Beware of pieces missing from IHC kits

[Anonymous]

Just to let everyone be aware, I have bought four structure kits from IHC, and two of them had missing pieces. Missing windows have been the culprits so far.

Just today I bought a kit at a hobby shop, opened it inside my car there on the parking lot of the hobby shop, and discovered it had missing windows. A whole sprue was missing. I took it back inside the hobby shop, exchanged it for the same kit and it, too, had the same windows missing. The guy at the shop called it a bad run.

When I bought an IHC kit at a train show back in mid January it was missing all of the windows. I called up to IHC in Philadelphia and explained the problem. The man told me to send a photocopy of the kits' directions and to circle the missing pieces' picture and a letter of explanation of the problem and they'd send me the pieces fre of charge. So I did just that and still haven't recieved the windows. That call was placed the day after the Super Bowl. I sent the photocopy and letter two days later. A few days ago I bought a similar kit from IHC (it had no missing pieces) and used some of the windows from that kit on the other kit that had the missing windows.

I think quality control at IHC is lacking and so is the customer service. Their website states: "Satisfaction guarenteed or your money back". I realize that the "quality control" is at the factory in China and not up in Philadelphia. And the guy on the phone at IHC wasn't the most friendliest in the world anyway (isn't Philadelphia supposed to be the "City of Brotherly Love???").[:(!]

Anyway, anyone else out there have similar problems with IHC or other companies? From now on I don't leave the hobby shop parking lot until I know all of the pieces are there in the box.

[rrinker]

I haven't tried an IHC kit, but across other brands I have noticed hits and misses, even from supposedly top quality brands.

For example. last year or so ago I bout a pair of Red Caboos flat car kits. Both supposedly the same car, just different road numbers. They were new, sealed in plastic. One had all the part molded in the same black plastic. The other, the deck was black plastic, but all the other parts were in an odd brown plastic. Luckily testor's flat black matched it.
Example 2: I just finished a Proto2000 tank car kit. In the bottom of the box was an EXTRA piece - looks like the bottom piece of the underframe for 50' car of some sorts. How THAT got in there, I'll never know.

--Randy

[Anonymous]

I just started to build one of IHC's kit buildings and discovered parts for another building in the kit. The parts for the kit I am building is missing. I e-mailed IHC last night. We will see what happens. I had a missing part for a DPM structure and e-mailed them. I got an answer the same day and the part was in the mail the same day. That's service!! IHC leaves alot to be desired, but they do have some products that are otherwise hard to find at a reasonable price.

[jrosenfield]

One possible solution is to not buy an IHC kit.

[Anonymous]

Good idea

DRew

[Anonymous]

All of the IHC kits I bought were sealed. And this latest IHC kit that I bought today, in which all of the pieces were there (I made sure before I left the parking lot of the hobby shop) included pieces from other kits, too. The Walthers "Blue Ribbon Series" structures all include extra parts from other kits as well.

Don't buy IHC kits at all? Nah, I'll still buy them. I agree with 2Torge. Sometimes these are hard to find kits, and they are priced right. I'll just open them first, after I pay for them of course, before I leave the parking lot of the hobby shop. Or if I buy them at a train show, I'll open them up right there at the booth after paying for them.

2Torge: When I e-mailed IHC about the missing pieces, I recieved a message from my e-mail server that IHC's e-mail was no longer valid (or whatever the technical computer jargon was!). So I wound up calling them. I'd rather do that anyway. Good luck in getting those missing pieces you need. It's been about two months since I contacted IHC and I still don't have the parts I requested.

I, too, had a missing piece from a DPM kit and recieved it within a few days of contacting them. Yes, great customer service, the way it's supposed to be.

[Anonymous]

I forgot to mention that I bought two IHC kits today at the hobby shop: one had all the pieces and the other one did not.

[Javern]

maybe IHC is just trying to inspire more scratch building

[Anonymous]

I have only assembled one IHC kit, a farmhouse, and there were no missing pieces, in fact it was a very good kit--fun to assemble and nice results.
I did experience missing parts in an Atlas kit, an entire sprue's worth. I emailed Atlas customer support about the problem and received a very nice email reply the next day saying the parts were being sent to me. I received them two days later. Atlas deserves to be recognized for this excellent customer support.

[TheK4Kid]

I have en't had the best of luck with IHC either. Aftter placing various orders, I would receive part of my order, be told the rest was on backorder, then never hear again from IHC.

Also,, for sometime now, I cannot access their website from my PC, or the one at a local hobby Shop, we get a message www.ihc-.com cannot be found. Called another local hobby shop, and he had the same problem.
When I called IHC , they said they have no such problem. So I contacted a buddy of mine in California, and he too tried, and he too got the message, cannot find www.ihc.com
Does anyone else have this problem?

[Anonymous]

IHC's website is not ihc.com. Here it is:

http://66.103.149.206/cgi-bin/bsc.cgi?sn=013

This is the address I get whenever I bring up IHC's website off my favorites list.

[TheK4Kid]

Hi NS82
I tried the link you have for IHC, I came up with an 'INTERNAL SERVER ERROR"
So I still cannot access IHC
Thanks anyway

[Anonymous]

Try http://www.ihc-hobby.com

Wayne

[Anonymous]

the correct address is: www.ihe-hobby.com, as muddy creek says.