
That is unusual longevity for an RC drivetrain.
Most platforms eventually disappear when replacement parts become scarce or technology moves on.
The Clod architecture never completely left.
It became raw material.
Why Bring It Back Unchanged?
That is the central question surrounding the 2026 release.
Tamiya could have redesigned the truck.
It could have added modern oil-filled shocks.
A lower center of gravity.
Stronger steering components.
A single high-output brushless motor.
A new suspension system.
Or a completely different chassis hidden beneath a body shaped like the original.
Instead, Tamiya chose preservation.
The truck is returning with the same basic character that made it famous.
For collectors and longtime fans, that is a strength.
Someone who wanted a Clod Buster in 1987 but could not afford or locate one can now build something recognizably connected to the original experience. Parents can share the kit with children who were not alive when giant twin-motor trucks first began appearing in hobby shops.
The build itself becomes part of the appeal.
The customer is not merely purchasing another completed vehicle.
They are assembling a piece of RC history.
The Case Against Nostalgia
There is also a legitimate opposing argument.
Modern RC customers have become accustomed to vehicles that are faster, more stable and more capable directly out of the box.
Compared with current designs, the Clod Buster is heavy and mechanically dated.
Its suspension movement is limited.
Its tall body encourages dramatic weight transfer.
The steering system contains multiple links that must be adjusted correctly.
The stock twin-motor power system emphasizes torque and theatrical movement more than outright speed.
Anyone expecting the handling of a contemporary performance monster truck may be surprised by just how vintage the Clod feels.
That does not make it bad.
It means the truck should be judged according to what it is.
The Clod Buster is not returning to defeat modern designs at their own game.
It is returning because some customers still want the original game.
A Kit, Not an Appliance
The Clod Buster also comes from a period when assembling the vehicle was considered a central part of the hobby.
The body must be prepared and painted.
The chassis must be assembled.
The gearboxes, suspension, steering and electronics must be installed.
The finished truck reflects decisions made by its builder.
That can include something as simple as body color or as involved as a completely different chassis and suspension system.
For a new hobbyist, the project may require patience.
For an experienced builder, it offers a familiar kind of freedom that many ready-to-run vehicles do not.
The kit provides the beginning.
The owner decides where it ends.
The Included Twin-Motor ESC Matters
One practical update is the inclusion of an electronic speed control designed to operate the two motors together.
The original Clod Buster came from the era of mechanical speed controls—servo-operated devices that physically moved electrical contacts to regulate motor power.
Modern electronic control is smoother, more efficient and considerably easier to live with.
Including a suitable twin-motor ESC reduces one of the more confusing equipment decisions for a new builder.
The truck still requires a radio, receiver, steering servo, battery and charger.
But the customer does not have to begin by determining whether a separate speed control can safely handle both motors.
That is a small modernization that does not erase the truck’s vintage character.
Why the Clod Still Matters
RC companies regularly revive old vehicles.
Some return because collectors demand them.
Some return because existing tooling makes another production run practical.
Some return because the manufacturer needs an easy release between larger development projects.
The Clod Buster is different because its reputation escaped the boundaries of one production cycle.
It became a visual shorthand for an entire era of RC monster trucks.
Large tires.
Chrome pieces.
Exposed supercharger.
Twin motors.
Four-wheel steering.
A body sitting impossibly high above the ground.
Those features may not represent the most efficient way to design a monster truck today.
They represent one of the most memorable.
Big Squid RC reported the new return as a continuation of the truck’s classic formula rather than a modern redesign, highlighting the same body lines, dual motors and oversized chevron tires associated with the original.
That continuity is what Tamiya is selling.
Not maximum performance.
Recognition.
Memory.
And the opportunity to finally build the monster that once seemed impossibly large.
A Nearly 40-Year-Old Design With a Future
Tamiya Japan currently lists the 2026 Clod Buster for release around September 19, 2026. The international product page is live, although regional availability may develop on a different schedule.
By then, the original design will be approaching its 39th anniversary.
That makes the return both nostalgic and slightly absurd.
Most consumer products from 1987 would appear hopelessly outdated if placed beside their modern equivalents.
The Clod Buster simply looks like a Clod Buster.
Its weaknesses are part of its identity.
Its awkwardness is part of its charm.
And its mechanical excess remains entertaining in a way that specifications alone cannot explain.
The truck did not survive because it was perfect.
It survived because nothing else feels quite like it.
The monster did not need to evolve.
It only needed Tamiya to open the cage again.
As the 2026 Clod Buster begins reaching builders, we will be watching to see whether longtime owners preserve it as a piece of RC history—or immediately begin turning it into something Tamiya never imagined.
Hot Laps Hobby Shop is located at 6282 Phelan Blvd in Beaumont, Texas. Reach us at 409-225-5103 or visit hotlapshobbyshop.com.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
Would you build the returning Clod Buster completely stock for the vintage experience?
Or would the chassis, suspension and electronics begin changing before the body paint was even dry?
