Wal-Mart Quality Difference?

[gustav]

Has anyone noticed a decline in the quality of xd planes available at wal-mart?

I ask because a few 109 Gallands recently arrived at a local wm and none of them were in particularly good shape. The fuselage iron crosses on each plane were uneven and poorly painted and I even noticed a fingerprint embedded in the tail of the one of the planes. I'm guessing the machine operator picked up the plane too soon after its manufacture? Regardless I bought one for comparison with my first series 109 and found that the earlier version was of much higher quality.

Same goes for the yellow nose stuka. Other planes look good though.

Has anyone bought either of the above planes from an online retailer? Do they look good?

Of course, maybe I'm just being too demanding in response to the dearth of new products hitting the shelves...

[fredricchio]

We just have the Spitfires and Focke-Wulfs around here, but its hard to find the latter without any broken cannons on the wings.

[Morian Miner]

A buddy has been dying for the bubbletop P47, and finally found two of them the other day. He said the one had a horrible paint job, and the other had a broken propellar, so he left them both. Hope things take a turn for the better with the F104.

[Teamski]

I see no difference between Walmart aircraft and the ones you get from on-line. I personally think that this was a misnomer. Only certain lines contain consistently crappy paint schemes. The P-47 is an example. On the other hand, other lines are as crisp as a potato chip: Me-109Es and Stukas come to mind. This is based on factories used, not distribution. Now that there is no box distinction between WM and on-line, it should become obvious.....

-Ski

[p51]

Probably just a bad batch and/or the shipping company wasn't too easy with them. I got two Bubbletops that had broken pieces, but the other P-47s I've gotten were great including duplicates of the bubbletops. So I think it's just randomly.

[aferguson]

21c has different factories they use for different projects and the QC varies from factory to factory, so it is more likey this is a factor then those bound for WM vs. those bound for online retailers being of different quality. For the sake of economy they would all have to be made in the same factory at the same time...

Oh, and tell your friend that the broken props on the P-47's are easy as pie to fix...takes seconds, so as long as the paint job is good the broken prop really shouldn't discourage him from getting one.

[gustav]

The fact that some aircraft lines are better than others is correct and unavoidable.

My primary concern is the overall quality within certain lines. For instance, I am confident that the first series 109 and stuka that I own have better paint jobs, although not schemes, than the Galland 109 and yellow nosed stuka. Granted, I have seen only one batch of Galland 109s, but I have seen many examples of the yellow nosed stuka at different wal-marts.

As such, I thinks there's something to be said for a quality difference between pre-wal-mart releases and subsequent releases of specific lines through wal-mart. I have no idea on the numbers, but I imagine that 21st is producing substantially more aircraft now, because of wal-mart orders, than before when tru was the primary buyer. Nothing against wal-mart or 21st, because I am thrilled that 21st is distributing through wal-mart and hence selling more, producing more, etc.

However, I do think quality has inevitably sufferred, as compared to the pre-wal-mart time period, due to the demands of selling to wal-mart.

In fairness, the three fw versions (red, gray, black 12), the dday spit, p47 razorbacks, and raf/us p40s I have seen at wal-mart have had excellent paint jobs. But, these aircraft were not in existence before wal-mart entered the market and thus no comparisons can be made.

[Teamski]

The fact that some aircraft lines are better than others is correct and unavoidable.

My primary concern is the overall quality within certain lines. For instance, I am confident that the first series 109 and stuka that I own have better paint jobs, although not schemes, than the Galland 109 and yellow nosed stuka. Granted, I have seen only one batch of Galland 109s, but I have seen many examples of the yellow nosed stuka at different wal-marts.

As such, I thinks there's something to be said for a quality difference between pre-wal-mart releases and subsequent releases of specific lines through wal-mart. I have no idea on the numbers, but I imagine that 21st is producing substantially more aircraft now, because of wal-mart orders, than before when tru was the primary buyer. Nothing against wal-mart or 21st, because I am thrilled that 21st is distributing through wal-mart and hence selling more, producing more, etc.

However, I do think quality has inevitably sufferred, as compared to the pre-wal-mart time period, due to the demands of selling to wal-mart.

In fairness, the three fw versions (red, gray, black 12), the dday spit, p47 razorbacks, and raf/us p40s I have seen at wal-mart have had excellent paint jobs. But, these aircraft were not in existence before wal-mart entered the market and thus no comparisons can be made.

I'd have to disagree with you on that. When the LOUIV P-51 hit the shelves at TRU, it was notorious for poor paint and scrapes. Mine looks like it was thrown across the room. The other one I have in the box looks no better. The same could be said for the infamous S1 Corsair with the splotched "weathering" with included exclusive finger prints on many.

21st has wrestled with QA since day 1. I think the planes are generally looking better these days with the exception of the P-47. The Spitfires, Corsairs, 109s all look pretty damn good. Some issues with the 190 are there, but even they don't look nearly as bad as have been seen in the past. It a real part of our hobby unfortunately.

-Ski

[immeww2]

The planes that I've seen at WM seem to be painted fairly well. I really didn't notice any paint flaws on any of the planes.

[pokeyjtc]

The P-47 bubbletop Eileen I got from Wal-Mart last week is in pretty poor shape. It has two fingerprints, a large paint glob of white and black on the underside behind the cowl and the engine and prop are not set straight in the nose. This plane is probably the worst quality of all the planes I have bought. My Eagleston bubbletop from BadCat has none of these problems. I have seen FW-190s of varying quality at WM. Most of the time the paint is okay, a bit thin or off register in some areas on the markings, but they all have scratches in the paint. Maybe its the handling of the items when they are packed causing that.
Also, just a note on the Eileen S2 P-47, they printed Major Eagleston on the canopy frame. OOPS!

[5ohsinker]

i personnaly have seen a huge difference, whether its due to the planes being on shelves, kciked around etc, I dont know, but i swore off WM planes.

[flayrah]

I had been looking for weeks for a bubbletop. Finally found a new shipment, and every one had painted fingerprints on the fueslage or canopy.

[INTREPER]

I picked up a bubbletop last night at my local walmart. They had these hidden up at the top shelf where they can't be reached. They were surrounded by German aircraft that looked like they had been there for months. They were covered in dust. Luckily i'm 6'3" and managed to reach up and move some of the boxes. After looking through all the bubble tops they all looked to be in pretty good shape. I only found one that had a broken wing antennae and broken guns, all on the same wing. Probobly damaged while it getting thrown up on the rack or something.

ANyhow, purchased the plane, and went on home to put it together. To m surprise, I ended up finding that the paint had some scratches, the rear wings had some broken parts so now they don't move correctly, and the gas tank wouldn't mount up. But the real heartbraker was when I went to move the pilot into place, his arm broke off. Nothing a little crazy glue can't fix on the above, but man, what a bummer. Oh well, I guess you get what you pay for

[toyktdlgh]

The initial batches of bubble tops had some QC problems. The one I bought had its tail glued together with what appears to have been rubber cement. The box was unopened so this was a factory fix. Still a nice plane though.

[MightyMustang]

You guys are really hurting my confidence in 21st. I have yet to see ANY P-47's at my local Walmarts or Spitfires which I'm not happy about at all. Paint problems, broken parts ect. I want to order a Spit from Bad Cat but I'm very leery about it. I just hope their Avenger dont suffer the same fate as some of their P-47s have.

[INTREPER]

Dont worry about BAD CAT TOYS. They only carry the best looking models. I've ordered 4 from them now and have never seen with any type of flaw or damage.

[digger]

I've never seen a messed up Spitfire. All I've seen have been pretty crisp. I think you can order one of those with confidence .

[tmanthegreat]

I know what you mean by the difference in quality, and I would have to say that when planes were in the old Motorworks boxes, as opposed to the 21x Boxes, quality did differ slightly. It was much more likely to find broken or scratched pieces with the MotorWorks planes than the 21c. I noticed that with a comparison of two S2 FW-190s: Both were in decent boxes, but the Motorworks version had the broken cannon and scratches along the leading edge of both wings from the twist ties. The same version of the plane in the 21c box did not have the broken guns or scratches. The QC problems with the P-47 Bubbletops seem to have been a company-wide problem and were noted with planes bought at Wal Mart and small retailers.

[fuddmiester]

I've been pretty lucky, got MOST of my stuff at WM and they're all reasonably done!

[tko211]

I thought I might chime in. I have had opportunity to ask these same questions to 21st directly. The answers that I was provided as well as the inside operations that I have seen for myself supports the following. 21st is painfully aware of the QC issues found with particular runs that have come from particular factories. This has led to the firing and hiring of new factories to ensure the best product is being produced for future releases. On a side note: this is one reason why some models take longer to produce. I can't blame a company for wanting the best product, even at the cost of a 1 month delay. In the end its worth the wait and 21st is making progress in these areas. As Teamski pointed out the new 109 G's are a prime example of improved quality. All of the newer planes will begin to feature better paint detail and a hightened level of quality control is in effect. To put some concerns to rest. I can tell you that I have seen a finished factory paint production proof for the new F-104! It is hands down the best paint detail ever found on 21st's product. Very crisp and clean. I am told that the avenger will be no different and to expect the best with these models. Hang in there beacuse the best is really yet to come.

[tmanthegreat]

Thanks TKO for the info! We need to change your title from "Area21 President" to "Answer Guy"! I'm glad to see 21c take great pains toward ensuring the quality of their pieces. Even though there have been some slips, 21c certain has lived up to its "Gold Standard." The pieces have, overall, exceeded my expectations, and I think most other boardmembers will agree. Just compare, for example, the 21c ME-109G (or even the S1 P-51) with some of the Hasbro products. There almost isn't a point in comparing - and 21c offers their products at a great price for the quality! Tell 21c thanks for always doing such a great job and I certainly look forward to your future offerings!