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Inspecting new models

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Posted by HO-Velo on Saturday, August 22, 2020 2:25 PM

DAVID FORTNEY
When I receive a package of trains they are inspected and if not what I expect or not perfect that item is sent back immediately. I do not accept any damaged items no matter what the reason is or excuse. Do not accept shoddy mfg. or bad packaging as a excuse for broken or missing parts. Send it back or the mfgs. Will never learn.

Sound advice Dave.  And I'd like to add that getting that defective return started quickly is a good idea as certain models and popular road names can sell out fast.

Regards, Peter

 

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Saturday, August 22, 2020 11:10 AM

Probably half of my Stewart/KATO F unit fleet is still sealed in the boxes. I also have two Life-Like E units sealed in boxes for more than a decade because I still have not decided if I will use them or not.

Other than those, I think everything has been opened and played with.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by ATLANTIC CENTRAL on Saturday, August 22, 2020 11:06 AM

I have bought a lot of trains in 50 years....... I still have 99% of them.

I have had very few broken, defective or missing parts issues, years ago, or in recent times.

I am perfectly happy when manufacturers can simply send me the replacement parts.

Intermoutain, Bowser, Athearn, Bachmann, Walthers, have all been excellent in this regard.

Some others less so, but in the end I got what I needed.

Very little makes it from box to layout at my house without some sort of change or upgrade anyway, so minor issues I can easily fix are not a problem for me.

Sheldon

    

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Posted by DAVID FORTNEY on Friday, August 21, 2020 7:13 PM

When I receive a package of trains they are inspected and if not what I expect or not perfect that item is sent back immediately. I do not accept any damaged items no matter what the reason is or excuse.

Do not accept shoddy mfg. or bad packaging as a excuse for broken or missing parts. Send it back or the mfgs. Will never learn.

Dave

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Posted by PRR8259 on Friday, August 21, 2020 11:28 AM

Whether internet/mail ordered or not, the buyer should inspect items on receipt.  If you have a local train store, as some of us still actually do, it is best to inspect the model prior to completing the purchase transaction.

You cannot rely on either the builder or the importer to have looked at every last detail to make sure they are ok.  The importer typically has only limited staff and typically only inspects enough models to see a representative sample of the product.  They do not inspect each and every model--even in brass--and regardless of what anybody tries to tell you.  The builders do have an "inspection" of sorts, but clearly the consistency varies.

John Mock

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Posted by BRAKIE on Friday, August 21, 2020 10:11 AM

ATLANTIC CENTRAL

Where and for how long have these models been stored?

Sheldon

 

Sheldon,That doesn't matter since a lot of cars and locomotives left the factory without QC/QA inspections.

I have recieved Athearn RTR cars that had their stirrups. laying in the cars tray simply because they was not glued on at the factory. 

I rebuilt my Genesis SCL GP9 from the frame up with a Kato motor,leds and new DCC/Sound board. My Athearn CR SW1500 came with warp handrails. A simple phone call to Athearn resulted in replacement handrails.My Athearn GATX GP38-2 had its flywheel to work loose and  that was  a easy fix. 

The good news is my last Athearn RTR purchases has been  free of any QA/QC issues.

Larry

Conductor.

Summerset Ry.


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Posted by rrebell on Friday, August 21, 2020 9:54 AM

With the cradel you are not soposed to just push the model in but widenen the space and set the model in. Accually easier to do with the Bowser than the cheaper types as  it is more flexable.

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Posted by dknelson on Friday, August 21, 2020 9:49 AM

Things like broken detail parts (cut levers, air hoses, brake piping, grab irons, separately applied plug door fixtures and the like) were probably going to happen by now anyway, maybe more than once, even if you had been running those cars all these years, not that that makes you feel any better.  I do notice, now that we are in an era of rather expensive and highly detailed RTR models, that differences in packaging between manufacturers are pronounced.  In HO, compare Kadee's "jewel box" for their boxcars to AccuReady and Intermountain RTR, Branchline's RTR of blessed memory, Atlas, Tangent, MTH and the list goes on.  Everybody has their own way of trying to make the packaging tight yet not so tight that you tear the model to pieces trying to get it out of the box.  Some succeed better than others.

Oddly enough the old "gold standard" for good packaging, the tight model-shaped foam rubber that brass locomotives came in, is positively BRUTAL on detail that isn't soldered on.  And that in turn makes me increasingly leary about using my Bowser foam cradle for models because again it is brutal on side details.  I don't know what to replace it with however!  And with today's brake pipe detail I am more in need of that cradle than ever before.  

While warped shells are worse than just about any other damage my hunch is that warped shells are probably something that happened after the item left its factory (no matter where that might be) so I do not necessarily fault the quality control department.  Those stacked containers on ships from China probably do get a bit toasty but then there are warehouses, mail trucks, and other places where temperature control does not exist.  And it only takes a brief while in a hot parked car for temperatures to zoom upwards. 

Of course there have been manufacturers where the parts didn't really fit together from day 1 and there is no "better" version of the part they could send you even if they agreed the problem was their fault.  I am thinking of some of my LBF cars .... 

Now having almost absolved the manufacturer of a quality control failure sight unseen, I will admit that I was shocked recently upon opening an Accurail kit I'd had for a while (yes, another "pandemic project") and finding that the wheels, of all things, were just a mass of garbled black plastic.  Everything else in the package was fine.  No harm/no foul since I always replace plastic with metal anyway, but still this was a shocker coming from Accurail. 

And having mentioned Accurail they are among those who have tried to make their sill steps (sometimes called stirrup steps) finer and thinner to compete with the after market parts, and there is a mortality rate for those since they have not really changed their packaging much and the wadded up piece of paper isn't enough to prevent all movement within the box.  But then again, from time to time even Athearn blue box had broken steps new out of the box.  

Dave Nelson

  

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Posted by tstage on Friday, August 21, 2020 8:21 AM

Since most of my rolling stock has come from kits and I usually don't waste much time putting them together, I soon discover if there is an issue with the car or not.  The few times that I have found an issue it has been rectified by contacting the manufacturer directly and a replacement part shipped at NO charge.

Tom

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Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.

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Posted by MARTIN STATION on Friday, August 21, 2020 8:08 AM
  As one who just retired a couple of weeks ago, I have been finally getting around to my "some day" projects as "some day" is now here. I now model N scale but I saved some HO stuff for a small switching layout in that scale. So far I have really been impressed at how well some of my stuff has held up and the lack of quality issues, my Atlas locomotives especially. The handrails are still straight and flexable, and everything I have tested runs great. My only problems have been mostly with my older Protos with cracked axles and lube that turned to glue, but those are all fixed now. Some of my Genesis locomotives have build quality issues,glue globs and crooked details and wavy leaning handrails. One has a warped side sill, but not too bad, otherwise everything held up pretty well over the years including rolling stock. Some of these were stored almost 15 years.
Ralph
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Posted by riogrande5761 on Thursday, August 20, 2020 9:31 PM

Pruitt

One of the big advantages of buying from a hobby shop is that you can inspect the products before purchasing them. And if you miss something before you take it home, it's easy to return it to the store.

That's lost in mail-order shopping.

That advice doesnt work for many who don't have a local hobby shop.  Thanks.

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

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Posted by HO-Velo on Thursday, August 20, 2020 8:52 PM

That's a good idea Ringo.

The defects, (and there's not a lot of them so far) are spread amongst several mfg. of highly detailed models.  With some of the the collection dating back nearly six years (time sure does fly) quality control may have improved  Much to the Mfg. and vendors credit the models I discovered defective before storage and decided to return were either promptly replaced or issued a refund.

IMO good quality control stand-outs in the collection are the Intermountain boxcars and mech.reefers along with the Spring Mills Depot PD 3000 Cov hoppers.

The models have been stored in their original packing and then inside heavy cardboard boxes.  Secure storage area is a low humidity indoor environment with constant temps averaging 70 deg.F and extreme of approx. 55 and 85 deg. F.

Regards, Peter   

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Posted by tstage on Thursday, August 20, 2020 6:06 PM

ATLANTIC CENTRAL
Where and for how long have these models been stored?Sheldon

That's the first thing that crossed my mind, too.

https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling

Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.

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Posted by ATLANTIC CENTRAL on Thursday, August 20, 2020 5:15 PM

Where and for how long have these models been stored?

Sheldon

    

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Posted by Pruitt on Thursday, August 20, 2020 5:03 PM

One of the big advantages of buying from a hobby shop is that you can inspect the products before purchasing them. And if you miss something before you take it home, it's easy to return it to the store.

That's lost in mail-order shopping.

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Posted by Motley on Thursday, August 20, 2020 5:02 PM

Thats a very good point. I have been collecting trains for the past year also, for my new layout. And I do have a lot of boxes I never even opened yet to inspect.

But the ones I did open I don't see any problems, maybe just a few detail parts that came off during shipping. I have been buyinfg mostly Exactrail, Tangent, Athearn and Walthers.

May I ask what manufacter models you are having these quality issues?

Michael


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Prototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989

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Posted by Ringo58 on Thursday, August 20, 2020 5:00 PM

I'm guilty of opening any new models as soon as I get back in my truck!

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Inspecting new models
Posted by HO-Velo on Thursday, August 20, 2020 4:06 PM

As I unbox my years old collection of purchased new RTR freight cars for weathering I'm finding some defects; mostly minor items I don't much mind fixing, like missing, broken or misapplied grab irons, cut bars and such.  But the couple of warped body shells are not easily remedied if at all.  Shame on me for not inspecting the models closer upon delivery.

So, break out the fine-toothed comb before tucking away that new model.

Regards,  Peter

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