The 1985 Nikko Black Fox was a 1/14 scale radio controlled buggy manufactured by Nikko (Japan) that introduced consumers to a more premium near hobby grade R/C experience.
It paved the way for the soon-to-be global phenomenon of the 1986 Nikko Turbo Panther, 1986 Tyco Turbo Hopper, and 1986 Taiyo Jet Hopper which provided a fast, dynamic off-road capable car in a smaller 1/16 scale.
Featuring a strikingly similar design and style to the highly popular 1982 Tamiya Hornet, the Black Fox would offer performance approaching these more serious models, but without the need to build it yourself. All you needed was a set of batteries, and a nice dirt track to have some fun.
The Black Fox would also be sold in some countries as the 1985 Nikko Mosquito and Sears Lobo.
Made in Japan for the global market
Made in Singapore for Nikko America, Inc.
Made in Singapore for Sears
Radio Shack, not looking to miss out, would also get into the Nikko action by offering the Black Fox in their stores as the 'Turbo Off-Road Frame Buggy'.
So to round it up, here's a list of the variants offered in each color, frequency, and brand.
- Nikko Black Fox in 27Mhz Red and 40Mhz Black.
- Nikko Mosquito in 27Mhz Blue and 49Mhz Yellow.
- Sears Lobo in 27Mhz Red and 29Mhz Black.
- Radio Shack Turbo Off-Road Frame Buggy (inc. Tandy Australia).
Features and Performance
The 1/14 scale Nikko Black Fox offered a more heavy duty build than smaller 1/16 scale cars such as the Nikko Turbo Panther, providing more room for a beefy front and rear suspension system with metal in places where it would matter such as the steering linkages and knuckles, amongst other areas, for those who had more demanding expectations from the buggy than just running it up and down the local street.
And despite using the same 8xAA batteries as the Panther, it had a much larger Mabuchi RS-360 motor that provided plenty of power, noticeably more than the smaller RS-280 on the Panther - yet it would need it given the extra weight. As a result run time was likely noticeably smaller, though I've never directly compared the two, yet it would seem obvious.
Apart from these key differences, other aspects were the same as many others. Two speed gearbox (Low, High), Balloon tires, available in 27Mhz and 49Mhz, and a standard stick controller (no pistol grip, that would come in later versions).
Passive Steering?
Reportedly some of the entry level Nikko / Sears cars have passive steering, including the Nikko Black Fox, much to my surprise. This means that the steering servo only works when the vehicle is in motion.
This was a common issue with many early-mid 1980s R/C cars, especially the 1980s Taiyo cars, and it's very surprising to me that the Nikkos would have this given their larger models have digital proportional steering which allows incremental control of the steering angle, even while stopped.
If you can advise which Nikko cars had passive steering, I'd love to know, especially while I'm building my own collection. Contact me!
Availability and Collectability
As the first 'ready to run' near-hobby grade R/C car that was available in your local department store, the Nikko Black Fox / Sears Lobo is a landmark in both toy and R/C history, and undeniably a valuable item sought by vintage R/C collectors worldwide.
Yet surprisingly these cars can still be picked up for fairly reasonably prices, and sometimes even absolute bargains can be found for unboxed yet clean models. As with Tyco, it seems likely as more of the kids who owned these in the 80s reach middle age and the collecting community for Nikko increases, the prices may increase as well.
