Rumor Mill – Tamiya Monster Beetle Rerelease
Famous for their near yearly rereleased models, there’s been rumbling heard in the halls of Tamiya about the near future rerelease of legendary Monster Beetle. Originally released in 1986 as the predecessor to the iconic Blackfoot monster truck, the Monster Beetle was fitted with studded Chevron tires, oil filled plastic dampers and a hard plastic VW Bug body complete with its fearless ace Albert Attaboy at the wheel.
The Monster Beetle featured a double wishbone front suspension paired with trailing arms in the rear. As with the Blackfoot and their intermediate cousin the Mud Blaster, “Bugsy” utilized hex drive dogbones to send the power from the transmission’s 3-gear differential to the rear wheels. The drive assemble was mounted vertically to a red plastic space frame that provided mounting for lay down rear shocks, the mechanical speed control tray and a pair of servos up front to handle steering and movement of the speed control. The rig was finished off with gold metallic rims to further set it apart from the Blackfoot and Mud Blaster and give it a more hi mod look.
width | 11.42 in. (290mm) |
length | 16.14 in. (410mm) |
tread front | 8.86 in (225mm) |
tread rear | 8.86 in (225mm) |
ground clearance | 1.76 in. (45mm) |
weight | 78.3 oz. (2220g) |
scale | 1/10 |
front tire | 2.36/5.12 in (60/130mm) |
rear tire | 2.36/5.12 in (60/130mm) |
While nothing official has been released from Tamiya USA yet, close sources say that signs are looking good for this years rerelease a real show stopper. Typically Tamiya makes these type of announcements in the Fall so with just a few months to go we’re sure we’ll be hearing more really soon. Until then stay tuned for more details!