Tamiya has revealed the Clod Buster (2026), and it has rather rudely interrupted any plans we had to stop looking at RC kits. Item 58762 brings twin motors, four-wheel steering and a set of enormous tyres to the workbench. It has the subtle proportions of a wardrobe wearing wellies. Some models tempt you with speed figures. This one makes you want to open a box of parts, put the kettle on and get stuck in.
The official Tamiya listing, dated 3 September, confirms the 2026 kit. A correction worth keeping clear: an earlier version of our story called it the Super Clod Buster Black Edition. This is the Clod Buster (2026). Similar names are no excuse for sending you off to buy the wrong truck.
Two motors. Because one would look lonely.
The hardware is wonderfully distinctive: two Type 540 motors, a twin-motor TEU-201BK electronic speed controller (ESC), rigid axles and eight friction dampers. The ESC meters out electrical power to the motors. Four-wheel steering turns the front and rear wheels in opposite directions using a single servo, helping this hefty-looking machine negotiate a turn.
Tamiya lists a 480mm length, 380mm width and 340mm height, with 165mm-diameter tyres and 55mm of ground clearance. The body is styrene plastic. You’ll need radio equipment, transmitter batteries, a driving battery and a charger; confirm the steering servo and exact bundle with your supplier. UK prices and arrival dates are retailer checks, so don’t clear Saturday’s diary on the strength of an overseas listing.
The building is part of the fun
If your first question is “how quickly can I get it running?”, a kit might sound like homework. For a lot of us, though, this is the good bit. You start with bags of components and gradually get something that looks suspiciously like a truck. Then it moves under its own power. That little moment doesn’t wear out just because you’ve built one before.
There’s a practical payoff too. When you’ve assembled the steering and gearboxes yourself, a strange noise has a better chance of becoming a small diagnosis rather than a complete mystery. You know what lives where. You may even remember which screwdriver fits it, provided it hasn’t joined the missing body clips.
Take the instructions in order and keep the parts organised. Screw lengths matter, and a part that won’t line up is asking you to look again, not find a bigger tool. A shallow tray and a pale work mat are cheap ways of avoiding that glamorous RC activity: crawling around on the floor looking for one tiny screw.
Four-wheel steering earns a proper setup
Having both ends steer is part of the Clod’s character, but it gives you more to set up than simply pointing the front wheels straight. Centre the servo and linkages as the manual describes, then check the movement through its intended range. Nothing should bind at full lock.
This is where patience buys you more than enthusiasm. If a linkage is fighting itself, extra servo force doesn’t make it correctly adjusted. Get the mechanism working smoothly, set the radio travel appropriately and learn the turning response at modest speed. Save your starting settings before experimenting, so “I’ve improved it” doesn’t become an evening spent trying to undo yourself.
Paint first, daydream second
That hard plastic body is an invitation to spend time on the finish. Check the paint is suitable for styrene rather than grabbing whatever was left over from a flexible RC shell. Body materials and paint systems aren’t all interchangeable, however convincing the colour looks on the lid.
A straightforward scheme done neatly can look cracking. You don’t need a show-winning airbrush job, or an elaborate fictional race team, to earn permission to enjoy your own truck. Equally, if the detailing is your favourite part, take your time. The first drive doesn’t have an appointment.
It’s worth putting the complete build on one shopping list: kit, radio gear, battery, charger, paint and tools. That tells you what the project actually costs. Comparing a bare kit price with a complete ready-built package otherwise gets a bit apples-and-enormous-monster-truck-tyres.
What would make this a good project?
The Clod Buster’s appeal is the mechanical layout, the build and those proportions. If you’re after a modern high-speed basher, compare it with that job in mind rather than assuming every big-tyred truck is chasing the same thing. There’s room in RC for a careful build and a muddy afternoon, and they don’t need identical shopping lists.
Once yours is together, follow the manual’s checks and give it a gentle first run. Stop, inspect and adjust before asking more of it. That’s a shakedown, not a televised punishment session.
We haven’t tested this release, so we’re not handing out a speed verdict or declaring it indestructible. What we do like is the prospect of a kit that makes the workbench part of the entertainment. If assembling a twin-motor monster sounds like your sort of evening, the 2026 Clod has given you something rather tempting to investigate.