By Ross Ballot
“Big things come in small packages” might as well be the new Axial SCX30’s catchphrase. The cellphone-sized 1/30th scale ready-to-run (RTR) rock crawler RC is truly tiny and yet the movement it has created is anything but. Not only is the SCX30 fun to play and tinker with, these new rigs have opened up a whole new world for enthusiasts. It’s the dawn of a new day for RC crawlers, and Axial has made a statement with the first punch.
RC rock crawlers come in all shapes, sizes, and prices. While a lot of industry focus remains on the 1/10 scale trucks, the cost aspect removes them from the equation for many, and their size generally limits use to outdoors. The line blurs at the 1/18 and 1/24 scales which work indoors and outdoors, and the likes of the pandemic, remote work, and colder seasons mean these smaller trucks have become appealing. The explosion of the small-scale market meant a new niche was due to be carved out.
Enter the Axial SCX30. It fits atop an iPhone, in the pocket of a pullover hoodie, and very easily in a backpack. Axial calls it a “sub-micro” platform, and the 1/30 scale trucks have fully licensed bodies, Spektrum electronics, and a chassis with angled skid plates and factory high-clearance links. It was certainly designed with a hobby-grade mentality.
Of course, a tiny rig means the components are sized accordingly. Under the clipless body lives an 030-class 88T brushed motor, and the tires are a miniature ~34mm tall with ~0.57” wheels. Compare it to the common 120mm tires and 1.9″ wheels seen on larger rigs and the difference is comical.
Despite this, the SCX30 provides enormous fun and smiles despite its diminutive size. The low-speed control is decent enough and though wheel speed is low even at the 100% setting, it’s such a light and nimble RC that you don’t have to rely on full throttle too often when running appropriately sized courses. The stock tires grip great, and though the shocks are no doubt of the lowest-bidder variety when it comes to manufacturing, the body motions are relatively well controlled which allows for a fairly scale feeling from the micro Jeep.
That said, the SCX30 definitely isn’t a hardcore crawler. It’s meant for fun first and foremost, and that means you can take any environment and make it into something special, which is getting harder and harder to do as 4x4s become more and more capable.
In the off-road world, the goal is usually to make molehills out of mountains; that is, build a vehicle capable of lines such that the seemingly impossible is doable. In the world of the SCX30, suddenly the molehills–indoor obstacles that you can tackle with a 1/18 or 1/24 scale crawler with ease– become mountains. An obstacle that a 1/24 truck can do with relative ease is a full-concentration affair that takes all of your and the little SCX30’s ability to conquer.
Looking at things differently opens up a whole new world of RCing, and though outdoor fun is limited with the SCX30– it’s woefully slow and struggles even in short grass– the indoor crawling world is your oyster.
It’s not like there haven’t been micro RCs before. 1/28 scale Mini-Zs have a huge following– as did XMODS– and there are a few decent even smaller options on the market. But Axial entering the micro crawler segment will undoubtedly help the segment blossom. Incidentally, Redcat released its Ascent 32 almost concurrent with the SCX30, but one (or both) clearly got the naming wrong since the Redcat dwarfs the Axial. Still, immediate competition in the space benefits all enthusiasts. It’s only a matter of time before other companies join the fray.
Now for the kicker: Because of the low price of entry and drive-anywhere convenience factor, the community has flocked to the SCX30 in droves. People have taken to playing, tinkering, and modifying with a ferocity and intensity unlike anything I have seen in my ~5 years obsessing over the hobby. Prices for upgrades aren’t much lower than they are for 1/18-1/24 scale machines, but it’s a brave new world out there and you have to pay to play.
With the SCX30, Axial has a massive hit on its hands. The RC crawler– in both Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon and Ford Bronco form— is something fresh and exciting that is further invigorating an already highly-charged hobby (pun unintended). We love what Axial has done with the SCX30 especially considering the confines of the size and price point, and their followup release of the SCX30 Chevrolet K10 so short after the platform’s debut shows how much fanfare there is surrounding these little models– and how committed Axial is to it. It has us excited for the future of micro RCs, and we can’t wait to see what comes next from both the company and the RC world in this segment.