The Backyard – Building a Vanquish H10 Optic

Hello everyone and Happy Friday!

Well, out of nowhere last week I decided to do a thing- I ordered a Vanquish H10 Optic kit. I have been eying one of these rock buggies since they were announced as an RTR last year. Late in 2024 a kit version was announced, and since then the rig has been receiving rave reviews online. I happened upon a good deal for one, so hit I the ol’ “add to cart” button and viola, a couple days later a shiny new Vanquish kit box showed up at my door.

I have most of the truck built, so before I get into some generalities of it, most of which will be glowing, I do want to get into the something unique about the kit that I’m not big on- the kit comes in one of six color schemes/liveries, and it’s random. You can’t choose your design.

As someone who wanted the neon green for my paint scheme but got orange….yeah, not big on that. It’s not a massive deal or anything, as I’m going to just paint it to what I want, but still.

Ok, so on to the actual kit experience impressions- man, what a freakin’ awesome build!

Everything fits together fantastic, and the engineering and instructions are top notch. All of the components feel nice and robust.

My favorite thing on the kit is the way the steering works. The servo is mounted behind the front axle, as is the steering link from it. The front steering link is actually 3 pieces, and it simulates a hydraulic ram, which is what many full scale rigs use. It’s absolutely trick, and looks so damn cool!

This has been a really fun build, and it reminds me very much of building a classic Axial kit, circa the early 2010’s.

I’ll show the truck off once it’s finished and has seen some rocks! I’ll also provide some running impressions. Thus far though, absolutely loving it!

Ok, back to the work bench. That’s it for me this week, until next time, keep it on all 4’s!