Super Clod Buster discontinued? Possible alternatives...

[GooneyBird 938]

So I've let my mind wander over to The Next Great Big RC Project of 2019.

With the closure of my local onroad track (boo!) looming I'm kinda shying away from one of the exciting onroad cars that T has in the pipeline. While something like an M07 or a TA07 seems like a cool car to add to the fleet I'm afraid that I might just not have a place to run it anymore in a few months. A local housing developer has bought the plot of land on which our track is situated, and the adjoining hobby store had to move to a different location where, unfortunately, there's no room for a track anymore.

Anyway, that's led me down the path of "what to build next...". I've never owned a monster truck, and I do have a lot of beach nearby which would provide for an ideal stomping ground. So, the Clod comes to mind. Yes, it's heavy, and in stock form a bit underwhelming, but it's iconic and it looks cool.

So I check the Usual Suspects, and find it out of stock basically everywhere! Also, tamiya.de shows it as "not available from factory". Does that mean that the Clod-run has finally come to a halt after 30-odd years? Worrying indeed....

So, other options. The Tamiya TXT2 is a contender, but it just doesn't look the part... So on top of the 300 euros for the kit I'd need different wheels and tires, and a different body set at the minimum. The MST MTX 1 is also a strong contender, as it has the looks down pat. I'm sure MCI can do a decal set for the lexan body that'll make it look the part. I wonder what the performance is though...

[graemevw 823]

Still plenty of them on uk ebay.

[TWINSET 1793]

Tamiyausa.com still have it listed as current;

[tamiya3speed 463]

I would be extremely bummed to hear the Clod was being discontinued.  The Clod has a presence like no other vehicle that I have ever owned.  I would highly suggest picking one up if you're concerned that they are going away.  They are something that should be experienced and having been out for 30 plus years hopefully spares will be around for quite some time.

[GooneyBird 938]

This is what it says on Tamiya.de, the importer for Germany and The Netherlands, and that's what's gotten me concerned about the availability of Clods in the near future.

I'll ask my local hobby store this Sunday to see if they can order one still, or if it's permanently out of stock at the importers.

[Jason1145 3986]

Goony it's only (only!) £259 posted in the UK on Ebay UK for Kit No 58518... that seems much cheaper than the $516 shown above on Tamiya USA.... just so you know the best price for yourself

PS - would love to see a simple stock build  of one of these Super Clods with just the kit supplied motors and ESC ( not sure which ESC it comes with?) - Iconic and cool is enough for most Tamiya's to be on the list.

If you get totally stuck let me know and I'm sure I can help you out with shipping one from the UK to you.

[RushRebel 98]

This was posted on TamiyaUSA's Facebook page this past Tuesday. Interesting answer from the company when the Chevy-badged Clod is mentioned. Could this be a teaser for a proper rere in the future?

[Mokei Kagaku 2706]

5 hours ago, RushRebel said:

This was posted on TamiyaUSA's Facebook page this past Tuesday. Interesting answer from the company when the Chevy-badged Clod is mentioned. Could this be a teaser for a proper rere in the future?

A re-re with most of the original stickers and the parts molded in the original release's colours is conceivable, but I think a proper chevy-branded re-re is very unlikely.

 

[GooneyBird 938]

3 minutes ago, Mokei Kagaku said:

A re-re with most of the original stickers and the parts molded in the original release's colours is conceivable, but I think a proper chevy-branded re-re is very unlikely.

 

When you look at current 'new' models being released there's not a single GM product in there, I think. We had the Corvette C5 for a while in the early '00s, but no other Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick or GM at all. If anything, GM seems to be affiliated with Protoform these days (They do a pretty mean ATS-V and C7 Corvette for on-road racers).

But since I'm planning to do a full retro-Clod (so red bumpers, repro 'correct' decals, small supercharger) and I know my luck, Tamiya will release a re-re OG Clod Buster months after I finish mine.

[Mokei Kagaku 2706]

1 hour ago, GooneyBird said:

We had the Corvette C5 for a while in the early '00s, but no other Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick or GM at all. If anything,

Exactly, the last Chevy Tamiya cars which were actually licensed was the Corvette (2001), and Tamiya didn't license the Chevy S10 body when they recycled it for the XV-01T Asterion in 2012.

The only other GM-related models released since the Corvette are these:

46309 QD Sports Opel Astra V8 Coupe (2001)
57714 XB M1025 Hummer (2002)
57762 XB M1025 Hummer (2007)
84228 HKS Opel Vectra JTCC (2012)
84235 Opel Calibra V6 DTM (2012)
 

[Kamikuza 48]

I can drive to a shop and buy you one, or get 'em easy on Amazon Japan

[Jonathon Gillham 4606]

On 1/26/2019 at 10:33 PM, GooneyBird said:

But since I'm planning to do a full retro-Clod (so red bumpers, repro 'correct' decals, small supercharger) and I know my luck, Tamiya will release a re-re OG Clod Buster months after I finish mine.

You know thats how you get the release you really want right? Buy the next best thing and Tamiya will make it

[GooneyBird 938]

I'm currently on the prowl for a second-hand Clod that's supposedly done up 'right'. I'm dropping by the guy's place tomorrow to check it out. Of course I'll post here if I do manage to snag the Clod.

[GooneyBird 938]

It would appear I now own a Clod. I told the wife I wouldn’t buy any more cars, so of course I bought one of the biggest trucks I could find....

[Grumpy pants 4485]

Was the Agrios supposed to replace the CB? 

 

[TWINSET 1793]

The Agrios is a replacement for the TXT-1, it's a TXT-2