ADVERTISEMENT | ADVERTISE WITH US
ADVERTISEMENT | ADVERTISE WITH US
By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com
Jeep is synonymous with off-roading in the U.S., so it's easy to see why Jeep bodies are a popular choice for scaler rigs like Axial's SCX10 platform - though until this point, Axial has only offered various versions of the iconic Wrangler. Last month, Axial's trailing faithful noticed pre-release listings on Tower Hobbies (and other online dealers) for two new bodies based on popular Jeep concept vehicles from the last few years - the Mighty FC and the Nukizer, both pulled from durable .040" clear Lexan.
The Mighty FC is a refresh of the original Foward Control produced by Willys and Kaiser Jeep from 1956 through 1965, on which the cab was located on top of - and in front of - the truck's drivetrain. The full-size Mighty FC Concept was built for the 2012 Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, UT, on a Wranger Rubicon chassis stretched to a 117-inch wheelbase. The cab was built using the windshield, doors, and A-pillars of a Wrangler cab with the roof from Mopar's JK-8 pickup kit. High-tech portal axles were fitted with 39.5-inch Krawler tires on 17-inch Hutchinson beadlock wheels.
Axial showed off the Mighty FC body (part number #AX31268) on their Instagram page about a month ago:
A video posted by Axial R/C Inc. (@axialracing) on Jun 12, 2015 at 7:13am PDT
And an SCX10 wearing the Mighty FC body got to ride shotgun on a full-size Mighty FC at the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival in Slippery Rock, PA last weekend:
Like the Mighty FC, Jeep built the NuKizer 715 as a modernized version of the Kaiser M715 built for the military from 1967-1969. It, too, made its debut at the Easter Jeep Safari, back in 2010. The Mopar team built the NuKizer 715 on a Jeep J8 platform (the military version of the Wrangler) that had been elongated to a 124-inch wheelbase and fitted with a pick-up box from American Expedition Vehicles. The slanted nose was created from carbon fiber, and Bestop supplied a custom roof panel. Axial hasn’t yet shown their Lexan recreation (part number #AX31267), but the full-size version looks like this:
ADVERTISEMENT | ADVERTISE WITH US
ADVERTISEMENT | ADVERTISE WITH US
Recent comments