s7jstep1

i have had an hpi wheely king for a while and i have turned it into a decent crawler but instead of spending a bunch of money on better steering servo, 2.4 ghz, tires etc... im thinking of getting an axial or something similar. the thing i like is the scale appearence. i was looking at the wraith because i like the crawling capabilities but i have also heard it can be bashed like a monster truck. what is the general opinion on this truck? any alternatives? thanks

t9dragon

My Feedback: (11)

The Wraith is a very good truck/scaler...

nitrosportsandrunner

my buddy had a wraith.
it is indeed an impressive truck. it has very scale looks, yet can tackle some knarly rocks!
however, if you really want to rock crawl with it you will have to gear it down or buy a higher turn motor.
the stock motor is good, but is geared for bashing/trail driving. on steep rocks where you need lots of torque and have to hold the truck from rolling backwards the motor will heat up and not last long.
my buddy drove his on tough rocks, and the motor lasted 6 battery packs.
but the axles, suspension ect on the truck are sweet.

still, a scx10 can do pretty much all the same stuff and costs $80-$100 less.

It still bugs me that axial doesnt use waterproof electronics.

And, even with the wraith, you will want to upgrade the steering servo!

s7jstep1

the more i think about it the more i like the scx10. i like the idea of being able to put any scale body i want instead of just the tuber body. can the scx10 crawl as good as the other crawlers?

nitrosportsandrunner

the SCX is a surprising rig.
will it do what a modded ax10 can, no. it has less ground clearance and less suspension travel.
however, it still works well and can do some amazing crawling. its a truck that requires more careful tire placement and throttle control.
It some ways its more fun to drive, as it requires more skill and patience to get over an obsticle.

and there is no denying the thrill of going over a knarly set of rocks with a scale looking truck.

s7jstep1

yeah thats kinda what i liked about the wheely king. i liked the challange the stock tires gave because they didnt always have good grip

s7jstep1

could the ax10 be easily made to look like a scale rig or should i just go with the scx10?

nitrosportsandrunner

i made chassis rails and put a honcho body on my AX10(which i just sold on ebay)
you can run different shocks to have the truck sit lower and look more scale.

a jeep cherokee body on a ax10 can look fairly scale.

jsowens

Unless you already have an ax10, why would you waste money buying one if you're just gonna transform it into a scaler? You could buy an scx10 and have the same axles and transmission and get what you want from the beginning.

nitrosportsandrunner

i get your point. however, i have picked up several ax10's RTR for $150 over the past 2 years. SCX10s on the other hand never seem to go for cheap. best ive seen is $200-250
plus, it can be fun to customize. even if you get a scx10, you wont want it to look like everyother scx10.

here is my scx10. waterproofed, with jeep commanche body. will have several scale acc in the bed of the truck soon.

s7jstep1

Thanks for the input guys. I'll probably end up going with the honcho. I just was wanting to make sure that it could still crawl good even though it's a scale rig

t9dragon

My Feedback: (11)

Here are some pics of both of my SCX10's

s7jstep1

a friend of mine has a honcho that he is going to let me borrow for a few days to see if i like it before i go buy one

nitrosportsandrunner

thats always awsome when you can try a model before you buy. it can save you alotta cash.

jsowens

I definitely understand and I'm a big fan of buying used crawler parts and rigs. Most people, however, probably aren't gonna be searching for used ax10's. It's a good thing to buy used, but if you buy a $150 ax10 used and factor in the cost of an scx10 chassis, 1.9 wheels and tires (if you don't want to use the 2.2's), and a scaler body, you're well over that $200-250 that an scx10 would have costed you in the first place. I agree with you, though. Customizing is the most fun aspect for me, which is why I'm no longer a fan of buying RTR rigs. I would much rather acquire a set of axles and build from the ground up. Some folks aren't a fan of that because it can be pricey, but if you shop around, don't get in a big hurry, and bargain shop like a mad man, you can have a pretty sweet rig on a low budget.