Newbie SCX10 Scratch build.....

[clueless]

I have been interested in rc rock crawling for a while, and have done a fair bit of reading. Everything seems to be leading me in the direction of a scx10.

From what I have read, the deadbolt seems to be the recommended go to as a base, then upgrade from there, however that kit here in Australia, is well over $400 (AUD) by the time it gets here, and then there is the matter of upgrades etc, which I undoubtably will be doing.

Reading peoples build threads, and especially the "scx10 $50 a week one" it became clear to me that once the upgrades are done, there isnt much of the original kit left. This led me to thinking why not just buy the upgrades and build from scratch...

I am not in a rush to get this done, and I dont mind if it takes a while to get it together, but was wondering if I was out of my mind for even contemplating doing it this way?

I'm no straqnger to DIY, I have built a 3d printer from scratch, following instructions / guides online, so I'm sure I can do it, but is there anything fundamental that I am missing?

I have even gone as far as downloading the manual for one of the kits, and checking the parts list, to see what's involved, and it doesnt seem like too daunting a task.

Is there anything I am missing here?

[crawlhog]

all my rigs are scratch built and the parts add up pretty quick. I buy alot from the FSS and the prices are decent. starting a new build now.parts I bought from the FSS

axles $60
frame$55
tires $30
wheels $30
shocks $30
trans $45
thats not including the parts I already had and still have to buy more and make more. buiding from scratch is fun but still costs some $$$ even buying used most of the time you have to replace worn parts or even upgrade to toughen up the rig.

[Randy Williams]

The small parts will likely eat you alive. I have two scx10s atm and started a scratch build buying new and used parts and I'm already within $50 of a deadbolt RTR and still need more stuff to make a roller. Bought a trans and gotta get the slipper plate set and all the spacers. Those smalls cost a lot. Not to mention trying to buy a list of parts and the site only has 1/3 to 1/2 of what I need. The shipping from some places is a huge increase in cost with no local shops that carry Axial parts.

If I could do it over I'd buy a dingo kit or deadbolt RTR and upgrade.

[mitchponton]

There are some parts you can get out of the kit but you are correct alot of the kit gets replaced

[Randy Williams]

The nice thing with the kit is you get to pla... Ahem, drive it while you upgrade here and there.

[mitchponton]

Yeah that is true and to be honest if you replace all your "wood" screws with machine screws right from the start the RTR isn't a bad buy!

[GodSpeed999]

Originally Posted by Randy Williams

The shipping from some places is a huge increase in cost with no local shops that carry Axial parts.

Look on Amazon.com

[Pavmentsurfer]

Try dollarhobbyz. They part out trucks and, if you only need small parts here and there they are the cheapest place. I did what the OP is suggesting in reverse. I bought an RTR, upgraded it and proceeded to build a 2nd out of the parts i had left over, filling in the blank spaces from Dollar. At the end of it all, I spent less than a Dingo kit, but not by much. BUT... i used all the spare parts i wasn't going to need elsewhere, then sold it for the same price as a dingo kit. So I basically got my money back.

It was fun, but if it weren't for dollarhobbyz, id never be able to do it.

[clueless]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I think I need to start doing the sums, and building a shopping list!

I like the idea of building a second one from the cast off's but, that assumes I can get a kit at a reasonable cost!

[mitchponton]

Get a kit from rpp hobby. They're a vendor and their shipping speed is excellent

[clueless]

Originally Posted by mitchponton

Get a kit from rpp hobby. They're a vendor and their shipping speed is excellent

I had a look at them, by the time it's shipped, that's $470USD, which when converted to AUD, is over $500.

[Pavmentsurfer]

When your planning a build you need to keep in mind what the cumulative shipping costs will be for all the parts your buying. By the time you get all of them to your door, you may end up spending as much on shipping as you would on a complete kit. IMO, the best way to go about it is to save up for the complete kit, then do what Harley does and upgrade it bit by bit over the course of a few months. That way, you have something to use while your spending all the $$. If you just follow his build, it could be a year or more before you actually have a running truck.

[steve_rolfeca]

I'm a relative noob, but I have some experience with overspending on upgrades, and foreign exchange.

First, a comment about US culture when it comes to hobbies: relatively high disposable income, economies of scale because the US is such a large market, and low shipping costs make for some unique dynamics.

I am a musician, photographer and cyclist, and I also have some 1:1 experience with amateur car racing and motorcycles. In all of those hobbies, I have observed that Americans spend a disproportionate amount of money on upgrades and personalization of their toys.

They also tend to spend their way out of trouble. If I burn the clutch up on my solo 1 car during a slalom, the answer isn't a replacement clutch plate and a cleanup, it's a billet clutch assembly. If I put oversized tires on my motorcycle out of a conviction that the stock rubber won't have enough traction to support my heroic riding style, the logical response to the resulting fit and handling problems, is to modify the rest of the bike to accommodate the first mod.

This is not a criticism, just an observation.

So here is my noob advice.

Upgrades:
If you read the "fine print" in Harley's $50/week projects, you will find that unlike the Wraith, the SCX10 can run reliably for prolonged periods of time without repairs or significant upgrades, if you do two things at the start:
- Purchase a screw kit, and use discerning, small amounts of crazy glue to reinforce some of the holes when you replace the self-tapping screws on the RTR with machine screws.
- Make a solemn pact to stick with 2S Lipo until you have gotten a season of driving and wrenching under your belt.

Kit vs RTR vs scratch build:
Using 3S is not an automatic ticket to explosive destruction of your expensive new toy. But noob driving and maintenance skills combined with 3S power, definitely are.

No matter what you build, and no matter how much you read before you start, you will break parts.

In a scratch build, you get just the parts you need, and no more.

In contrast, if you buy an Axial RTR, you will have something to learn on, and a source of extra parts. Trust me, it's far more fun to learn on your first vehicle in the field, than to sit around reading magazines and building sub-assemblies in your dining room.

Plus, by the time you're ready to start doing upgrades, your accumulated experience will help you to make better purchase decisions.

This goes double if you buy an Axial kit. Aside from the upgrades that come in the Kit versions, you get bags and bags of extra parts. These will be useful, not only for future mods, but also for field repairs.

The Dingo kit, for instance, comes with extra male and female parts that will allow you to build a bulletproof Wildboar driveshaft for about $2 worth of glue and metal rod. So much cheaper than simply throwing a set of MIP shafts on the truck.

Foreign Exchange and pricing/availability:
Canada isn't as bad as Australia, but we have a similar shortage of local choice and dollar conversion issues.

It's easy to get lulled by attractive US pricing, but up here you need to figure that a discounted $299 RTR at Tower Hobbies or RPP is going to turn into $700-$900 landed, by the time you add other supplies and a few mods.

Facing up to that is a useful exercise. It helps you to make better choices, than if you kid yourself that you can start with a $400 investment and expect to get a season's worth of enjoyment out of it.

I don't know what works in AUS, but up here, Amazon is an interesting alternative to LHS and conventional online hobby stores. So far, I have gotten the best pricing and shipping costs by using a careful blend of Amazon.ca, a Canadian online dealer called Hobby Hobby, and some direct purchases from people like Team KNK and GCM Racing.

Interesting aside- don't be a jerk about it, but see what options are available locally. I happened to be near Hobby Hobby on a business trip recently, and a gentle request was enough to get a volume discount on a $200 accessory purchase, that was a touch better than their online pricing.

Shipping:
You will make mistakes. I tried to pre-order a bunch of stuff by mail, to go with the used Vaterra Twin Hammers I'm building.

I ordered some Axial aluminum hexes because I wanted to upgrade from the stock Vaterra plastic, only to find that they won't work with the Vaterra axles and pins. My only options are to drill the axles, or shorten the Vaterra pins (and that would be an exercise in dexterity!). So the Axial hexes are sitting in the parts bin for now.

Still, by doing some extra reading and taking apart the Vaterra to see what it REALLY needed, I have been able to bundle multiple purchases.

This saved me a bunch of unnecessary shipping costs, since so many places have shipping minimums, or extra handling charges on a per-package basis.

The key here, is to not order the next part you need on the spot, because you're impatient to get going. Just put the part on a list, and wait to see what else crops up over the next few days.

This, by the way, is another argument in favour of an RTR. You've got everything you need in the box, so you can run the truck while you're waiting for the mailman, or building your next order list...

[Pavmentsurfer]

^^ Holy crap. That was long.

I buy most of my stuff out of the US and just buy smart. If I can't get decent shipping to canada I send the stuff to a friend in the US using the free shipping usually offered there and have him forward it to me via some cheap method. This saves money, especially when buying from tower who over charges for international shipping. Amain on the other hand will often ship small parts to me in canada for $2 or $3... they may not offer as large a discount as tower hobbies... or be as cheap as some other retailers, but their cheap shipping often offsets this cost.

With the dollar the way it is right now, all of this pricing info is useless. It is nearly the exact same price to buy from a Canadian hobby shop and pay the 13% ontario HST as buying from the US and paying the nearly %23 exchange rate and POSSIBLY duty when it crosses the border (I get away with not paying it most times).

Aus is a completely different deal. I have no idea how things work there. But I have to assume, if you were to have an RTR shipped via some reasonable method it couldnt possibly cost more than $40 or so. Ive shipped full RTRs to england for about $40 CDN.