Bad QC in a whole new level....

[Light.Inf.Scout]

I guess it depends on how "picky" you are also. IF there is a slight paint smudge or the weathering is uneven or something, that would bother some but not me. I usually only get mad if a piece is broken or missing.

[digger]

I guess it depends on how "picky" you are also. IF there is a slight paint smudge or the weathering is uneven or something, that would bother some but not me. I usually only get mad if a piece is broken or missing.

I agree. Broken or missing bothers me, but that's it.

A pre-built Tamiya Model in 1/35 scale is well over $100 so I don't think we can say "for that price" when talking about 1:18 AC with pilots for $50. Don't hold it against the manufacturers what you will pay for shipping. I'm sure all 3 would love to be picked up by a capable European distributor. I suggest getting your hands on one before lamenting what you get for the $.

[King O' Fools]

I guess it depends on how "picky" you are also. IF there is a slight paint smudge or the weathering is uneven or something, that would bother some but not me. I usually only get mad if a piece is broken or missing.

I agree. Broken or missing bothers me, but that's it.

A pre-built Tamiya Model in 1/35 scale is well over $100 so I don't think we can say "for that price" when talking about 1:18 AC with pilots for $50. Don't hold it against the manufacturers what you will pay for shipping. I'm sure all 3 would love to be picked up by a capable European distributor. I suggest getting your hands on one before lamenting what you get for the $.

Shipping costs do not bother me as long as I get some decent model... Still, I think if they decied to move the production from China to the US (or Eastern Europe for that matter), things would improve greatly, quality wise. The price would go up, to be sure. But if you pay peanuts, you'll only get monkeys.

BTW, am I the only one who finds the whole notion of removing swastikas from the "kill marks" painted on Allied aircraft to be quite ludicrous?

[aferguson]

let's not have another PC vs. swastika debate gang....had too many of those already.

[FieroDude]

let's not have another PC vs. swastika debate gang....had too many of those already.

But Aferg, it's so much fun!!!!

But I agree. We all know how we feel here. If we don't like it, it's time to write our congressmen, not our brothers in arms. 1/18 scale plastic arms, perhaps, but arms nonetheless.

[digger]

They could not be produced in the US. They would be hundreds of dollars each, sadly. And nobody's perfect; you would probably still have the occassional smudge, etc...

Get a MiG, F-86 or Starfighter. Out of the 6 I have, they are essentially flawless. Matter of fact my Spit is perfect too if you want one of those...

[tmanthegreat]

Same with my Migs, Sabers, and F-104s. The Avenger seemed to me to have the most flaws, then again it is one of the largest XD planes out there. Those flaws had more to do with poor packaging on the part of 21c than with the overall look of the paintscheme, etc.

I think Aferg ultimately has the right attitude about these pieces - we just need to overlook the little things and focus on the big

[sarge]

Which pieces are you talking about?

But I think Rowsdower hit it on the head - 1:18 is huge in the model world, and these pieces - for what they cost - are a steal. They are afterall toys, as much as we would like to think otherwise.

Well, I was referring to the overall impression I get from comments such as this one by Sarge on Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:59 pm (sory, but I can't find a "permalink" to it):

I think 21C QC sucks all the way down the line. First I ordered the Tuskegee Airman P51 from Historic, what I got was junk. base coat showing through finish coat,open seams landing gear not fitting right and fingerprints all over the paintjob. Sent the plane back at added cost and received a much better one except the pilot had two right hands. Got that straightened out. I just ordered the 1/32nd Jolly Roger version F4U from Small Joes. When I received it the paint job was all scratched up, It had spots all over it and the proverbial fingerprints one of which was right over the star under the front wing. That's the main reason I don't like to order on line. I repainted the whole thing as I didn't want to add the my cost by shipping it back. What are we going to be getting in the upcoming planes? Sounds like junk to me. I'm tired of excuses for 21C they've been around long enough. Just about everything you get from them has to be touched up or sent back. You all enjoy em. Sarge

The thing is I live in Spain and can't buy these items through a real world retailer here, and I don't want to go through all the hassle of returning models on an almost constant basis (from what I have seen over at the Bad Cat website, shipping charges can be quite burdensome, even more so than the actual price tag).

Right now I have my sights set on a Spitfire, two P-47 bubbletops, a P-47 razorback, a P-51 (retooled), a Corsair (from BBI), plus BBI's coming Dauntless, Hellcat, and 21st's California Cutie, as well as the B-25 and the Bush Avenger. Possibly one of the Pearl Harbor Warhawks. I understand that these are richly-detailed toys, but I would expect no fingerprints on the paint job for that price.

You do get a few "occasional" bad pieces that need to be sent back. But that's not 21Cs fault it's who they have producing and packaging them that's at fault, wonder how many are kids? 21C gets the blame because their name is on the box. The only thing I'll fault 21C for is their customer service and answering emails. Every plane I've gotten since has been good especially the Pearl Harbor P40s, Migs and the Starfighter.
Currently I'm building a 1/24th Hawker Hurricane. By the time you purchase the kit,paint and other extras you are way over the price of the 1/18th planes.
For you out there that want to put motors in your planes, here's a web site that deals in any type/size of electric motor plus other things. www.goldmine-elec-products.com I ordered a Motorola pager motor I plan on putting in the Hurricanes Rolls Royce fake motor as it looks like at one time the kit was made for a motor. According to the size 3/4 x 1/2 in. I should have room to spare. I plan on putting the battery and on /off switch in one of the wing gun bays. Just waiting for the parts.
You all have a good one. Sarge

[MightyMustang]

I was going to leave this topic alone because I got blasted by some when I spoke of BBD having paint issues and 21st rushing their products ect. Well I have to chime in. I got BBD for my b-day and it was near flawless so you can get a few that are bad here and there but yet you can find some good ones like I got. As someone said already and thats that these are toys and some of us forget that at times, that includes me, so they aint goin to be perfect. I was once an avid model builder so fixing up the problems aint all that bad for me and it aint hard and I would rather spend the money buying these 1/18th planes then building them because alot of money can be spent building a model. Trust me I know from experience!

[pickelhaube]

The only problem that I ever had was with the black 109s when Toy Federation had them first in line. They cherry picked some for me after I complained and gave a very good discount on the ones they sent me. Then about a year later they came out al Wal-Mart. How is that for timeing ? I went to Talallhassee for the storm and they had them there on sale for $20 . Now I have 6 of them. I wish they were the winter camos or the spinach ones.

[Studly]

Hey Guys the Mig 15 and the 109G-6 i have are flawless too But as stated there are always going to be a couple of shonky ones