The most asked for RC kit from the 80's is back!

The Tamiya Monster Beetle was a incredibly popular, large, chunky RC car produced during the late 1980's and is held in high regard amongst fans who grew up during the era.

Coming back as close to the original as possible, the Beetle is once again mounted on a jacked-up Frog chassis, with gold wheels and spiked lug tyres.

We understand the only real change (ignoring the mechanical speed controller which is never included in modern reissues because the electronic speed controllers are so much better, and meet current safety regs) is to some stickers and to the rear drive shafts, where the troublesome "hex end" design has been replaced with the improved "dog bone" design developed when Tamiya reissued the Frog around ten years ago. All of course hidden in rubber bellows, so you'd never know anyway.

Options Explained

Bearing Upgrade: These make the car run more smoothly and are easily installed during assembly. If there is no option for these shown, then the kit already includes the bearing upgrade as standard. These are entirely optional.

Radio System: There is a choice of a TWIN STICK (Traditional) radio or a Steering Wheel (Modern) radios. All operate on 2.4Ghz and use the new Crystal-Free technology, so you can run multiple cars at the same time without any interference. All radios chosen from this page will include a steering servo as these are not included in the kit itself.

ESC: This is the connection between the radio system and the motor. You have several choices. Tamiya no longer make their own ESC, instead they supply from their facilities Hobbywing or Mstyle units. Where a model number is shown (e.g. 20 or 15) that is the motor capacity of the unit - the lower the number, the more powerful a motor you can install later. All work with the motor in the kit.

Battery: The higher the number, the longer the run time.

Charger: Charge time is proportional to the battery you choose. Some examples - for the 1800 battery (others will take longer) - USB charger takes around 4 hours, Mid Speed around 2 to 3 hours, Etronix Fast Charger can be as quick as 60 minutes in the house or 30 minutes in the car and Ansmann Delta also around 30 minutes (and also works in the car).