KenKi6

I just received my Taigen Tiger 1 full metal. Sadly it's been damaged during transport :-(
Top of one exhaust broken. The other exhaust broken loose from tank. Turret broken loose on the back side, so you can look underneath it. A happy day just turned sad :-( We'll see what customer service is going to do... Unfortunately I can't upload images since I haven't made 10 posts yet.

Imex-Erik

If you purchased from us direct then make sure to use the support firm on our website where you purchased it and reference your order number as well. I am out of the country atm (spent 9hrs with Taigen today actually) and responses are taking a bit longer than our normal 24-48 I strive for. However we do have techs at the warehouse and should be able to get this taken care of asap however if you didn't purchase direct from us you must go through them first. Either way as long as it was a US purchase you should be covered!

KenKi6

Imex-Erik

This is a open forum my friend, you can say what you want or how you feel yea unfortunately if it isn't in the USA it is out of my hands as we aren't the EU distributor but if you are still having issues in a few days please send me an email anyways and I'll see what I can do about putting you in contact with someone that can.
Here in the US part of checking our tanks is adding extra packing to make sure you dont have turret damage like that. However hand checking on EVERY tank we sell or distribute is only an IMEX thing, I care a lot about my tanks and tankers

KenKi6

Yes it's an open forum, but i mentioned the name in another post, and it changed to this ******** uk :-)
I just received a reply, here's what they say:

jarndice

Ken if it was nitro + 3 letters starting t then good luck, they advertise widely which gets the newbies into their web but those of us who know better give them a wide berth,
If it was "Tankzone" all I can say is that they still owe me £400 although some people say they are better now,
If it was Forgebear Tanks or Welsh Dragon Models then they are good people and if you tell them the complete situation they will sort it out in your favour,
If you are not a builder tell them and they will take of it.
Shaun.

maillemaker

Unlikely you will get a free tank out of the deal, nor should you. I think ideally if you do not want the trouble of repairing it yourself they should send you a shipping label to pay for the return of the broken tank and then send you a new one with extra care in its packing.

It's not terribly hard to do work on these kinds of tanks but there ought to be some compensation beyond merely sending you replacement parts. After all you paid for a complete tank not one you had to work on to get it to work. Now I've bought some cheap-o Heng Longs off of ebay and Amazon that ended up needing a new airsoft unit and a new electric motor but I have lower expectations with a cheapie tank over one of those expensive all-metal jobs. Also I'm a mechanical guy so it wasn't a big deal to me.

But, word to the wise: RC tanking is a tinkerer's hobby. You'd best learn which end of the screwdriver goes in the screw.

Steve

Panther F

Just a friendly suggestion but NO toy of any level or expense is maintenance free so you HAVE to expect some type or work on it eventually. Batteries, gears, wiring... especially if it's a moving toy it will need repair later.

NONE of us here were born with the knowledge or skills to work on or build models... we took interest and just figured it out.

We're all here to help if you need it and maybe there is someone close by that can repair it for you. Repairing broken parts are not difficult as I'm sure you don't live in a throw away world... you must have had to patch something up along the way in your life.

Send it back but shipping is a double edge sword and things might happen... it's inevitable my friend.

maillemaker

I find the key to working on things is to keep this mantra in mind: "They had to put it together somehow."

In other words, if it was assembled, usually it can be disassembled, fixed, and re-assembled. It's not always clear how (I just took apart a fish aquarium filter that very cleverly snapped together in such a way that it was not obvious at first how to get it apart) but most things today are "designed for manufacturing" such that they are easily assembled and thus can usually be disassembled. You just have to look at the object and figure out the reverse order of assembly.

Now there are cases where this is not the case. If something has been welded or otherwise permanently bonded closed then you have a problem. But generally you don't run into this until you have the assembly down to replaceable sub-components that are unservicable.

Steve

KenKi6

It was indeed nitro + 3 letters :-) They where the ones with the best offer, so I went for it. After all, it is a little expensive when you go metal :-) I'm well aware nothing is maintenance free, especially not things that moves, but I bought this thing to be ready to go out of the box. If I were to do any work on any tanks, it would be if I bought a kit, or decided to upgrade something later on. I'm not totally stupid regarding screwdrivers or "handywork", but I want to choose what to work on and when, and that's not going to be a brand new ready to go tank :-)
I'm also having trouble seeing how I would be able to fix the exhausts that are broken, although it's an "all metal" tank, there's still plastic on it. The tank body is plastic, so are the exhausts, and I think the body is made from a single cast/mold. So the exhausts would be "born" with the body, and therefore not replaceable (correct me if I'm wrong), I don't see any screws holding them in place. EDIT: I was wrong, just looked inside and there are screws holding the exhausts in place. The extent of damage to the turret is unknown, maybe something inside is broken so I wouldn't be able to fit a new turret. I didn't want to use or open the tank until I heard from their customer service, I wouldn't risk them trying to pin the broken parts on myself. Maybe I'll try opening it to see how bad the damage is inside.
I've asked them if they would repair it, or send me a new tank if I return it. Waiting for their reply...
Man it sucks, I was so looking forward to driving my new baby around.........but right now I just enjoy looking at it, even when it's broke, it's pretty

Thank you all for replying, it's good to know there's qualified people out there willing to help a newbie tanker

RCfans2016

Did you file a damage claim with the shipping company? I think they should pay for the damage.

Imex-Erik

This almost never happens in the US. They fight you tooth and nail and will try to make you prove the packing was up to their standards and more. Since that is always changing you almost never win and that is coming from someone who spends thousands a week on shipping. I never make my customers go through that!
Luckily you got a ton of guys here that are more than happy to help as as I mentioned earlier I'll do my best to help when I get back too if you are still having issues. This is why I love this forum

Panther F

I think if you could send a few of us some pictures individually (since there is a restriction?) a determination might be made on it's repair. I don't own a Taigen tank but a tank is a tank and have built many kits and modified RTR's and should be able to help tell if it is severe or not. Small parts can be attached fairly easily but the damage with the turret sounds like there might be a structural issue hidden from plain sight and if the vendor would work with you, send those parts affected.

This is a great opportunity to experience just how the tank went together without risking another possibility of damage occurring once again by returning it and waiting on another, which doesn't sound like it's all the vendors fault. The heavier an item is the better chances it will become damaged IF it's not packaged right or handled.

Crius

Seems pretty simple to me, you ordered a ready to run tank, it arrived broken, you send it back. End of story. Contact the vendor and ask for a call tag (shipping voucher?) to send it back and return it for a refund or a new tank. How did you pay? Paypal? Credit card? Either of those can be contacted to file a claim if necessary and once that happens most vendors will just give up and send a call tag and then a new unit. I wouldn't even think about repairing it. An item that expensive should be in good working order when you take delivery, and besides, who knows what else may have been damaged and just won't show up until you run it for a few hours. Some part that should last the life of the tank may have taken a hit and will now fail in a couple of months.

Again, stop even thinking about it and focus on getting it returned for replacement or refund.

Pah co chu puk

What he said.

KenKi6

I think you guys are right, I ought to return it, and get a NEW tank instead. And they should be paying for the return. Their customer service just replied. I can send it back to them, their technicians will fix the broken parts, and IF they find a manufacturing defect during the inspection process, my postage fees for this will be reimbursed at a mitigated amount.
My complaint is about transport damage, not manufacturing defects..
I took the top of yesterday, and I can't get the freaking thing to snap back in place. I can lift the top off, without pulling the lever that's supposed to "unlock" the top. I've tried wiggling it, pressing down on it (it's as if it doesn't go deep enough, so the locking pins can't get a grip), but noting seems to work. I hope you guys understand what I'm trying to explain :-) So maybe some of the locking mechanism also got damaged, or maybe I'm an idiot
I'll try once again to upload some images.
I'll write to them that I expect them to send me a new tank, I wont be satisfied with them repairing it, because there could be damage that's not visible at the moment, but might cause trouble later on.
I work at hospital, in the department where we receive all the goods (not sure what it's called in English), and I've seen many examples of how the parcel couriers handle the packages (not with care). So of course I knew there was a great risk of transport damage, but on the other hand I expected it to be packed up really good (which I think it was), and labeled with a fragile/handle with care label (no such label). The box was in a box, that was in a box, there could have been some more filling in there to prevent the box from moving around in the box........that was a lot of boxes in one sentence

Panther F

There you go... a plan! You do deserve a new tank (especially at that price tag) and you're right as I mentioned, there could be hidden damage. None of us can see it so error on the side of caution.

Just hope you can wait for the return PLUS, kindly put a bug in their ear about packing the return (and demand a new tank) much better so this doesn't happen next time to you. We all wish you good luck!

Out of curiosity... how many replies does one need to post images here?

Pah co chu puk

"Out of curiosity... how many replies does one need to post images here?"

KenKi6 said it was 10. That seems like a lame policy for RCU to have. It prevents newbies like this guy from posting pictures of problems so us old tanker dudes can help them. A picture is worth a thousand words...

He is up to 6 now, he should post a few more just so he can add pictures to this thread.

Crius

You still haven't said how you paid. If it was paypal, get them involved. The seller should pay return shipping for a damaged item. Don't let them push you around. You don't want them to repair the tank, you want a brand new replacement, and they pay shipping on the returned tank. Stand firm. And if you paid by credit card, call them. They'll have one of their people call the vendor and light a fire.

jarndice

If you look at the front of the hull on the inside of the front plate you will see a lip,
If you look at the front of the body you will see a tongue,
Place the tongue of the body under the lip of the hull and lower the back of the body onto the locking plate,
The front of the body and the hull should mesh with hardly any gap'
Do make sure you have twisted the 4 air cleaner pipes on the back plate backwards out of the way of the tank body.
Shaun.

Panther F

Ah, yes he did! Heck I've slept since then or at least twice. You know us old tanker dudes need to re-read things just to dust off the brain. I get so wrapped up in the discussion, the details get a little foggy...

Maybe an administrator or moderator can tell us about that policy because it is a bit lame. I've been here 13 years and never heard about it but they must have a sensitive sense of security to keep spammers from posting porn images right away. I know when I was the mod at the Panzer Forum there were at least 2 or 3 a week first thing in the morning to remove.

KenKi6

KenKi6

KenKi6

Crius

Not sure if this will work if it's a debit card, but if it's a regular credit card you should call the number on the back and tell them you ordered an item, it was broken when it arrived, and the seller is giving you flak. At worst you'll waste a few minutes of your time, at best they'll remove the charge from your bill.