MIDNIGHT MONSTER

My first Midnight Pumpkin was one of Tamiya’s QD (Quick Drive) versions of the retro monster truck, which was the company’s attempt at making a ready to run, toy-grade RC back in 1990. Even though it was more toy than serious RC, it still was a Tamiya product so overall design and build quality – and price, was pinned at a higher level than your typical Nikko and Tyco RC vehicle.

It was sized at 1/14-scale, which was smaller than the full-sized Midnight Pumpkin that you are more familiar with. As I recall, it ran on a bunch of AA batteries and was very slow. I loved it. The look of the classic Ford F100 pickup coupled with fat monster truck tires was irresistible.

My second Midnight Pumpkin was even smaller and slower then the first. It was a 1/32-scale Midnight Pumpkin Jr. from Tamiya’s Wild Mini 4WD line. Although I would call myself