Small Scale Military Headquarters

How well do you expect 21 st century plane to be built ?
Are they a cheap toy , or a high detail model ?

I'd appreciate a modicum of care. My Panther has a finger/thumb print on the bottom. They were never "cheap" when it comes to a toy price. i don't expect expert weathering because it's a mass-produced item, but i do expect the pieces to be glued on straight, and without excessive slop and that the fingerprints be kept to a minimum.

Speaking of quality, their are some fairly noticeable gaps in my Bbi Kiowa windshield/body fit.. Common or did i get a bad apple?

My M48 Patton, has some poor Chinese Toy makers finger print superglued to the turret Skin and all. One of the my 21st Soldiers had what appeared to be a booger stuffed in the helmet. At least, that was the consitancy of it. Since we're on the subject. One of my Star Wars Gunships has a weird Sappy liquid leaking from the haul It's perfectly clear, but super sticky, anyone care to speculate what it could be.

Fritzkrieg wrote:My M48 Patton, has some poor Chinese Toy makers finger print superglued to the turret Skin and all. One of the my 21st Soldiers had what appeared to be a booger stuffed in the helmet. At least, that was the consitancy of it. Since we're on the subject. One of my Star Wars Gunships has a weird Sappy liquid leaking from the haul It's perfectly clear, but super sticky, anyone care to speculate what it could be.

If it is electronic I would check the batteries. Iv'e had that happen before.

I don't expect professional model quality, but I do expect a level of quality control. Even for the price, I think 21st has created some excellent models and I have been happy with probably 90% of my 1/32 and 1/18 models.

Fritzkrieg wrote:...One of the my 21st Soldiers had what appeared to be a booger stuffed in the helmet. At least, that was the consitancy of it....

LOL! When I read that I almost laughed hysterically.

Seriously though QC issues have been a problem with 21C. I've had figures that had some parts that weren't painted and on some figures the packaging was designed in such a way that parts were always broken or bent. Has anyone bought a DAK artillery spotter where the luger that's molded in the hand didn't have a broken or bent barrel? I've also bought several of the 1:144 planes and I've always checked them closely before buying them because many of them have serious warping and paint ap problems.

Over all, 21c's models are actually some of the most complex "toys" on the market. They are models in the correct sense of the word, and not cheapened offerings like the Bravo Team lineup available here in the US. They are great value for the price and will cost you much less than building a kit of comparable size. Expect lots of detail and moving parts.

Now, the quality control can be hit or miss. The same features of detail and moving parts were also a curse to the line. Complex toys are hard to mass-produce in the manner that 21c seemed to want to. Some of the most recent offerings (the Avengers and ME-262s for me especially) had problems either with botched paintjobs or broken parts. 21c seemed to want to cram as much detail into their products with the result that they didn't ship too well when only secured to a flimsy platic tray by wire twist-ties...

Other 21c planes seemed to have much better QC control. The F-104s, F-86s, Mig-15s, and even some of the P-51s tended to be OK in my experience. I did once have to go through 12 "Big Beautiful Doll" P-51s at a Wal Mart to find one where the checker patterns were not messed up... When ordering, don't expect to get a perfectly flawless model. It does happen more often than not, but it can not happen just as equally.

Hopefully that helps some. Good luck with your purchases