By: Brandon Wilcox, Thomaston CT
April 23, 2008

*Click pictures to open high resolution image in new window.

I've built my fair share of comp rigs, and they all have performed to my expectations. The ones I compete with are strong performers on the rocks; however, they all look the same and lack any real style. After all, vertical plate chassis all appear the same after a while, slightly different side plates, maybe a new skid plate, different link geometry, etc, but they all look boring and don't resemble anything in real life. I wanted to build my comp rig for 2008 to not only be very competitive, but I wanted it too look just as good as it worked. When Kreepy Krawler Designs showed me the pictures of their new SK2 chassis for the Axial Scorpion, I knew I had to try it out. After all, it looks killer, and it should perform just as good on the rocks.

I received the new plates in the mail just a couple days after talking with Kreepy Krawler Designs. I opened up the package and there was the new chassis, one side was white delrin and the other side was black delrin. The plates looked awesome, and I was really digging the different colors of the side plates. You can order them as black and white, just black, and just white. They are made out of high quality delrin that is FlowJet cut to perfection. This kit will cost you $38.88 shipped anywhere in the USA. If you are outside the country just shoot them an email and get a quote on pricing.

Well, the chassis no doubt looks awesome, but now it was time to get the truck together and make sure it performed to my standards. For my comp rig, I have been running graphite Integy side plates with TCS delrin skid plate that puts the links of the truck to the inside. The TCS delrin skid plate is definitely the hot setup, and I had another one ready to go in this truck. The chassis plates are drilled to fit any regular and aftermarket skid plate, and the aftermarket TCS delrin skid plate fit perfectly. What I really liked about the chassis right off the bat was all the different mounting holes for the shocks. The stock Axial chassis plates don't give you many options for locations and if you want to run a low ride height or run MAXX-size shocks there is not much adjustability. The SK2 chassis addresses this and has a number of different shock mounting positions. It also has a number of different link positions as well so you can setup a number of different link geometry setups for your rig.

Here is what I used to setup my truck; it will be getting a Novak Rooster Crawler Edition ESC and titanium servo in a couple days; they are tied up in another truck at the moment:

SK2 Side Plates - Kreepy Krawler Designs
Delrin Upgraded Skid Plate - The Crawler Store
Masher 2k Tires M3 - Proline Racing
Kreepy Reds Memory Foam - Kreepy Krawler Designs
2.2 Rockster Beadlock Wheel Black - Axial
55 Turn Lathe Motor - Integy
EVX2 Speed Control - Traxxas
Wheely King Radio/Receiver - HPI
E-MAXX Shocks - Traxxas
Yellow Springs Front - Losi
645MG Steering Servo - Hitec
Delrin Axle Plates - The Crawler Store
6 Cell Split Battery Pack - The Crawler Store
AX10 Max Steering Knuckles - RCP Crawlers
Bug Body - HPI

To test this truck, I wanted to take it somewhere new where I've never crawled before, but I also wanted to take it to some local comp spots to see if it can crawl the usual obstacles that I have difficulty on. It took a little while to get used to this truck; I am now accustomed to driving with Pro-Line Badland tires, and it seems the Masher 2K's just don't cut it for me anymore. Too much tire scrub against the ground when turning and they aren't as stable on side hilling. I also had to get used to double pump reversing from the Traxxas ESC that will definitely be ripped out of this truck the second I am done with the review. After running through one battery to get the feel of this truck, I installed the second battery and started trying some obstacles I am familiar with. I was very happy with the center of gravity of the truck and was able to get over the obstacles without difficulty. The truck starting to feel like a comp rig, and I went through the last battery that I had on me before heading to a new location to charge up my packs and have some lunch.

I arrived at a new location that was filed with rocks everywhere. I started crawling all kinds of different rocks from small loose boulders, to really steep inclines, all the way to muddy and sandy rocks. I had no problem with any obstacle. After running through most of my second pack, a guy showed up that owned the land I was on and kicked me out. It was then I headed to New Milford to see if my truck can climb the ultimate vertical test. There is a spot in New Milford with tons of cool rocks, and one of the climbs is a make or a break when building a comp rig. I would say about 80% of the rigs I have driven would not be able to climb up it. This is the same area we used for the RC Car Action tire test. My last two comp rigs were able to climb this vertical face, and I usually make it about 1 in 3 tries with those rigs. I headed toward the face with this truck and made an attempt. Flipped it. Tried again and flipped it again. Broke a servo horn so I had to go back and put a new one on. The third try up and a little less wheel speed and a close eye I made it up and was extremely happy. I continued to make it up a couple more times and tried some other obstacles I was familiar with. Definitely a winner in my book.

In summary, this chassis is awesome. It is by far the coolest looking chassis I have seen to date, and it performs just as well as it looks. It is a little heavier then the Integy graphite side plates that I was running before, but that didn't seem to make any difference in the performance. It has a number of shock and link mounting positions so you can set up your link geometry and shocks anyway you want. I would recommend using the TCS delrin skid plate with it; I would never run any comp rig without the links mounted on the inside. These side plates will be used in my new 2008 comp rig, and with some Pro-Line Badland tires and a better ESC will be for sure a force to be reckoned with.

To get your hands on a SK2 chassis for your Axial Scorpion, message Kreepy Krawler Designs.

kreepykrawler@gmail.com