Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
jstunner

"sears" Lobo

Recommended Posts

My first RC car was a "Sears" Lobo. I think this was made by Nikko. I think it came in 2 colors red and black, one had a transmitter freq of 49 and the other was 27. It used to take 8 AA rechargeable batteries. I had the red one as a kid and my neighbor had the black one.

Was this a Lobo 1? Do these cars exist any more? I just can't seem to find any information on the Lobo 1's. I can't even find a picture of them.

Does anyone have any info on these. I would love to buy one for the sake of nostalgia.

Thanks for your time.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Here's what I know:

- The Sears Lobo was definitely made by Nikko, and based on a little chassis that Nikko re-used for many other similar sub-$100 buggies during the mid-late 80s.

- It was called Sears Lobo if it was sold at the Sears department stores. (Just like Radio Shack used to brand lots of Nikko cars as "Radio Shack" cars.)

- I am not sure, but from memory there may have been some that were sold as the "Nikko Lobo", in other countries. This was usually the case, and Nikko had an annoying habit of naming their toys differently around the world.

- Yes, anything called just a "Lobo" was the Lobo 1. Later, I think a "Lobo 2" was released.

- Yes, red and black.

I have a red Sears Lobo in (I think) near-new condition as part of my collection. I gave it a test run one day (just on clean floor), and was surprised to find that it was noticeably faster in acceleration than a lot of similar Nikko branded buggies that use the same or similar chassis. I haven't looked into why that is yet, but it's probably due to a better gear ratio or slightly different motor. Either way, it would have been a great little toy to have back in the day, and every bit as versatile as similar fondly remembered little buggies like the Tyco Turbo Hopper (aka Jet Hopper) or Nikko Turbo Panther, etc.

If you set up a saved search on eBay and wait patiently, you will find one :(

cheers,

H.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the info! That pretty much confirms my childhood memories.

Thanks for the tip too, I just purchased a black one on E-bay. Hopefully it will get to me in good condition.

Anyway you can take a picture of the red one?

Is it numbered "27" and has "Shell" stickers on it? I can't remember what was on the wing. I remember the one I had, the wing broke off on it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sorry for the delay, but I've been in the middle of moving house :)

I managed to find my Lobo last night, so after I dust it off a little I'll post some photos. Unfortunately it's missing the front bumper (which was obviously missing when I bought it on eBay some years ago, as it's been safely stored since), but is otherwise is near-new condition (very little sign of wear or tyre wear, etc).

Pretty sure it's Number 27, and has Shell stickers - which was one of the great things about all R/C cars in the 80s, including the little ones. Real sponsor logos.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm pretty sure my first off roader was the same chassis. Mine was called the Nikko Mosquito and was a yellow 49 frequency buggy. The red version was 27 I believe. It was powered by 8 AAs as well. The buggy was 1/14 scale and a little bigger and faster than the Tyco Turbo Hoppers it competed with (though its body was less detailed). It had a trailing arm front suspension and a solid rear axle suspension. Of course it came with a two speed selectable rear end and a "turbo" gate on the transmitter. I hopped mine up with larger Grasshopper tires on the front (I was happy to be able to use a Tamiya part on my lowly RTR) and Porsche 959 springs on the front end (which actually allowed the suspension to work a little). I loved that little sucker! I saw it later rebadged as the Lobo II, except now using a proper 7.2v pack. I'd love to see a picture of one of these buggies as mine is sadly long gone.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the input guys. This is certainly the car I had as kid. Actually my friend had the black one, and I had the red one when I was a kid. I was always envious of him as I had wanted the balck one. Well, now thanks to E-Bay I can now fullfill that "want". LOL

It's a fun car, but a bit difficult to drive because you can only steer the car when you have the acceleration stick engaged either forward or reverse. It took me a few tries to manuver this thing around. It has a "turbo" boost on it and a switch on the bottom which switches from high to low gear. I think the switch just moves a gear into place. Kind of cool for a toy. It's a rather quick car for what it was. With fully charged batteries, its just as fast as a stock Grasshopper with the 380 motor in it.

Here are some pictures of the car. Enjoy!

post-26772-1256867025_thumb.jpg

post-26772-1256867040_thumb.jpg

post-26772-1256867053_thumb.jpg

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That's it! Thanks for posting the pics. Its been a long time since I've seen that buggy. I loved that thing and drove the wheels off it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Look like I missed the boat, but I dug out my original Sears Lobo as well. It's near mint, and is just missing the front bumper (I may have it somewhere). It's the red version with the Shell stickers etc

Here it is...

th_SearsLobo1.jpg

th_SearsLobo2.jpg

cheers,

H.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yep, thats even the same controller I had except mine said Nikko instead of Sears. I miss that cool "turbo" gate ;)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The Sears Lobo is basically the US release (in Sears stores), of an original model from Nikko called the Black Fox.

So for extra reference in this thread, here's my info.

https://rctoymemories.com/2014/06/03/nikko-black-fox-1985/ (you will see the Sears Lobo listed in the sidebar under "Other known releases")

Regarding tyres... to my knowledge, parts for these cars were never sold individually at retail (unlike some larger Nikko models).

So the best source is going to be other cars. But if you expand your searches to include "Nikko Black Fox" you should have some luck.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I had a Lobo in my youth. But mine had different stickers. Mine was black with red, white, and black stickers in the same pattern as the orange on black picture above. Man I have not thought about that car in decades!

I drove the crap out of it back in the day. I sold mine to a friend who gutted it and put a MRC radio in it after the magnetic steering died from driving through puddles. Fun memories....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 16/11/2016 at 10:56 PM, chazekxt said:

I guess nobody can help on rear tires??

Team Associated #21064 will fit but they look very different to the original tyres. Good for running though so you can preserve the originals.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...