VoltSCX
Quarry Creeper
Welp, I finally got not only my very first proper crawler kit, but also my first comp truck. I started this build a little after noon yesterday with my mom, and worked on it until it was completed at like 3am.
So first, the transmission. I will say that I had to redo this section at least 3 different times, partially due to being really tired since it was one of the last things I assembled, and also partially because the directions for this kit kinda suck. Anyway, I eventually got it put together. I actually quite like the design, there's very little slop (at least very little for an Axial design). The adjustable overdrive is a nice feature, which I decided to operate with a servo instead of the manual lock (I might go back on this later, we'll see). I used a Spektrum SX108 servo that I had lying around for it.
Unfortunately, one of the E-4 clips that I needed seemed to have been left out of the kit. I made a very temporary fix with some washers, but it looks like I'll have to order a new one.
Now, the axles. I don't have much to say about them since I've not driven the truck yet, but the finish is actually quite nice. I'd say Axial did a pretty good job with upgrading the AR45 straight axles.
Now for the chassis. It's very sturdy, there's essentially no flex in it at all. All of the plastic bits are extremely rigid, aside from the one mount for the overdrive servo. The rails unfortunately don't mirror the smooth finish on both sides, so one side is smooth while the other is a little more rough. It's barely noticeable but it drives me crazy when I actually see it.
Something I noticed about the chassis is the design cues that it takes from the original SCX10 (hence why I put it here instead of the 10.3 section. It is the SCX10 Pro after all, not the SCX10 III Pro). The front and rear sections of the frame are almost identical in shape, aside from the shock towers. The bumper mounts are the same as well, so in theory you could run 10.1 bumper mounts on a Pro and vice versa. Anyway, maybe these are just obvious things, idk I just thought it was cool.
I did run into another quality control issue while building, and this time was a little bit more annoying. One of the specialized screw pins for the link mounts on the skid just kinda didn't have any threads on it. Never seen anything like it. I made another temporary fix in the form of a really long screw, and a small piece of tape to keep it from coming out (the hole for it was too big so I couldn't thread it in, it's just kinda sitting there).
Anyway, I eventually got it completely assembled. For the electronics I just went with what I had lying around, since I'm completely drained after buying the XR10. For the servo I threw in an Injora 25kg, and the ESC/motor a Tekin FX-R/45t with a Castle BEC, and then I stole the Flysky BS6 receiver from my 10.2 so I can use my GT5 with this truck. I don't have a body for it yet, but I'm hoping to get my 10.2 Blazer body to fit on here since it won't be in use much longer. I also didn't really have any wheels/tires that were super comp-oriented, but I did have these super soft Baja Claw TTC 1.55s that were fairly tall and looked pretty sweet. Unfortunately the solder points for the ESC for both the motor and battery connector broke off while I was cleaning up the wiring, so I'll have to fix that later.
I'm pretty excited to get this thing out on the rocks to see how it performs. It's a pretty sweet rig and from what I can tell it's gonna be a great performer. I didn’t go over the shocks, but I will say that they're extremely soft and smooth, and so far I've not seen any signs of leakage. Time will tell on that one though, lol.
So first, the transmission. I will say that I had to redo this section at least 3 different times, partially due to being really tired since it was one of the last things I assembled, and also partially because the directions for this kit kinda suck. Anyway, I eventually got it put together. I actually quite like the design, there's very little slop (at least very little for an Axial design). The adjustable overdrive is a nice feature, which I decided to operate with a servo instead of the manual lock (I might go back on this later, we'll see). I used a Spektrum SX108 servo that I had lying around for it.
Unfortunately, one of the E-4 clips that I needed seemed to have been left out of the kit. I made a very temporary fix with some washers, but it looks like I'll have to order a new one.
Now, the axles. I don't have much to say about them since I've not driven the truck yet, but the finish is actually quite nice. I'd say Axial did a pretty good job with upgrading the AR45 straight axles.
Now for the chassis. It's very sturdy, there's essentially no flex in it at all. All of the plastic bits are extremely rigid, aside from the one mount for the overdrive servo. The rails unfortunately don't mirror the smooth finish on both sides, so one side is smooth while the other is a little more rough. It's barely noticeable but it drives me crazy when I actually see it.
Something I noticed about the chassis is the design cues that it takes from the original SCX10 (hence why I put it here instead of the 10.3 section. It is the SCX10 Pro after all, not the SCX10 III Pro). The front and rear sections of the frame are almost identical in shape, aside from the shock towers. The bumper mounts are the same as well, so in theory you could run 10.1 bumper mounts on a Pro and vice versa. Anyway, maybe these are just obvious things, idk I just thought it was cool.
I did run into another quality control issue while building, and this time was a little bit more annoying. One of the specialized screw pins for the link mounts on the skid just kinda didn't have any threads on it. Never seen anything like it. I made another temporary fix in the form of a really long screw, and a small piece of tape to keep it from coming out (the hole for it was too big so I couldn't thread it in, it's just kinda sitting there).
Anyway, I eventually got it completely assembled. For the electronics I just went with what I had lying around, since I'm completely drained after buying the XR10. For the servo I threw in an Injora 25kg, and the ESC/motor a Tekin FX-R/45t with a Castle BEC, and then I stole the Flysky BS6 receiver from my 10.2 so I can use my GT5 with this truck. I don't have a body for it yet, but I'm hoping to get my 10.2 Blazer body to fit on here since it won't be in use much longer. I also didn't really have any wheels/tires that were super comp-oriented, but I did have these super soft Baja Claw TTC 1.55s that were fairly tall and looked pretty sweet. Unfortunately the solder points for the ESC for both the motor and battery connector broke off while I was cleaning up the wiring, so I'll have to fix that later.
I'm pretty excited to get this thing out on the rocks to see how it performs. It's a pretty sweet rig and from what I can tell it's gonna be a great performer. I didn’t go over the shocks, but I will say that they're extremely soft and smooth, and so far I've not seen any signs of leakage. Time will tell on that one though, lol.
