A_LOTA_NOTA

Need some advice...... I'm new to the hobby & have final finished my first kit. I wasn't real confident in doing the covering so I took it to the locale Hobby Shop & they quoted me a price. but when I went to pick it up, they covering looked horrible. Air bubbles everywhere & doesn't look like they took out any dents like they said they would. Now the guy won't fix it & won't strip the covering off so I can have it redone. Just wants me to pay him for it or he will hang it up to sale. What do I do?

dalolyn

My Feedback: (7)

I would pay him or her and move on, once bitting twice shy ,next time look at some work they have done in the past. I should learn to use this advice more often myself. fly the plane If it is still in good condition, when you are ready to try something else, strip it and recover it your self. what kinda plane is it? My mentor would tell me "just cover the damn thing, do you want to learn to fly or have a plane that looks good". covering is not as difficult as it may seem after you get started you will be three times better on your second piece then the first . PS always have your knife sharp.

Miloh

An action in small claims court might get his attention. I would not hesitate for a minute to slap his ass with a day in court. I have not seen the work so I can't take either side but if you make it cost him more than it's worth to fight it you just might win. but the most damage could be done by just taking it out to the local field and show it off.


Let us know how it goes, It's sad that you might have to go to court over a model plane.

Miloh.

dalolyn

My Feedback: (7)

What if the guys at the field are his buddys I would find out first . When I was a newbe, many years ago, the hobby shop owner was also some vice pres or treas. or some officer in the club, dont shoot yourself in the foot.

<<fixed the quote>>

Miloh

dalolyn:

All I see is my quote in your last post. I'm sure you ment to say somthing. Just wondered what it was.

Miloh.

dalolyn

My Feedback: (7)

dont know what the heck im doing

Miloh

LOL!!!!! Been there myself.

Miloh.

Mike Buckley

Too bad the reaction is to take him to court... I'm surprised (well not really actually) how many times I read this in a post when someone is unhappy about something...

Unhappy you say? Take him to court I say!

(P.S. that last line was sarcastic....)

cappio777

My Feedback: (2)

Fly it with a tow banner that says "covering job by so so hobby shop"

[sm=lol.gif]

jcflysrc

My Feedback: (50)

If your going to build, then your going to cover eventually. Might as well strip that bird and start over. It is really not that hard. Besides you get to use some creativity and give your plane a custom look. Do a search here and I am sure you will find some info. Try asking around in your club if you are in one, and see if there is a willing soul that will show you whats up. As far as the guy who ripped you off...just don't depend on him for things like that. Buy the covering but do it yourself. If it looks as bad as you say then I am sure that you could do just as good. Really! Good luck.

Scar

My Feedback: (3)

How big a plane, how much $ did they charge, and did they furnish the covering?

And what was the agreement? Did they agree to do a covering job that looked like an ARF? Or did they mention there might be bubbles?

How much of the surface area is covered with bubbles? 1%? 10%? 25%?

Is it really that bad, or did you just expect a scale job?

Suppose, for instance, that the "Bubbles everywhere" are actually six bubbles. Couldn't you ***** them, iron them, and go flying? If you had bought an ARF, you could have the same covering condition. Probably no "dents", though.

Before you get your lawyer involved, you might ask an experienced flyer to have a look. Or give us a bit more information.

Good luck,
Dave Olson

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

1) Pay him

2) Show everyone what a lousey job he did. (Providing he's not the club pres)

3) Find a new hobby shop.

DBCherry

My Feedback: (4)

Unfortunately, I have to agree with paying him and getting on with it. You should post pictures, or give us more info about the quality too.

If it's really as bad as it sounds, I'd show it around and complain even if he IS the club president. Being on the board of a club doesn't give you the right to give bad service.
Dennis-

Lightfoot

My Feedback: (1)

If the guy feels that the covering job is suitable for him to be paid, he should not mind your advertising for him. I would let everyone know that he did the covering job and that he will do an equal job for other club members for X dollars, regardless of who he is. Being club president doesn't buy him any special priviliges or protection.

CAM2

Lesson learned. Pay him and move on.

Part of what make this a great hobby is needing to know a little about everything, building, covering, painting, radio’s, rigging flight controls, flying, etc.

Take your time, recover that bird and learn the old fashion way. Jump in, the water fine.

rajul

My Feedback: (58)

I used to have this phobia on covering and always had the feeling that the covering part of r/c is the biggest pain. Not anymore. I did a lot of reading (thanks to RCU and books from Higley, MAN, and a couple of videos), bought some basic tools (straight edges, cutting mat, Higley trimmer, heat gun, iron), and practised on scraps. My first job turned out great and it is this type of confidence that spills over to the next kit, and the next.....So, JUST DO IT !

A_LOTA_NOTA

Thanks for all the advice. I don’t think it is worth taking someone to court over a 40 size kit.

I have complained to the guy about the work & he agreed to give me a new kit. But when I went to pick it up, he had changed his mind & wanted to charge me for the covering job in order to give me the kit. The cover job was $110, & I can but a new kit for around $80. I guess I need to just pay him & chalk it up to a lesion learned, or just let him sale it.

Miloh

I don;t think it's worth taking someone to court over a .40 size airplane either.....But to me it's sometimes worth a notice to appear in small claims court to get the message across that a bad attitude and piss poor customer service can cost you.
It's a shame but if everyone that deals with this guy just chalkes it up to experience then his ways will not change until enough people find out and his business folds.
I just hate to see someone get away with it over and over because no one will push the issue.
Anyway I wish you the best of luck and I think you should tell us all who it is so we can all be aware of his practices before we might wind up in the same position as you.


Miloh.

Bowfish

I would pay him too...thats a lot of money for a cover job but you dont want to give away your plane to him. If you let him have it he gets the best of both worlds. He probably had some kid in the back cover it and he didn't pay him much. So if you leave it he gets to sell a completed kit for an ARF price.

I just covered my first plane and had no help. Personally I dont like the way it turned out, but it works. Part of the problem is I am just learning and the other is the Coverlite stuff. I hate this coverite stuff. I will be doing another with Monokote within the next couple weeks and will be able to do some comparing. Got to beat putting the balsarite stuff on first.

You might want to take a sharpie after the plane and call it the "bubble bus" and write covered by so and so hobbies on the side.

dalolyn

My Feedback: (7)

In that guys mind maybe he thought he did do a good covering job. My most recent student covered his first plane and did a good job, better then my 3rd or 4th try. There are some people that cant build kits to save there *** yet alone cover descent. Thats whyARFs are the only choice for some

DBCherry

My Feedback: (4)

Ouch! $110 for covering is pretty steep. I sure hope he supplied the covering material, but that shouldn't have been more than about $20 wiorth of material. []

Unfortunately, I still think you should pay him (just to get the plane back), but be sure to tell everyone you meet this story. Tell them you just want their input.
Dennis-

cappio777

My Feedback: (2)

You can always tell the LHS to give you what you paid for the kit plus a few extra $$ and he can keep it and sell if since he is so proud of his covering job.

A_LOTA_NOTA

I tried that, He said he would replace the kit. But when I went to pick it up He wanted to charge me for the covering job before giving me the new kit. Of course I argued with him, so he told me to hit the street, with customers watching it all.

rajul

My Feedback: (58)

Hi, do you have a digital cam ? Can you take some pics of the covering and post it here ? Maybe we can help you to fix up the bubbles and other problems. What covering did your LHS use - monokote, ultracote, etc ? You don't need a "perfect" covering to get a good flying model

Many ARFs come with wrinkles, bubbles, peeling and you've got to fix them yourself, but it's not difficult to fix them

On the $$ issue, did you agree on the amount BEFORE you went ahead ? I personally think $110 is too much, especially for a low quality job. You could get a good arf around this price. This is my suggestion : Go to your LHS together with a club member who has good experience in building and covering, assess the covering quality, and try to negotiate for a reduced price in a professional way

boogalloo

1) Clearly he's no one important. Any Senior club member wouldn't pull something as pathetic as this. If he is, you just found a great reason to show up at the club meeting for "show and tell".....

2) Lesson Learned. When I first started, I hung around new pilots, people I related to. I didnt learn anything. I make a point now to surround myself with sr pilots/builders. Any problems I have or help needed, comes not from my from my own pain, (if can be prevented), but from those who have already done it.....Lay down with the dogs and your gonna get flees...