The 1986 Sears Lobo was a 1/14 scale radio controlled buggy manufactured by Nikko (Japan) that Sears adopted into its 1986 toy lineup, introducing consumers to a more premium near hobby grade R/C experience.
It was larger and more feature rich than the 1/16th scale cars offered at the time, such as the 1986 Nikko Turbo Panther, 1986 Tyco Turbo Hopper, and 1986 Taiyo Jet Hopper, providing a more sophisticated chassis and suspension system, a better radio setup, and more powerful motor.
Original release as the Nikko Black Fox
In the early 1980s radio control cars of a hobby-grade quality were booming, manufactured by popular Japanese brands such as Tamiya, Kyosho, Team Associated and Marui. Yet these were expensive and required the time and skill to build.
Nikko would be one of the first of many toy makers to recognize the potential of duplicating the success of these brands, but in a ready-to-run (pre-built) form, in a smaller scale that met a price point which the average household would find more accessible.
Introducing the Black Fox in 1985, Nikko would take design cues from the highly popular 1982 Tamiya Hornet, with a more accessible price, no need to build, yet still feature rich enough to put it ahead of the competitors in this price / scale.
Black Fox enters the U.S. market as Sears Lobo
One year later in 1986, Sears Robuck & Co. would sign a deal with Nikko R/C Systems to distribute several of their products with minor changes to the decals and packaging, branding the now globally successful Nikko Black Fox as the Sears Lobo (Spanish for 'Wolf'), together with Radio Shack who would simply call it the 'Turbo Off-Road Frame buggy'.
The car design was so popular it would sell across many retailers and regions, known as the Black Fox in Japan, Europe and elsewhere, the Mosquito in some U.S. retailers, and of course the Sears Lobo.
Made in Japan for the global market
Made in Singapore for Nikko America, Inc.
Made in Singapore for Sears
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
- 1/14 Scale
- Large Mabuchi RS-360 motor
- 8 x AA Power
- Two Speed Gearbox
- Front and Rear Shock Absorbers
- Steel steering linkages
- Extra large rear balloon tire
- Thin steering tires as was the style back then!
- Reportedly had passive steering (see below)
- Standard Sears Stick Controller
- Available in 27Mhz and 49Mhz
Slightly larger and more expensive than the popular Nikko Turbo Panther, it offered a more premium build for those who wanted it, without moving up to the big leagues of 1/10 scale higher performance buggies such as its larger cousin, the 1987 Sears Super Lobo.
Note: Despite the more premium build, there are reports of Turbo Hoppers running rings around Sears Lobos. As we don't have an official speed for this car yet, I've estimated it as slower than the Hopper due to these reports.
Passive Steering?
According to comments online, the Sears Lobo and Lobo III (but not Lobo II) has Passive Steering, which is steering that only works when the vehicle is in motion, so you cannot turn the wheels while it's stopped. This can reduce maneuverability, especially in tight spaces.
I found this surprising, since many of the larger Nikkos certainly have active (turns anytime), but they even have digital proportional steering which is the best possible, allowing incremental control of the steering angle. If you can confirm which Nikko R/C cars had passive steering, I'd be very interested - please leave a comment below or contact me, thanks!
Nikko vs Sears Controller
Nikko would perform a simple re-badge when producing controllers for Sears, while the cars themselves would often still have Nikko stamped on their undersides from the injection molding process, just as with Taiyo and Tyco.
Availability and Collectability
The original Sears Lobo appears online and sells very quickly based on my research, and so you'll need to watch online auctions very closely and pounce once you find your car.
Complete NIB (New In Box) models are still fairly reasonably priced compared with other American branded R/C such as an equivalent 9.6V Tyco, however there were very few made available over the last six months, with the majority no doubt already in the hands of collectors across America.
Should you be unable to find a Sears branded model, consider the original 1985 Nikko Black Fox.
