Built not bought, with a bunch of things I bought.

[imthatguy]

When I was in Cisco Grove, CA at Axialfest - I had much fun with the Axial Crew. So many tiny trucks, on such a massive scale. 700+ participants. It had to be some kind of record. On our last day, which was a day off after the incredibly successful event, the Axial folks took me up to a ultra-secret spot for some very fun driving of small trucks. Since I didn't have room in my carry-on, they were kind enough to give me a demo rig to goof around with.





I'm so used to my modified trucks that it seemed a bit daft to run a stock rig. Much to my surprise, with a few off the shelf Axial upgrades, it was probably the best time I've had driving a truck in many years. Hence, my desire to do up an SCX10 with a few minor upgrades. Most of those upgrades are coming courtesy of Axial, SSD Vanquish, and most importantly, Knight Customs. For the most part, they're completely cosmetic upgrades, but some will aid in performance.

I'm starting with this:



That is all. Some more stuff to come.

[bilinvic]

I look forward to seeing the outcome.

[fr8cture]

The title reminds me of this.



Looking forward to the build.

[JohnRobHolmes]

Fr8cture, I have that sort of struggle when I consider what it means to manufacture things myself! Like manufacturing motors, I don't make the bearings, shafts, and laminations. So partially assembled, and partially manufactured from premade raw materials? Ha! Time to loosen up a bit.



Looking forwards to the build. Aint nothing wrong with buying a rig into performance. Otherwise I would be out of a job

[fr8cture]

Originally Posted by JohnRobHolmes

Fr8cture, I have that sort of struggle when I consider what it means to manufacture things myself! Like manufacturing motors, I don't make the bearings, shafts, and laminations. So partially assembled, and partially manufactured from premade raw materials? Ha! Time to loosen up a bit.



Looking forwards to the build. Aint nothing wrong with buying a rig into performance. Otherwise I would be out of a job

Yes I understand. It's a joke about the people who claim their jeep is built not bought. I always thought the saying was kinda dumb. Nothing can be fully built not bought.

[md666]

Looking forward to the build Matt

[pardonmyn00b]

Built not built.

[flatfoot]

awesome picture of Rodney in action. he loves the camera!

[imthatguy]

So after pressing the shocks up and down and asking myself how fast it goes, I decided to fiddle around a bit.

Here it is all brand new and Ready to Run.



Like I said, mechanically, I'm keeping it pretty much as-is. This is supposed to be a fun truck, not a comp/super-tricked-out accurate repro truck. First thing that I wanted to change was the position of the battery. Axial provides all the bits you need in the RTR to do this. I had to get a couple longer bolts from my bolt collection, but that's no biggie.



Next, swap out the plastic links and plastic shock bodies.



Now that that majority of mechanical work was finished, it was time to cosmetically make a few changes. James Knight of Knight Customs was kind enough to provide the majority of his 3D-designed parts for the Axial Jeep Rubicon body. These are great parts that help add depth and originality to the very common Jeep. He's making some very cool parts, and you ought to check out his stuff for the Deadbolt body as well. He's even offering 3D printed metal bumpers now!




The hood hinges and door handles are awesome. Drill a few holes, and you've got the depth needed to really add some detail to this lexan body.





His interior fenders are very trick. I was super-impressed with how flush they fit to the frame and existing shock towers. This is a must-have - not mandatory but highly recommended.



After a little paint, and some Vanquish Poison Spider Brawler Rockers, I'm happy with the new look.





The Knight Customs "Angry Eye" grille is the tits. So angry! It can come with a really neat inner grille piece that has a fake rad and light bucket mounts. All you need is a couple Axial light buckets. I opted to paint the turn signals the proper color.

And here it is in it's current state.




Slapped a few stickers on and a nice snorkel, also courtesy of James Knight. I had some Pit Dogs mounted up on some GCM wheels I had from awhile back. They aren't made any more, but the offset is customizable, which is pretty slick.

I'm going to go have fun now.

[ruinx]

Sweet build I just bought the same truck and ma doing a budget build with just basics links and steering for the time being

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

[SCREAMER]

Very nice. Love the sliders and wheel well interiors.

[phishead1101]

Love the grill insert, really nice touch!

[Szczerba]

A ton of cool pieces that finish off this truck nicely.

Needs more bought than build though. Just sayin'.

[RiderZ]

Dig it!

[pardonmyn00b]

Did you squeeze the tires? Did you ask yourself how far the range of the radio is? Is it gas powered?

[Toykid]

Nice! thanks for the shout out Matt!! The grill looks like it needs moving back a touch to be flush with the body.

Really amazing work on the door handles!

James.

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by ruinx

Sweet build I just bought the same truck and ma doing a budget build with just basics links and steering for the time being

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Nice. I've got the parts sitting here to upgrade the steering. Just trying to do one thing at a time, and make adjustments as I see them become necessary.

Originally Posted by SCREAMER

Very nice. Love the sliders and wheel well interiors.

Thanks, they're nice pieces built by nice people.

Originally Posted by phishead1101

Love the grill insert, really nice touch!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Szczerba

A ton of cool pieces that finish off this truck nicely.

Needs more bought than build though. Just sayin'.

So I should spend more money? Check.

Originally Posted by RiderZ

Dig it!

As in, add a Dig? No no, I get it. Thanks!

Originally Posted by pardonmyn00b

Did you squeeze the tires? Did you ask yourself how far the range of the radio is? Is it gas powered?

No, but I did ask if it's waterproof, and since it's blue...

Originally Posted by Toykid

Nice! thanks for the shout out Matt!! The grill looks like it needs moving back a touch to be flush with the body.

Really amazing work on the door handles!

James.

Cheers James!

I took it out to Headquake's for a day of fun. Performed almost too well. Made it not nearly as challenging. I'm so used to my custom trucks, that it was sort of strange to take lines so easily.

Why aren't we all running stockfish trucks in comps? The differential in scale points would totally be offset by clean runs.

[imthatguy]

I was never really happy with the blue, and today I made a couple changes.





I'm quite pleased with the refresh, it looks a lot more "Jeepy" now. Much thanks to James from Knight Customs for providing some very nice bits. I've also got a new bumper on the way from Wertymade - I'm really looking forward to seeing it in person. He makes some awesome stuff.

I'll be adding an FPV system shortly from FatShark - just waiting on a few 3D printed parts for managing the equipment.

[Habanero]

When i fooled around with a fat shark I found the bumper was the best place to mount the camera btw.

[Toykid]

Wow!!! Amazing how a different color and tire/wheel choice has transformed the look of your build. Very well done sir!