Small Scale Military Headquarters

Does anyone out there have an inside track to 21st to find out why the new Bubbletops (both versions) and now the new Panzer are being distributed with such obvious flaws (bad paint, broken parts) etc. Is this the wave of things to come from 21st or are they going to take care of this obvious lowering of quality of products. Using the Ultimate Soldier Box, versus Motorworks does not make up for shoddy product in the box. I sure hope the TBM Avenger, which many on this board have been waiting patiently for some time, does not meet the same fate as the Bubbletops.

I guess you could call the customer service number (posted on their website) or try emailing them at info@21stcenturytoys.com. I'm hoping that there is quality improvement as I have been waiting since the anouncement last February for that Avenger!

One may be able to explain the lack of quality on the Bubbletop P-47s and the Panzer IV as these were products that seemed to have come out of the blue - and perhaps had a shorter development period than some of the other items. It seems that the planes posted on the 21st site as "Coming Soon" (Spitfire, FW-190, ME-109G) have been decent aircraft. So here's to the Avenger!

My P-47 came with a broken pitot tube on the wing. I emailed 21st century last week...but haven't heard back. Maybe they're delayed because of the holiday....

For the record...my P-47's paint application is pretty sloppy too...compared to all my other planes.

I'm not happy with the Gustav, the paint pattern on top looks like they used pinking tape to lay out the pattern.
And my pilot came without an arm, not that you can tell when he is in the cockpit.

I have not contacted 21st.

Question? Does the new 109's come with tail decals? Gustav did Galland didn't.
Both from BCA.

online retailers are supposed to include swastika decals with their german aircraft, as i understand it this is for all the german aircraft that come out now. WM german planes will not have swastikas.

You may want to contact BCA and ask for some if you didn't get them...it's quite possible they hadnt' arrived yet when the gustav was shipped.

My 109G didn't come with the decals, and I'm not sure what the Hobbytown staff did with them. I won't pursue the matter as I can always order some from BCA.

The paintjob on my 109G it near perfect (I had the chance to select the best out of the ones on the shelf). The paintlines on the sunburst cowling are not smudged or oversprayed. The only complaint is that the national insignia on the fuselage aren't entirely straight, with the white outlines being a little curved. It looks as though the insignia were made with a two-step process, stamping the black cross and then the white outline on top of that. But this slight flaw is hardly noticable and does not detract from my liking this particular plane!

I just emailed 21st concerning the QC issue. Have to wait and see if they will even answer.

JOC: I just got a big shipment of 21 C planes and had problems with four of them. Two of the S3 Fw-190D's (black one) had missing wing cannons. One bubble-top P-47 had a broken prop blade, the other had a missing machine gun.
I noticed the fit of the pieces on the bubble-top P-47 seemed crude compared with the razorback version. The wings have big gaps in them and the bomb racks keep coming apart. Shame shame, 21C!

And they were doing so well there for a while......


-Ski

In another thread I mentioned that I was able to talk to a 21st Rep this afternoon, and he did acknowledge that they were having trouble with the QC on the new Bubbletops. I asked about replacement parts and will have to wait until they get returns from broken models. He did mention that they were trying to work out the problem and that the TBM Avenger would not have these problems. He mentioned an April 2005 release date and that the Avenger will be their best ever. Looks like we now have to take a "wait and see" attitude. It would be a shame if the Avenger showed up with flaws.

Well it looks as though I'll have to go with the Razorback version of the Thunderbolt thanks to the news from you guys about the Bubble Top version! DAMN! The Bubble version of the Thunderbolt happens to be my favorite and 21st seems to have dropped the ball AGAIN. And to think they did excellent work on the Corsairs now this? I hope the same fate aint in store for the Avenger.

As JOC said it’s probably just a manufacturing glitch and will hopefully be sorted out soon. I think that 21C has come a long way with their products even though I’m not sure why they decided to go skimpy on the new Panzer IV.
Still, it's good to be a 1/18 collector today with all the new stuff comming out.

My Panzer is not that bad the only thig was the barrel witch was easy to fix and haveing no interior realy dosent bother me the only thing would be it didnt have side skirts as an option.
Kurt

The quality issue seems to be pretty hit-and-miss. I have been very frustrated lately trying to find planes at Walmart that do not have shabby paint jobs or broken or missing parts. The FW190's and Bubbletops are definately the worst I've seen since I started collecting 21C.
On the other hand, I was not expecting Walmart to carry the Tropical or Graf 109's so I ordered them from Small Blue Planet. They just arrived and they each have extremely nice finish work, some of the best I've seen on any 21C product.
I don't know what to make of all this, but 21C definately needs to improve the consistency of it's finish work. I hope someone in their organization is watching this thread and taking action. It's been a great line of products and it would be unfortunate to see it suffer due to loss of customer confidence in their product quality. Their website boasts of a "Gold Standard" for attention to detail. It is my hope that they take the steps necessary to return to this "Standard".

Rogo

You guys wont believe this but after reading these posts last night and posting my own comments a good freind of mine called and was very upset. Why? Because he just got his 21st Bubble Top P-47 and you know what? Its prop was broke, the paint job had smudge marks on it and two of the guns were broke! Man was he pissed! I told him if only he would have came here first and got the scoop before he ordered it. The good thing is is the good folks at Bad Cat are giving him a refund and hes returning his "wrecked" P-47. It was the Eagleston 47'. From what he said the operator at Bad Cat said they are getting phone calls with complaints about the P-47 left and right. To think I was going to order one! I'm glad I didnt so it looks as though I'm going to have to order the checkerboard Corsair instead, unless thats messed up as well. If anyone knows drop me a line. I wont be ordering it until this coming Weds.

Happy New Year Everyone

MightyMustang wrote:You guys wont believe this but after reading these posts last night and posting my own comments a good freind of mine called and was very upset. Why? Because he just got his 21st Bubble Top P-47 and you know what? Its prop was broke, the paint job had smudge marks on it and two of the guns were broke! Man was he pissed! I told him if only he would have came here first and got the scoop before he ordered it. The good thing is is the good folks at Bad Cat are giving him a refund and hes returning his "wrecked" P-47. It was the Eagleston 47'. From what he said the operator at Bad Cat said they are getting phone calls with complaints about the P-47 left and right. To think I was going to order one! I'm glad I didnt so it looks as though I'm going to have to order the checkerboard Corsair instead, unless thats messed up as well. If anyone knows drop me a line. I wont be ordering it until this coming Weds.

Happy New Year Everyone

You won't have a problem with the Checkernose Corsair. I got 2 of them quite a while ago and both were excellent. Just note that the wing insignia is on the upper surface of BOTH wings. It bothered me at first, but I still like this scheme better than the others due to the dark blue finish. Looks sharp!

-Ski

Thanks teamski on the info for the Checkerboard F4U. It will make a nice addition to my Kepford bird.

you didn't paint out the insignia on the top of the right wing?

Nope! That would hurt the value, hehehehe

-Ski

pah..

Man -- sorry to hear about all the QC problems you guys are having with your P-47 bubbletops -- got mine (pre-ordered from BadCat) for Christmas and it looks great!

I want to add another one (maybe Eileen, or maybe I'll wait to see if there's a new paint scheme?) but now maybe I'll hold off for a little bit. Gotta replenish the XD fund anyway after a VERY busy fall.....

Regarding all the defective P-47s and FW-190s spewing forth across the land, the good folks at Bad Cat say that in China there are "A" factories (very good), "B" factories (pretty good), and "C" factories (not so good) which 21C uses to make their stuff. Evidently production of the bubbletop P-47 and FW-190 was turned over to a new "C" factory with little experience in making model planes: the result was predictable.
They really screwed the pooch!

They probably choose the "C" factory as it was more cost effective, or at least could produce the largest volume of aircraft in the shortest amount of time. They better choose the "A++" factory for the Avenger, ME-262 and any future armor!

Interesting info. donnieboy -- wonder if the factory selection is related at all to where the planes will predominantly be sold (i.e., Wal-Mart) and how many they plan to produce?

Sure makes me more nervous/cautious about ordering more planes from online retailers since I can't see what I'm getting first.

Anyone figure why the Bubbletops are missing a dash board above the instrument panel?
Could it be, that by using a "C" factory to make the Bubbletops, it allows very little illegal immigrants to enter the country?
In all seriousness, anyone figure this snaffu out? 21st is quiet on this one, how about Bad Cat, any ideas???