Buying an SCX10 II but which one and what upgrades?

[deniall83]

I've decided to get into crawling and have settled on the tried and tested SCX10 II but I'm having trouble deciding which one to get. I have always been a builder so for me the kit makes sense but once you add electronics, wheels and tyres the price really goes up. That said, it comes with some nice stuff like the aluminium links and metal transmission gears. I was also looking at the Trail Honcho RTR but from what I can tell this has plastic links and plastic transmission gears and I'd probably want to change the body and ESC anyway.

So the way I see it it's a choice between the kit which then needs a ton of stuff added and possibly better rod ends etc or the Trail Honcho which needs a full set of links, metal transmission gears and possibly a WP 1080 ESC and new body. Both have rubbish shocks which will be replaced.

So what would you get? Are there any downsides to the kit vs the RTR and vice versa? ANy must do upgrades like shocks, rod ends etc?

Thanks in advance.

 

[indybama]

Welcome to RCC n the addiction! Once u build one, you'll want another lol.

Plus side to the kit is u pick n choose the electronics instead of gettin stuck with stock n replacing them anyway. U can choose any n all upgrades/aftermarket u want. Myself, i just built mine from ground up. I got the chassis n braces, then the links, wheels/tires, etc. Then i didnt have all the extra parts i wasnt goina use in the first place. Ive got a build thread in the scx10 ii section "my axial", maybe itll help u out. Plus theres tons n tons of amazing builds here on RCC n alot of great people with alot of knowledge that usually chime in with help.

Sent from my SM-J327VPP using Tapatalk

 

[Ragenwraith]

I see the SCXII Jeep Comanche RTR is now $299. Good place to start unless you want to build the kit.

 

[lonleycreeper]

Umg10 has all the upgrades, body and wheels and tires....

Cherokee kit has the same.

My Honcho has over 110 actual trail miles on it without issue. Stripped a servo horn lol.

The deadbolt is 299 rtr and not a bad start. plastic everything, but gets you running. A couple 2200mah 3 s batteries and you have yourself a great little trail rig.

Knowing what I know now... I would buy a Deadbolt, and upgrade as things break.

 

[deniall83]

Looking at my options and doing the math I'm still not sue which way to go. No matter which way I go (kit, Jeep RTR or Trail Honcho RTR) by the time I add TRX-4 shocks and a few other things I'm spending a lot more than if I just bought a TRX-4 Sport RTR without the need to spend a thing. It seems this is a better truck too, is that correct?

 

[Oh How Original]

If you're worried about budget, buy the RTR Honcho or Cherokee and a couple of batteries and go out and enjoy it.
If you don't worry about budget too much, buy the kit and enjoy the pleasure of building it, plus having good solid electrics from the off and your own choice of body, colour and wheels, stock tyres in general are pretty good if you want to watch the total budget, not the best obviously, but useable.
I'd go with the Holmes Trailmaster Sport, either 540 or 550 if you don't mind modding the battery tray a tiny bit and a HobbyWing 1080 with a PowerHD LW20 servo if you don't want to spend a heap then just get some eBay China beadlocks and you're set, assuming you have your own radio gear and charger already.

 

[crumpmountain]

I've just gotten back into RC this year after a decade hiatus and the crawler scene is what drew me back in. After buying two RTR crawlers over the course of several months I can honestly say I wish I would have built a kit. I find myself wanting to upgrade them constantly just because I like to tinker. I realized that the "build" aspect is a huge part of the hobby for me and I was missing a lot of what I like about it with the RTR. The result is spending money to replace things, which certainly would happen anyway, but I think building is a more satisfying process.

 

[Browneye]

Any of the builders kits from Axial, Traxxas, and Associated are a good platform to start from.
The TRX Sport RTR would also be a good choice, as is the new Associated Element Enduro. Axial has been out-classed by the newcomers.

 

[Natedog]

Umg10 has all the upgrades, body and wheels and tires....

Cherokee kit has the same.

My Honcho has over 110 actual trail miles on it without issue. Stripped a servo horn lol.

The deadbolt is 299 rtr and not a bad start. plastic everything, but gets you running. A couple 2200mah 3 s batteries and you have yourself a great little trail rig.

Knowing what I know now... I would buy a Deadbolt, and upgrade as things break.

Good info and all brands in the end you buy a lot of upgrades as you break stuff. Been there done that with my SCx-10 Honcho kit.

 

[1fox2go]

If you want the long wheel base (12.3) Id go Axial Cherokee kit. If you want a shorter wheel base the UMG10 Kit

If you want an RTR, Id probably opt for the Blazer from Axial. It has metal links and metal gear transmission and I believe RPP has it on sale for less than 300 with a coopin ($297)

 

[fyrstormer]

Kinda surprised nobody has mentioned the Vaterra Ascender. I know it's the oldest 1.9" scaler from any of the major brands (except the original SCX10, which was discontinued a while ago), but my Ascender still outperforms my SCX10 II and didn't require as much tinkering to get it to work well. I'd recommend it over the TRX-4 Sport also, because if you're not going to get a fully-loaded TRX-4 with all the cool features, you might as well get the simplest platform you can.

 

[RABIDFOX]

I’m still angry at them for discontinuing the 1986 K5 Blazer body Ascender.

Yours is simply beautiful! ��

 

[Browneye]

Vaterra Ascender
What I cut my teeth on for this hobby/sport...
Both of my best crawling buddies started out with TRX's, both crawled with my built ascenders, and both now own them as well - K10 RTR's. One of them bought a couple more of them. They just flat work. And yes, simple, and durable.
With a little weight up front they crawl with the best of them, right out of the box. And they don't break. "thumbsup"

And yes, that is a great looking K5 Blazer Ascender ^^^

 

[fyrstormer]

Thanks. I got the paint scheme from a blog that I can't find anymore; I emailed them to ask what color they used and they told me it was Tamiya Blue Hard Anodized or something like that. It's a pale metallic blue with microscopic metal flakes, so it's a very smooth shine unlike typical metallic paint. The black parts on the grille are painted with a paintbrush and a jar of flat-black paint, by "flooding" each rectangle with a few drops of paint and smearing them around with the paintbrush, then letting it sit undisturbed for several hours to dry completely. The headlight LEDs are Nichia DS Warm White LEDs, which have a color temperature very similar to halogen headlight bulbs. And I agree it sucks that Horizon discontinued the K5 body, because it looks so good and it's so hard to find anymore.

But anyway, I'd suggest a Vaterra Ascender as a good barebones crawler. There aren't a lot of upgrade parts available for it, but it doesn't need a lot of upgrade parts, and the few that are available are pretty much all actually useful. How often does THAT happen in RC?