WhiteWolf McBride

My Feedback: (3)

Guys:

I know I asked about Hooben gearboxes in another thread, but this is becoming a bit of a nightmare for me. Hence I'm trying to get a feel for who else has had issues with Hooben/ArkModel.

I've sent them images of the 'damage', which it turns out is not " damaged in transit " as they are trying to claim, but is clearly " p*ss-poor Quality Control " on their end. The spread of the gearcase sides was apparently caused by mis-machined gear shafts, the two shafts in question being the ones that slip into the slots on the case sides, and carry the first two metal gears.

As I've shown them in pictures, if one machined end is fit in the slot, the other 'machined-flatted' end sits at over a 10 degree angle off of the vertical it would need to slip into the shaft without either forcing it, or widening the slot. Now it seems they are asking me to PAY for postage for a full gearbox. I have replied that I don't need a full gearbox, just two decent shafts, and that if they cannot send those, I'd sooner sell their kit for SCRAP than pay for parts they should repace out-of-pocket.

To that end, I'm asking for fellow tanker help: Anyone have a " scrapped/surplus " Hooben gearbox you could afford to loose the shafts out of, if Hooben plays cheapskate? Its the low-motor side casing, the two shafts that fit in the casing slots that I need. But before ya reply - please see if the flats on 'em are vertical on both ends, please? Another set of QC-reject shafts wouldn't do me any good, right?

If I cannot get replacements for these, this T-55 will end up in the For-Sale area... and I'll have sent more $ down the drain.

WhiteWolf

Tanque

"scrapped/surplus "

eh?

Couldn't you just buy the appropriate size shaft rod from a model train supplier and make
your own replacement shaft? The maker had a problem, won't be the last we'll hear of.

Wolf you seem to have more problems than anyone I've heard of. Bad Kharma....what?

Perhaps if you didn't always have that seemingly perennially angry attitude you might
have better luck. Every other post you make seems to be a problem you have or tainted with
vitriol.

Why don't you post the photos you mentioned so we might all see what the issue is?

Jerry

WhiteWolf McBride

My Feedback: (3)

Sorry, here are the pics.

As for Kharma, heck, I think 35+ years with Crohns, and ~all~ of the attendant complications is enough kharmic payback for almost anyone... (ask anyone with IBD what a pain it can be...)

I did ask them nicely - and here they are asking me to pay the postage to receive decent parts they should have had in the kit from the get-go. If this had been Tamiya, I'd have had the parts right after the Postal Lockout lifted (if not before the Lockout!) Probably the same with Mato... then again, some people have issues with them too.

As for making a replacement set myself - no soap: I don't have the tools. I might be able to hand-grind the flats with a Dremel, and straighten the gearcase side-plates, but making the C-clip groove that holds the gear in its place on the shaft? Nope. And i shouldn't ~have~ to. They sent buggered parts, they should replace them at their cost. If I'd not started assembly before noticing it, I might have RMA'd it back to www.RCTank.de, even though its clearly not their fault.

If it comes down to it, I'll gut it and put HL stuffings in it, or it'll go out the door.

R/C tanks are supposed to be a way for me to relax, not a series of headaches. And for the most part, they are. Mebbe when I'm my own person again (and not my Idjit nephews driver) things will quiet down some for me.

Guess this is another reminder to me and anyone else thats too eager to assemble a kit: INSPECT IT ALL before ya start.

WhiteWolf

sevoblast

Looks to me like your problem is with your supplier, not Hooben. And some of the motors did indeed come with bullet connectors.

Also, FYI, the Tamiya gear shafts are a drop in for the Hooben TU's. In fact, the entire Tamiya Pershing gear and shaft set are a drop in swap for the T 55 frame.

WhiteWolf McBride

My Feedback: (3)

Sevo:

I messaged www.RCTank.de first, but they passed it on to Hooben. I guess if Hooben is going to ~insist~ that the gearbox issue is a "shipping - Germany-to-Canada" problem, they are saying the parts for ~that~ issue come out of RCTank's pocket.

To be honest, I found fault with very little in the kit, apart from the very flimsy bags for the parts (cheap cellophane) that let the track pins loose all over the inside of the box (not to mentionin a few of the micro-screws), and the gearbox shaft issue.

I just wish that I could get my replacement parts, and be done with it. RCTank and Hooben can settle whom owes whom between themselves, and leave me the h*ll alone.

Some lazy git in QC didn't sh*tcan the mis-machined shafts, and so I'm supposed to end up taking it in the shorts because of it. NO THANK YOU
(and as someone who has to have regular 'scopes, I'll say - Avoid it if possible, eh? Crohns is a pain, but doesn't have to be a pain in the *ss.)

WhiteWolf

Panther F

Wow ... damaged during shipment? If that were the case a lot more in the kit (and the box as well) would be damaged to have that great an impact on a metal item.

Stay on top of them and flood them with pics ... their claim is pretty bogus and don't give in to the "you pay for shipping" deal.


- Jeff

WhiteWolf McBride

My Feedback: (3)

Thanks for the support Panther:

I sent them the above pics... and it was AFTER that that they made the 'damaged during Germany-to-Canada' claim. And yea, the box had ~NO~ external marks... (unlike the inch diameter hole that spooked me with the Leo 2A6)

There was no serious internal damage apart from the ruptured cheap cellophane bags (which Dominique at RCTank ~and~ Sevo say is an all-to-common occurrance) and no damage to the internal storage boxes/areas.

But bottom line is:[ul][*] If its an assembly issue, as in Hooben QC did let buggered shafts be used in assembly, its Hooben's problem;[*] If Hooben ~insists~ it was a shipping problem from Germany, its RCTank's problem.
[/ul] Either way, I intend to get my parts, and ~without~ paying a penny to them for shipping.

Pass the word guys... if you know anyone contemplating a Hooben/ArkModel putrchase, make 'em put it on hold. Its time we let 'em know that they are nobody without the buyer, and as the old adage goes: The Customer is ~Always~ Right.

WhiteWolf

sevoblast

So, let me get this correct. Of all the Hooben T 55's and Elefants I've sold, amounting to roughly 65 of the pair, the two problems I had were fixed instantly. Of all the T 55's Schumo sold, far more than I did, no problems that I've heard of. So here's you with a problem with a kit you bought from EU with a couple bad shafts, and we're all supposed to stop buying Hooben because you're not happy?

rctank.de should have instantly sent you a new set of TU's or shafts, and you return the old ones. It's not our problem that an EU supplier does not have good service.

Tanque

Wolf you have a simple choice when it comes to situations like this.

You can steam and vent and get all worked up removing all vestiges of enjoyment from the hobby.

Or you can go the lemonade from lemons approach.

"As for making a replacement set myself - no soap: I don't have the tools. I might be able to hand-grind the flats with a Dremel, and straighten the gearcase side-plates, but making the C-clip groove that holds the gear in its place on the shaft?"

Whether "you should have to or not" well that's a point of discussion to some I suppose but have you ever heard of jeweler's
files? Files for the flats, a suitable saw, carefully used can cut that retainer clip groove a lot better than you think. Basic machining
skills don't necessarily require machine tools. There's a reason files are nicknamed 'the poor man's milling machine'.

Cutting flats with a file is brainless. I do it all the time cause unless it is a really important job it isn't worth firing up the mill
just for one cut. You can get so good at it that many couldn't tell the difference between file and mill cut.

For cutting the groove, here's how I'd do it without a lathe: find a collar, gear or what have you that you can fix to the shaft blank
just off to the side where you need the groove. This will act as a stop against which you can use to prevent your saw from wandering.
Carefully cut the shaft with the saw. Even better if you can chuck the shaft in a stationary drill or dremel; run at the slowest speed and
carefully bring in the saw to cut the groove.

It would have been more impressive if you come to the forum griped about the malformed part but followed it up with 'but here's what I did to repair it'.

That would have been worth reading.

Jerry

kclank

Gerry, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. you are usually so much above our collective emotions/gripes/tirades. bad day at the office? LOL

Panther G

I believe the Tamiya Pershings gear set fits in the Hooben boxes. Might want to give that a try if all else fails.

Panther F

WOW!! Is there a freakin' echo in hear?


- Jeff

WhiteWolf McBride

My Feedback: (3)

Well...

Seems that RCTank is not happy with Hooben's phrasing of the message. To that end, Dominique at RCTank has said they are willing to absorb the shipping cost, and that I'm to go ahead and say 'yes' to Hooben.

Jerry - As far as machining goes - with all the meds I'm on, my eyesight isn't the greatest anymore thanks to the steroids, and with the narcotics for the buggered lung and arthritis, my hands aren't as steady as they could be. That said, I'd probably have to try 3 or 4 times to get one usable shaft, and that would using a standard 3/8" (10mm) drill as my lathe/drive, and either files or hacksaw/jewelers-saw blades as the groove cutter. And as I said, grinding a flat on the end isn't the tough part, i could probably manage that half-decently.

A simple example of my manual dexterity with fine parts: in making the pins I mentioned to hold the Leo's sprockets together, I only needed four, but I ended up starting more than a dozen of the little buggers. I have my four, plus two spares, because I know for damn sure I'll loose a few in assembly.

Panther F & G: my gears appear to be fine. Its the ~shafts~ that are the problem. If I was gonna use a set of Pershing gears in it, I'd use the whole gearbox, not just parts. But I'd sooner pop a set of HL's in there until I find out how the rest of the kit holds up.

So... problem probably solved, thanks to the understanding of Dominique at RCTank!

dsketcher

Tanque

Ken you know every day in the office is another day in paradise... project managers, application managers, 'change' managers
are just little rays of sunshine; God's gift to.... well you know.

No, I stubbed my toe on a 110 pound KingTiger... [:@]

Sorry Wolf, I won't bug you about working up parts, with that list of ailments you sure as $^%# don't need any more grief.

Good luck. Hope your gearboxes work out.

Jerry

tomhugill

Whitewolf, I was going to offer to send you a pair of tamiya shafts which im 99.9%sure will fit. But it seems you have things in hand! If you do have further issues shoot me a pm and ill get them shipped to ya (should only be £2 or so shipping)

Regards
Tom

Panther G

The entire gear set and shafts fit so no need to reconfigure anything to use the Tamiya bear box. Just use the shafts and gears which by the way are of far better quality in the first place.
Seems to me the steroids may be a little strong. My mother gets these rage fits when the Dr bumps up her Prednisone a little too high.

WhiteWolf McBride

My Feedback: (3)

HAH!

I know what ya mean, Panther. I've been on ~really~ high doses that do that, AND have the other side effecty of firing your appetite through the roof too. I'd go from a 30" waist to a 34" waist in two weeks! You's swear some of the pics of me as a teen are three different people - Thin, normal, and pudge-city.

Other thing is I've had ulcers, mainly caused by getting stuck between my parents and the Idjit Nephew as a kid (they'd not back me up authority-wise) and parents and my two sisters, who were not always on the best of terms with them. Within two months of my moving out, my friends were asking what I'd done because I looked so much better. I replied " I moved out on my own " and they laughed their butts off. I'm also a Taurus... stubborn as all hell, and is usually why I butt heads with my mom: she's a Bull too. And they say opposite signs get along? Dad's a Gemini, and he'd do almost anything for me.

The main thing that bugged me was Hooben ~trying~ to slough off the issue onto Dominique at RCTank. Piss-poor Quality Control and crappy packaging (worst I've ever seen, to be honest, the cellophane bags are CRAP!) and then trying to pawn it off on the retailer? I've been a techie, and had companies I've worked for get saddled with being consumer-side QA/QC, and some times its more hassle than its worth. We often sent full model lines back and said " Until you fix these issues, we're not going to carry that particular item. "

Thanks for all the advice, offers and tips... I should be ok now. I hope to have pics of the 'motor pool' this weekend, If I can get my lazy tired behind motivated.

Patrick / WhiteWolf

Panther G

There were known issues with the Hooben gear boxes before they where even released. The chance of the "E" clips running into the brass gears and all. Thought they would have had that all straightened out by now. I think if it where me I would up grade everything to the Pershing gear and shaft set. Just for longevity