SCX6 Honcho Review “So Much Potential, So Many Issues”

[Arma]

“So Much Potential, So Many Issues”

On paper, SCX6 should’ve been a flagship RC crawler. But in reality, it feels like a rushed design that needs a lot of upgrades just to function as expected. After years on the market, it’s surprising to see that many of the known issues still haven’t been addressed and confirm what people think about Horizon Hobby and Axial (acquired for $19m in 2018).

What I experienced after just a few runs:

• Transmission is extremely loud—a gear-crunching sound that feels abnormal for a rig at this price point. Many have reported the same. I have rebuilt the whole transmission - checked for tolerances, missing c-clips, revised bearings and carefully lubricated and reinstalled everything like a Swiss watchmaker. It has improved significantly - it even shifts flawlessly now. But a full teardown shouldn't be necessary - on the bright side, it forced me to understand how it works.
• Differentials need shimming right out of the box, or you risk stripping the gears ($50 per gear set).
• Driveshafts wobble noticeably. Ordered steel ones - also to improve the center of gravity.
• Front shock tower flexes when turning, which limits steering. It benefits greatly from an aluminum upgrade - get also a metal receiver box, not just shock towers.
• The panhard mount also flexes, which causes body roll during steering, especially on left turns. It's crazy to see the flex - it's like Axial's R&D have never built an RC car before. Stock front axle is a joke. Could have come with stronger panhard mount from the factory, it would probably cost $2 more to add the mount support. Unbelievably lazy R&D by Axial. Fixable by upgraded Knuckles and C-Cups or 4-link setup.
• Headlights and interior aren’t sealed, so moisture and debris get in easily. This can be easily fixed but why is it not made properly from the factory? It's a crawler + trail rig, not a carpet queen.
• Rear Red Light Diodes shine directly to your eyes when you control the Honcho from behind. Another lazy design fail for a trail rig. As my stock wiring has burnt anyway, I kept them disconnected. I may point them downwards or cover them for diffused light, that'll look nice.
• Foam inserts are too soft, and don’t support the tires well—aftermarket inserts are a must for a rig of this weight.
• SCX6 rolls over easily, even during light trail runs or sharp turns, due to poor center of gravity and flexing under throttle. It's the least capable stock rig I have ever had. Brass / aluminum upgrades are a must.
• Reverse is overpowered by default. I had to reprogram it to 50% to avoid harsh jerks while maneuvering—something that shouldn’t be necessary in a premium RTR. Get the LCD Spektrum Programmer V2 or replace the stock motor for Axe R3.
• My unit arrived with a manufacturing date from two years ago, which wasn’t a major issue, but it was surprising for a recent purchase.
• Stock wiring caused a fire. A pinch point between the rail and center mount. Apparently you have to check everything when you buy an Axial RTR. It's like buying a KIT that you have to disassemble first. See my other posts to learn about this issue in detail.

One thing that really surprised me was the quality of the stock bearings. After just two weeks of use (in clean, fair-weather conditions and one wet run), I started noticing rust and roughness in several bearings. For a model in this price range, it’s disappointing to see unsealed, low-grade bearings used throughout. Most premium rigs in this category come standard with sealed bearings to protect against moisture and grit - who wants to disassemble axles / diffs / tranny after each wet run? It’s a basic expectation that simply wasn’t met here.

On the bright side:

• The stock servo works fine so far, which I know isn’t the case for everyone. I have added UBEC 10A and running it at 7.4V. But I don't do extreme crawling like many of you do. It's rated at 7.2V per Spektrum website, which can be a typo (unless they have tried to save $0.0001 when manufacturing it) so I thought it'll handle 7.4V.
• The stock motor is strong performer. I find it noisy but I'm in no rush to upgrade it. The speed is a bit underwhelming but it's OK for a crawler I guess. Running 3S and 4S.
• Body design (Honcho version) looks fantastic and has great visual presence. I love many design elements of the Honcho. I like the Jeep as well of course, both are great.
• Headlights are bright.
• Shocks perform well, no complaints there. Purple springs can be a nice upgrade for crawling.
• Wheels are good. I run them without the center covers, less screws = quicker maintenance.
• Tires are good, I like them. In no rush to upgrade. More than capable for my normal driving and steep crawling - you'll run to the limits of the lame R&D before you get to the limits of the tires.
• Transmission seems to be very durable. As I was forced to do the rebuild right away, I got to learn a lot about how the transmission works and it's well made in my opinion. Also the design of the clutch plates is good. You can totally use your SCX6 for towing, it'll handle pretty much everything - there are several impressive YouTube videos.

After spending over $1,000 in upgrades just to bring it up to the standard I expected from a premium model, I can say it’s finally capable and it's fun to drive.

This model can become something great—but be ready to invest and fix Axial mistakes to get there. Certainly not a beginner rig

 

[nino]

Looks like business as usual with Axial
Admittedly I haven't had an Axial rig since the Wraith but they've always been replace-most-parts quality.

 

[xjtorc]

Purely out of curiosity, is this your first hobby-grade RC?

 

[Doom!]

Looks like business as usual with Axial
Admittedly I haven't had an Axial rig since the Wraith but they've always been replace-most-parts quality.

This is true with the SCX24's for sure.

 

[Arma]

Purely out of curiosity, is this your first hobby-grade RC?

I've been in the hobby since 2013, but mostly had helis - my last one was / still is Blade 500X with custom body for Scale and 3D flying.
Long-time drone for photography and FPV.
I make custom lua scripts for EdgeTX - I used to be a Spektrum fan but not anymore.
This year I got into cars and got 9 models - mostly for kids and of course I get to have fun everyday too.

The BS I had to go through with the SCX6 to make it work properly made me sign up here and post the review as the same text I posted here was not permitted on Amazon Reviews (they can't handle the truth?) and had no luck with Horizon Hobby useless support either - I realised that Axial is a HH's cash cow and as I said, wouldn't buy another Axial, even though I'd love a Capra for example - I'll just build it myself and better, I don't need their donor parts.

I have just received several models from Aliexpress to see how the copycats of TRX4 are performing and for example the WLToys 104020 is comparable to the Bronco for 1/3 of the price (yes, there are a few tiny details but it makes a fantastic rig for small kids - they can get their Traxxas later but not when they are 3-years old).
The quality of the $140 copycat TRX4 is higher than of a $1,200 Axial in several aspects.

I admit, it's easy to copy someone else and release the same with no R&D costs but that's another discussion.

I've been involved in R&D and manufacturing of consumer products in the past 20 years (manufacturing in Taiwan and China and assembly either over there or locally, including making manuals, support content, wholesalers support and packaging and distribution) - that's what I do for living.

I know that the R&D of a new RC car such as this 1/6 model is costly - we are speaking hundreds of thousands USD if you have a good professional team and take no shortcuts - unless you simply take what's available, scale it up, licence designs and push it to production without reiterating couple of times to address issues that arise during testing - that's the quick and cheap way.
You sell 5,000 models (my estimated number for the SCX6 - feel free to correct me if it's higher and you've got the data) for $1k retail (or $600 wholesale) so you make a couple of millions on this single model, plus you make several millions on spare parts.
You can sell each model for many years (Traxxas Slash for example - netting over $32 millions) - that's a great business model but at least, if you can't make it right the first time, release updates or it would be good to honor warranty.
I'm not saying this is an easy business on a worldwide scale but I can honestly say that Axial is making half-baked products and doesn't stand behind them.
On the other hand, releasing imperfect mass-selling RC models leads to the rise of aftermarket manufacturers so it can be a good thing and is bringing more people into the hobby.

I think the SCX6, as it is now shall retail around $600 - $650. Or, give it to me for $1,500 - $1,800 but perfectly working with upgrades out of the box.

I'm not unhappy - it's great fun to customise and upgrade parts. But I don't need an occasional fire to spark my interest in the hobby-grade RC