Vanquish Products VS4-10 Phoenix Portal 1/10 Rock Crawler Kit

All four shock bodies double tapped, can't put the shock collars on. The skid plate cooled warped and twisted in two directions, can't put passenger rail on the side, nor get the transmission in the truck. The rear axle assembly was supplied with one rear stub axle and one front stub axle - the rear axle can't be completed. Can't give it any stars...all three errors stop this kit from being completed. In thirty-five years of building kits, by far the worst I've experienced - $500.00 kit? Contacted the company minutes after finding the stub axle missing and it's been more than a week from a "part is being ordered." The shock and skid plate issue, I didn't bother mentioning, I'll pay for replacements when available, finish the build and sell the truck with unpainted body. Pretty sure it's not a wide spread issue with this kit, but this is has been my experience. Fifth Vanquish kit, three have had pretty serious quality issues - this will be my last.

More like 2.5 stars. Instructions were HORRIBLE about as bad as the Capra kit instructions (ifykyk) It went together ok for me, but I imagine if this was my first kit it would be a nightmare. Shock collars are made of a soft plastic that likes to cross thread. I gave up and bought Traxxas shock collars which threaded on with some resistance. The truck looks nice, the DIG is so much better than Axial's DIG. The selectable OD is a cool feature (there are you 2.5 stars) BUT on the third time out, teeth broke off of both idler gears. Sheared clean off, poor quality steel. I get that Vanquish tried to hit a price point to compete with Axial and Element, but both companies make a better quality kit overall for significantly less money. Perhaps VP should stick to the high end (where they absolutely kill it apparently) and leave the mid market to the big companies who have been doing this for a while. These issues would be relatively minor if it out performed my other rigs, but it does not. My Capra is a significantly better crawler. Had I known then what I know now, I think I would've skipped purchasing the VP Phoenix. Money would've been much better spent elsewhere

My honest opinion of the VS410 Phoenix. Quality is amazing, everything went together smoothly, even though its mostly plastic. Build was fairly straightforward, but here are a few tips: There are a few mis-prints so be sure to pay close attention to photos, online manual is updated. This kit WILL require specific size servo horns, not included with kit. The steering horn is 20mm and the shift horns are 24mm, make sure the horn works with the servo of your choosing, vanquish uses 25t splines. Shock collars are plastic, this is probably the most frustrating part of the build. They cross thread real easily! Use another shock collar to help you line up the collars with shock body threads. Also use your shims! They include a few but my rear output had at least 5mm play, too much for my liking and had to order extras shims. Vehicle only takes 540 can motors, nothing bigger. Hobby Wing/ Spectrums Fusions esc/motors is too big to fit. Non-Vanquish owners, stub axles are 5mm and not 4mm, your beadlocks may or may not fit depending on the hub. My Gearhead beadlocks were a drop in fit with no modifications. Onto truck performance, in stock form, it drives like a pig. My friends stock Ecto did better than mine. Tires are narrow and not very sticky, better as trail tires. Truck is quite tippy, I am not sure if its because of the shorter 80mm shocks. Recommend heavier wheels, tires and shock oil. Steering angle is pretty amazing combined with OD it turns pretty sharp. It has RWD also, pretty fun for light bashing. Also recommend a shorty pack as the 4000 mah packs weigh the truck down shifting weight to the back axles. Still love my Phoenix though, fun part is trying to improve the truck little by little! Hoping to see a straight axle Phoenix or portal delete option soon!

Vanquish VS4-10 Phoenix kit. Nice kit, very durable plastic material. I would say the quality of the plastic is higher than your average RC car/crawler. Much more detail of course it being a vanquish product. The quality of the portals are made to last a very long time and the brass sleeves are an awesome idea. Shocks are ok. You always loose that travel with portals. It was a nightmare getting the spring adjusters threaded on however the shocks work just fine (Use a little grease) I love the hinged body. Battery tray is towards the back so you need to ad some weight up front. Preferably on the wheels. Transmission is solid and works great. Wheels and tires I used my own aluminum bead locks with brass hubs. Looks and detail of the body is very nice. I bought a Land Cruiser grill from KC that is a direct fit. Overall I’m happy with it. And the price is right. I would like to see the same kit with straight axles.

Really cool kit overall. This is my first crawler. I’m giving it 4 stars due to the poor shock collar design and multiple errors in the instruction manual.