Custom Updates Sdkfz 222 Odyssey 4-28

[Threetoughtrucks]

Great work. Thanks for your efforts..

TTT

[pickelhaube]

Your welcome.

I hope it will be worth the wait.

Todd La Ch... of Atlanta please contact me.

[pickelhaube]

All right guys this is my last order to be filled. ( other than the Indy sidecars and Charlies turret )

This means that it is time to get on the Ho-229 !!!

I tried to match the 21st chassis as close as possible to make the wirble look like a factory ( 21st ) paint job.

I think that it looks real close. The original paint job looks like a faded yellowish winter whitewash.



Before



After









This was the panzer that came to me looking like somebody hit it with a golf club.

[flyboy_fx]

God damn I want a Whirble sometime!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next on my list is your FIrefly though!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pickelhaube]

I got a little done in my tradesies.

Rzr your z stabs are poured as well as your Hwy tail rotor. Just need painting.

Zone T your wheels are poured . They just need to be shipped !!

[granch]

Hey, Pickle, and what about the crab eye sensors for my Pave Hawk?

[Razor17019]

Rzr your z stabs are poured as well as your Hwy tail rotor. Just need painting.

Thanks, PH. Your ROCK!

[zonetoys]

Thanks, Pickel. I don't know how you can keep up?

[pickelhaube]

I feel sorry for you International guys . The shipping to you all is incredible.

You guys in the US have no idea what these guys have to pay to get our beloved XD. Some pay twice thee price of the model itself
So the next time you have to pay $20-$30 dollars to have something shipped to you the International guys are paying well over $100

I shipped 4 large boxes on 9-2-11 and the shipping for those boxes was $470

When you ship these boxes all they give you is a custom number THEY WILL NOT GIVE YOU A TRACKING NUMBER. THEY DO NOT DO THAT ANYMORE.

So the tiger going to Korea. It has not gotten there yet. Because it is going to a military base THEY WILL NOT GIVE ME AN ARRIVAL TIME.
They say that if it takes over 45 days I can file a claim. WTF ?

The big package going to Germany. It is in Germany !!! I assume it is stuck in customs . When will you get it who knows. I hope that the nazi stuff in it will not be a problem . We all know how the German Govt. gets all tripy when it comes to those crazy swasties.

The 2 packages going to the UK. They are both in country stuck in customs. Final destination. Who knows.

I will ship those wheels, shovels and 222 figures out today.

The Zero parts have been poured but not touched as of yet.

The Indy side car moulds remakes are still waiting to get done.

The M-10 will hopefully get poured this weekend.

I will try my best ( I am off of work today ) to work on the Horten after I get back from the post office.

[plasticboy]

Good luck to all international friends! I'm pretty luck so far, coz it didn't happen to me when I have pickel's stuff but nothing can do about the shipping fee from US.

[flyboy_fx]

Customs sucks.

[TankAce]

I feel sorry for you International guys . The shipping to you all is incredible.

You guys in the US have no idea what these guys have to pay to get our beloved XD. Some pay twice thee price of the model itself
So the next time you have to pay $20-$30 dollars to have something shipped to you the International guys are paying well over $100

I shipped 4 large boxes on 9-2-11 and the shipping for those boxes was $470

When you ship these boxes all they give you is a custom number THEY WILL NOT GIVE YOU A TRACKING NUMBER. THEY DO NOT DO THAT ANYMORE.

So the tiger going to Korea. It has not gotten there yet. Because it is going to a military base THEY WILL NOT GIVE ME AN ARRIVAL TIME.
They say that if it takes over 45 days I can file a claim. WTF ?

The big package going to Germany. It is in Germany !!! I assume it is stuck in customs . When will you get it who knows. I hope that the nazi stuff in it will not be a problem . We all know how the German Govt. gets all tripy when it comes to those crazy swasties.

The 2 packages going to the UK. They are both in country stuck in customs. Final destination. Who knows.

I will ship those wheels, shovels and 222 figures out today.

The Zero parts have been poured but not touched as of yet.

The Indy side car moulds remakes are still waiting to get done.

The M-10 will hopefully get poured this weekend.

I will try my best ( I am off of work today ) to work on the Horten after I get back from the post office.

Hi Pickel
I have ship many tanks that i have sold in ebay not to long ago.And i use priority mail.like you said,the custom form can be use for tracking only on items that weight 4 pounds or more.I had paid from $40 for a Sherman to $60 for one tiger and two halftrack.The reason why i think they are overcharging you is because of the size of the box you ship them in.
I always use a box that measures 23 longx12 high x16wide .that box that i use is really close to the maximum size limit before they charge for oversize box.Only one country had a smaller size limit and that was Russia.I cut the length of the box from 23" to 20" and it stay within the size limit.I get my boxes for free in the old navy cardboard dumpster.All boxes there are the same size that i just mention.
Now for fragile items i use the wool from a pillow.I get the pillow at walmart for $4.00,but is worth the money because is really gentile on the fragile parts like antennas,fender and turret machine gun like on the case of the Panzer tank that is not removable.
Like i said,try to stay within the size limit and stay away from express mail.The USPS told me priority has no tracking(or so they think)but they where wrong, the custom number on priority tracks really accurate and it get status updates.
Insurance is always a good idea,but when you make a claim it make take up to 6 month to get your money back because they have to do a investigation first.Non of my items sold have ever got lost yet,but that is what i was told by the USPS post master.
Some countries do not allow toys ,so i mark the description as"scale model"
I hope this help to other fellow members shipping overseas

[pickelhaube]

All of the boxes sent were over sized.

The FOV Tiger with crate, 2 1/6th scale Stuarts and a large sized box with tons of XD in it.

I was able to track via the customs label. I send ALL of my packages overseas with insurance. Other wise who knows what will happen

[gouchy]

Intl shipping charges has been the bane of my collection as there was no regular supply of 1/18 for retail in my AO

I've been somewhat lucky couple times to buy some 1/18 at really great prices locally but 90% of it has to be sourced from the US, which shipping is expensive and can regularly cost more then the model itself. A tank or a plane cost anything from $40 to $70 to ship thru the years and figures sometimes run $10-20, depending on the postal service or the seller's quote. Many sellers also refuse to ship intl because of hassles of the custom form or worry the deal might go sour.

High shipping charges was what stopped me from getting in on the monkey depot crazy sale, that was really heartbreakingly regrettable.

[Mad Sam]

I look at the overall price for model and Postage and decide to buy or not based on that figure, not as two seperate values.

At the end of the day, It's MY collection, and if I want something that I can't source over here, then I make the decision to buy at the rates offered and that doesn't cause me an issue.

The pair of 1/6 Stuarts are indeed clearing UK customs at the moment, so give the officers a few days to have a play with them, then all being well, it'll be my turn!

pickelhaube you have been more than helpful with the sorting and sending of these items, and for that I thank you.

[pickelhaube]

Hey Guys,

As all of you guys may know my real job is almost full time as it should be.

That means that everything ( customs ) is slow to get out.

My main priority is to get the Horten out. But I am waiting for my large RTV order to get in.

As this wait goes on I am remaking the Indy side car moulds. Those guys waiting have been waiting for a long long time. . I hopefully have enough old stock RTV to make all of the moulds that need to be made.

I also have issues with my M-10 moulds. Some of them are shot and need to be remade.

As all of this is going on I have a few potential customers who want a few things . I am sorry to say that those orders need to be put on hold. I do not want to take your money because there is no telling when I can fill those orders. I NEED TO GET THE HORTEN ORDERS OUT WHEN THAT HAPPENS I WILL ACCEPT THE NEW ORDERS.

Here are the items that are on hold until the Horten is done.

I will get to them one the Horten is winding down.

DAP Blackhawk
New HUMVEE turret
Jungle extractor for the Pavehawk
Huey MAIN rotor

Again these projects will start back up ONCE THE HORTEN IS DONE.

Sorry for the inconvenience but the time of spending full days on customs is not here at this time

[Castroww]

I'll still be here patiently waiting for 3 of the above Atleast you keep us updated and not swaying in the wind.

[pickelhaube]

The Zero stabilizers are done and painted 100% ready to ship.

The Huey rear rotor is painted 100% ready to ship.

I have remade the Indy side car moulds and all of the kits have been made. They just need to be kitted up and shipped.


I still need to build the 2 Indy side car full builds.

I need to make the M-10 kit .

Last but not least I need to make the 1/6 scale Sdkfz 250 for Charlie

[pickelhaube]

I am not sure but I think that I see the light at the end of the tunnel for the Horten.

I have not forgotten any of you guys waiting for your kits.

Weylen , Kerry , Alex , Robbie and Charlie your patience is truly truly appreciated.

I will have to think long and hard before I do another full build aircraft.

It just takes too much time , money and effort to produce a kit.

Small modifications is were it's at and I have many many waiting for the Horten to finish .

I have posted a list of the upcoming mods and they will hopefully all be of reasonable cost .

First will be the Sdkfz 251 back date. I will also do a radio aerial and possibly the radio set for the 251.

If these prove to be popular, I could do a few more 251 mods .
If not I will press the other projects that are waiting for the Horten to wrap up.

Again thank you all for your patience . Hopefully the wait would have been worth it.

Matthew

[plasticboy]

Take your time, pickel.

[pickelhaube]

Take your time, pickel.

Plastic Boy you are an artist and a Saint !!

Here is a list of back orders. I will work on trying to fill them this weekend.

Platicboy M-10 kit
Charlie 1/6 Sdkfz 2151 turret build
Kerry Indy sidecar full builds
Grunt T-34/85 kit
Grockwood T-34/85 kit
Robbie 1/6th stuff T-34/85 kit Sdkfz 222 kit
Hardensteel T-34 kit . Your Horten kit is done boxed and waiting to ship

I think that is about it.

If I am missing someone please PM me.

Thank you all for waiting for the Horten run , as you all can see I am getting close.

BTW

Charlie I do not think that I will ever get a chance to cast the turret parts so i will just build it and send it back to you.

Weylen , the M-10 turret mould is shot but I will make the other parts this weekend and make the new turret mould next week. With fingers crossed.

[granch]

... And what about the Humvee turret and armor (I have 2 BBI's Humvee to custom)???

[rohirrimknight]

Humvee turret for me as well+black hawk mod kit. I am waiting for your confirmation to send order. PM already sent. Please let me know when you are available to do it. Thanks.

[pickelhaube]

Humvee turret for me as well+black hawk mod kit. I am waiting for your confirmation to send order. PM already sent. Please let me know when you are available to do it. Thanks.

Pm returned.

[pickelhaube]

Flyboy had his update today it is time I posted mine.

Almost a whole month has past since my last update.

Work on the Horten full build proceeds.
I have close to 1,00 parts that needed to be sanded and filled but I am real close to having all of the parts prepped.

That is good news.

More good news .

Weylen your wait may be over. I have remade the moulds for the M-10 turret and have poured the first one.
It came out great.
So I am going to wait for the resin to cure and I will probably ship out Friday !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Charlie work progresses with your Sdkfz 250 turret hopefully we can find the instructions.
After 2 years what is a few more days ?

Kerry all of the parts for your Indy side car have been poured sanded and prepped.
Your Indy bikes have been broken down and filed .
Painting is around the corner. I am doing another bike with your 2 for another customer.

T-34/85 orders moulds are fine ready to start pouring.

Wirblewind orders I was able to get 2 more turret pours until that mould gave up.
That is a drag because they are relatively new.
Unfortunately I used old RTV as fill and that broke down.
I should have known better but was trying to save a buck.

Sdkfz 222 moulds are still shot waiting to be remade .

Sdkfz 251 moulds waiting to be made.

I have had 3 delinquent orders that have been languishing and they are about to be filled at least in a week depending on the lost directions.

I am happy about this.

Thanks guys for hanging on !!

Almost all good news !!!