The death of the Clodbuster

[MelvinsArmy]

What ever happened to the coolest r/c monster truck ever?

Check out this auction, I've been watching it since it was posted. A Clod with a TTR Centurion chassis, the original, not the special edition, probably the most collectible and hard to find of any Clod chassis ever. And, if that wasn't enough, JPS axles and aluminum wheels. It's a $400 auction with zero bids. Anybody who knows what JPS axles sell for, and what the TTR chassis would have sold for, knows this is a steal. And, check out this guy's other TTR Clod auctions. No bids. What happened to the Clodbuster?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ClodBuster-Tunder-Tech-Racing_W0QQitemZ110269397200QQihZ001QQcategoryZ19167QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[scr8p]

What happened to the Clodbuster?

one word ............................ Halgar.

[CM_113]

What happened to the Clodbuster?

one word ............................ Halgar.

you could be right

[highwayracer]

What ever happened to the coolest r/c monster truck ever?

One word...Tmaxx. "Bigger and it comes assembled too"...I hate RTRs.

Back in the day, our hobby shop was selling the jps axles for $139...serious buyers only in 1989 dollars.

Regards,
highwayracer

[MelvinsArmy]

What ever happened to the coolest r/c monster truck ever?

One word...Tmaxx. "Bigger and it comes assembled too"...I hate RTRs.

Back in the day, our hobby shop was selling the jps axles for $139...serious buyers only in 1989 dollars.

Regards,
highwayracer

I don't know. I think the Clod was really in it's hayday when the Tmaxx was popular. About the time the Tmaxx came out, RC4wd, TTR, InetRC and a few others hit the scene and aftermarket Clod parts exploded. Up until just a couple years ago, that JPS TTR truck would be worth close to $1000. If a couple Clod dudes went after it, it wouldn't have surprised me to see it go over that.

If I was a collector, I'd be all over it. But, since I've got a JPS axled Boyer Clod, and don't feel I need a second Clod, I'm not going after it. Seeing this does make me want to start a monster truck collection though.

[highwayracer]

I thought that prior to the tmaxx, the monster truck thing was a sub culture within the hobby. There were plenty of trucks out there, but the Clod was the king. When the tmaxx came out, it seemed like that trucks were as (or more) popular as the other types of vehicles.

[terry.sc]

Monster trucks used to be all the rage, but they have gone out of fashion. Where everyone used a Clod to make the biggest baddest truck, while nitro was seen as a minority interest in off road bashing, now you just walk into your LHS and pick up a Traxxas T-Maxx or HPI Savage.

Clods aren't as popular as they used to be because these days everyone wants it ready done, there just isn't the "buy a Clod, add a chassis kit, add a suspension, etc" style of building these days. Even in crawling when the ultimate used to be Clod based supers and buying axles and transmission and joining them all together yourself, thanks to the AX10 everyone is running in the smaller and less capable 2.2 class these days mainly using off the shelf kits with a few tweaks.

[Asso_man!]

I really hate RTR's, sounds like a death signature to the Hobby

[call-911]

I'm not a Clod collector so I don't know all the wizzy bits that are on it, but it could also be a sign of recent times. $400 for an RC Monster Truck or a months worth of gas.

[shodog]

rare parts aside, I imagine the starting price on this auction is about what the market will bare. First it's used and that means scratches, second the axles only have JPS cases and not the full axles.

[MelvinsArmy]

rare parts aside, I imagine the starting price on this auction is about what the market will bare. First it's used and that means scratches, second the axles only have JPS cases and not the full axles.

Ah, good eye, I didn't notice it was just the cases. That always blows my mind when someone does a case upgrade, but not axles. The axles are the weakest part, I'd think people would upgrade that over the case.

Yeah, I think the whole rtr thing is not helping the hobby at all. Yeah, it's probably getting more people involved, but I think those people getting involved are less involved than r/c people in the past. If that makes sense. They're not in it for all the reasons some of us old farts got in it. I remember when the first RTR's and ARTR's came out. They were just entry level cars, we all thought they would be great for 10 year olds, but that's about it.

highwayracer, you're right the Clod was way before the Tmaxx. 1987 I think was the year it was introduced. It always had a strong following, but in the late 90's and early 00's, it really got a second wind with the new companies coming up, making crawler parts for it, making racing parts for it, etc.

I am glad to see the old truck still in production. Longest running r/c ever if I'm not mistaken.

[Wyattriot77]

The clodbuster has fallen from the limelight in recent years, due to the savage and e-maxx. At one time, the clod was the biggest 1/10th scale vehicle avalible. Other companys couldn't compete with tamiya on such a large expensive vehicle. Basically the other companys finally caught up in the market.

Clods will still be used for many years to come, I raced 3 at this years diggers dungeon and placed 1st and 2nd in pro-mod monster. The losi and hpi guys couldn't believe that my trucks were as fast as they were. They also found out that a totally different driving style was needed to run them on the course.

I believe shodog is right about it being a used kit, the pictures and background don't say "i've been well taken care of". Someone willing to drop their wad on such a rare kit will expect better pictures. Thundertech stuff is good, but not the end all best chassis on the market. If you were looking for collectable value, why not the powers chassis?? Those were proven chassis that were only avalible for a short time, to people who either raced with or was friends with tim powers... Basically the MIP4wd of the clod industry.

[MelvinsArmy]

Awesome Clod collection! I would love to do a Bigfoot body, but I hate the decals Parma makes. It's like they're printed on an old dot matrix printer.

I think there are more Powers chassis out in the world than the first TTR Centurion. There were only 50 of the Centurions made. I know RC4wd was selling the Powers for a while a few years back, and I've seen plenty of them for sale on ebay and on other forums.

I think you're right about the pics, they are pretty low quality, and he doesn't exactly go out of his way to describe the truck or it's condition.

[Wyattriot77]

I see what you're saying about the centurian having only 50 in existance, however I can tell you that there are less than 50 "powers" chassis, and by that I mean the ones which were produced on a cnc machine, not copy cats or the existing "hand made" design. Hands down the centurian couldn't compete with a powers clod. Dollar for dollar you would find that the centurian is just a show piece.

I owned one of the first powers chassis that were hand built, and currently race one of the prototypes.

[MelvinsArmy]

I see what you're saying about the centurian having only 50 in existance, however I can tell you that there are less than 50 "powers" chassis, and by that I mean the ones which were produced on a cnc machine, not copy cats or the existing "hand made" design. Hands down the centurian couldn't compete with a powers clod. Dollar for dollar you would find that the centurian is just a show piece.

I owned one of the first powers chassis that were hand built, and currently race one of the prototypes.

Oh yeah, there is no doubt the Powers is the ultimate Clod racing chassis. Tough as nails and about as functional as it gets.

But, the Centurion is still cool. Not as lethal on the track as the Powers, but it also pre-dates it by a couple years, and there is something to be said for something just looking cool, with it's full cage and all.

The Ripper gave the Powers a fair run for the money didn't it? I never was able to get into Monster racing, there wasn't much around me, although I wish I could have. Especially after I heard about the retro-oldschool class. That would be a total blast. I did get to see one race at a r/c hobby trade show on Long Island a few years ago though.