The Axial SCX10 II Chevy Blazer.
I haven't come up with a name for it yet.
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| The Axial SCX10 II 1969 Chevrolet Blazer. |
You probably already figured I would buy a crawler, as that's the big RC noob purchase these days, apparently. Well, you're not wrong. And I wear that badge proudly. So let's explain how we got to this position.
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A couple of years ago my brother bought a drone. It was a hot summer day, and he was ready to take it on its maiden voyage. Up it went, and over, and flew out among an orange grove. We looked on and off for a week for that thing, and never found it. While we were out there I was thinking that if it was an RC car, this wouldn't have happened. Then I got to thinking about how fun it would be to have an RC car, and hell, I'm old enough to decide if I want to spend the money on it.
But I wasn't there yet. It wasn't until I saw a video of a Jeep going through a river, only to have a kid on the other side, controlling it. Up until that point it looked so real it was hard to tell the difference. I liked the thought of that, so I started looking around on the internet for stuff. Youtube was great for that sort of thing: reviews, tips, tricks, advice, car vs car, all sorts of things. It's actually a very well covered hobby on Youtube.
So I shopped via Youtube. I went through a number of different cars I liked, watched reviews of them, comparisons, that sort of thing. Then as my list got smaller, it came down to a handful of cars. Trucks. I should get used to saying truck. I'll start now. So my list got smaller, but each car was in a different category. It ultimately came down to two trucks, this one and a Traxxas TRX-4 Sport, and I picked this. Priced helped a lot in that decision. It also helped that the Axial platform is very well-regarded. I wanted something that was not going to require another 100 bucks in upgrades unless I wanted to give them to it.
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| A shot of the Blazer box stock, just before I replaced the wheels and tires with an upgraded set. |
The Traxxas TRX-4 Sport was going to need a new servo and servo arm, as the one in it apparently only runs for about an hour before breaking down. I don't know if it's true, but it showed up as a recommendation in a lot of reviews as the first suggested upgrade.
The SCX10 II had pretty much a strong system, and didn't have many glaring suggested replacement upgrades. A few reviews suggested upgrading the servo arm, and while many said the tires were perfectly fine for trail riding, I got another set anyway. Other than that, I plan of upgrading what breaks.
Some of the other trucks I considered early on was the Traxxas Slash 4X4, the Traxxas UDR Ultimate Desert Racer, the Red Cat Gen 7, and one or two others. The UDR would have been great, except for a couple things: the price and the fact that I don't really have that much chewable scenery where I live. There are trails, specialized areas, environments. The UDR needs a big chunk of flat land to really get going. I needed something a little more fitting to my needs. So that eliminated the UDR, and by relation the Slash. The Red Cat was also eliminated due to the extreme difficulty to find it around here. That left the two: The TRX-4 and the Blazer.
The trucks were roughly the same price, with the Blazer being 30 bucks less expensive. But it wasn't until I started looking at parts and stuff that I saw how expensive Traxxas is. If parts are going to break, it can't break me to replace them. The Axial had less expensive parts, and a large amount of 3rd party supply. It wasn't a proprietary system like Traxxas is. I'm not hating on Traxxas. I would have totally bought a TRX-4 if I had the money, but it never could have compared to the deal I got for my stuff.
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| Here it is with the new tires: Pro Line Hyrax G8 mounted on plastic bead lock wheels. They're not glued on, so I can replace the plastic with a better quality wheel at any time. |
Quick word on tires. In the slot car racing world, the first thing you want to do when you buy a new slot car is to put on a good set of tires suitable to you track. It's always recommended upgrade number one, and slot car manufacturers are notorious for putting lousy rubber on their race cars. So going in I assumed the same to be true with RC. And I was right. Every reviewer had a favorite tire that they preferred to run on the trucks, and it's never the stock tire, no matter how good it might be. While I was deep diving into Youtube I came along the tire comparisons and other interesting videos, and decided to add a set of tires to the initial purchase. I chose the Hyrax G8 because I wanted a tire that was better than the Falken, yet was strong enough to be an every day tire. Plus, we have reasonable rocky and rough trails around here, so I needed a bit of a trail eater.
The stock tires were okay, but right away I noticed things about them. They didn't sit properly, for one thing, as if they were improperly mounted. They wobbled around a bit, looking a little lame. Maybe it's poor mounting or gluing or something. They also felt overall stronger, more stiff, less giving, bouncier. Almost like they had air in them.
The G8s were more pliable towards the other part of the tire, yet strong in the sidewall. They sat proper, and had more give in the treads. They also climbed a lot better, with nowhere near the wheelspin that the Falkens had. The G8s grabbed and gripped. The Falkens ballooned and struggled.
Two evenings and a day [here and there] of play and discovery has passed. Here are some things that happened. I got my first break in the form of a side-view mirror. I was expecting this. Most came broken out of the box, but mine came intact. They’re held loosely in place by clips on the inside. Cheap, flimsy, plastic part. I’m taking them out today.
I ended up bringing both bumpers in: the front at the max and the rear one hole closer. This makes approach and exit angles much better, meaning you can take on more challenges. I think in doing so I might have ended up cutting/breaking the LED line to my lights. There's not much slack in that line, and I think the body may have chopped at it a bit. The light is blinking intermittently. If I can't fix it I'll detach it.
The Pro Line G8 tires perform masterfully, and I’m glad I got them. They’re a shade larger than the Falken tires, and it causes a little rubbing in the rear in extreme circumstances. I tightened the rear shocks about a third of the way down, and that was enough to fix the problem. That reminds me: when I took the truck out of the box, it had a bit of a lean in the rear. I messed with the adjustment, but after about an hour it settled back into the right place. I assume that was due to the packaging. So if that happens to you, give it a bit and it should be better.
By the way, for those curious, it took less than an hour to charge the 3S lipo battery. I’m at the end of my 2nd day and still on my first charge. I’m very impressed by this. I was ready for long charge times and short run times, but got the opposite.
I’m also thinking that, although a great battery, I would have been totally fine with a 2S lipo. If I get a 2nd, that’s what it’ll be.
I’m also also thinking that I need a hundred buck controller. Something that’s easily programmed and has a readout. It also must have some form of sweep curve control for acceleration. My slot car controller has it, this should too.
I also think I need a different charger. This one's good and all, but it doesn't have a way to "store" batteries, like other chargers do.
Also, I need tools, in particular long hex drivers. I found a small L-shaped one, but a lot of the screws are long and take forever with the little thing. I haven’t replaced the servo arm yet.
I made absolutely the right decision buying the Axial Blazer. I’m sure of it. It’s very well made and feels like care was taken into it. This is my first RC, but the last thing I want to happen is get some piece of crap right off the bat.
There are still things I’m trying to figure out.
Can I raise/lower ride height right now? I don't think I can, but I'm pretty sure there's a multi point shock mount I can buy for it.
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| The rear end is nicely built and works great. |
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