cstevenpeterson

My Feedback: (21)

Hi,

I have a question about wood/parts quality in kits and what I should be expecting; however, I want to start out by stating that I do not wish to bash any manufacturer or supplier - this is for my info only. In fact I have had very good experiences over the years with all of the manufacturers/suppliers that I am about to mention, but we all know that sometimes things just happen.

Basically, I have been back into the hobby for a few years now and I have primarily flown ARF's, however, my passion is for building and I hope to get back to it soon. I have been "stocking up" on kits for future builds and I recently took advantage of a great deal from Tower relating to savings on $150 orders by purchasing a number of T/F kits. When I receive any kit, I basically remove everything from the box, inspect for damage, check off the contents on the parts list and then repack very carefully to ensure that the parts are laying flat and are under no mechanical stress during storage.

I have received three T/F kits from Tower in the last week and this is what I have found. The T/F P40 was just about perfect with the exception of a warped LE. The P47 60 sized kit was packaged very well, however; there were quite a few warped and a couple of broken parts. I usually ignore damage to anything I can replace at my LHS such as stringers and sheeting material, but when it comes to DC and vacuum formed parts, I of course need to do something to address these. This kit had a number (6) of very warped/twisted DC sheets and the wood quality of these sheets did not appear to be the best. I called MA at Hobbico service and as usual she was very helpful in taking the info and stated that the replacement parts would be sent to me. The third kit, a Spitfire was unique. I opened the kit box and there were pieces everywhere - even the canopy was broken. I did not even remove anything as I realized this needs replacement as a complete kit. I phoned Tower and they are sending a shipping label so that I can get a replacement. I should mention that the shipping box the Spitfire came in was intact, but the factory tape on the kit box was cut. In the end, customer service always takes good care of me and I am happy about that, but this post is more about what I should be expecting and what is reasonable with regards to warpage and damaged kit parts. I have some other T/F, GP and SIG kits and about half of them had some very minor warpage issues that were taken care of by the manufacturers. Here I have three new kits, one good, one questionable (perhaps) and one that is basically unusable in my opinion.

This is probably a gray area and different kit builders probably handle it in different ways - but I am not a scratch builder (yet) and I would like to use most of the parts (especially the DC parts) that come with the kit. Wood warps, its a fact of life and I do not expect perfectly flat/straight parts - just usable parts. OK, now we are finally to my questions.

1. Is it acceptable (expected) that I call Hobby Services for some number of replacement parts each time I get a kit?

2. Should I be buying my own stock and just use the DC sheets as template for re-cutting my own flat parts?

3. At what point should I just return the kit and request a new one? (The Spit is a no brainer, but what about the P47 - is it acceptable to call and request 10 replacement parts/sheets?)

These questions may show my recent lack of kit building experience - perhaps I should know the answers, but I would like to get your position on it so I can do the correct things going forward. I am expecting a replacement Spit once I return the damaged one and I have a 60 size Corsair on B/O. I am sure I will be going through the same process with those.

Thanks for reading my long winded post - I appreciate your feedback and support.

Regards,

Steve

Bax

My Feedback: (11)

Great Planes/Top Flite take the utmost care to make sure that quality wood is used to manufacture their kits. There may be some variety in hardness, but that's normal when working with wood.

With any wood kit, it's inevitable that some pieces will be warped. Wood is inherently unstable and will change over time as its moisture content changes. Sheet that is straight at the time of manufacture can warp over time.

With the die-cut pieces, you can usually live with the warps because they will come out as they pieces are built into the model. Thin sheet is almost impossible to keep unwarped. With most kits, the only pieces that may be unacceptably warped are wing spars and perhaps solid fuselage sides. It's all a matter of degree, and the builder must judge which parts may or may not be usable. It would be very unlikely that several of the die-cut sheets would be unusable, even though there's a warp in the entire sheet. The pieces in the sheet would m ost likely only have minor warping, since they would be but a fraction of the entire sheet.

Dead-true balsa wood would be that way only at the time it was inspected. Over time, all balsa wood will warp. Just ask any modeler who has a large supply in their shop. The thinner the sheet, the more likely it is to warp, or the more severe the warp.

Broken, scratched, creased plastic parts may or may not be usable. It's up to the builder to decide.

If a large number of pieces were actually unusable, you might be asked to send them in before they were replaced. A sheet or two isn't usually a problem. We'd find it hard to believe that 10 die-cut sheets were warped to the point of not being usable.

cstevenpeterson

My Feedback: (21)

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the reply. As long as my post was, I tried to keep it short and left some things out. I usually do take a short straight edge to the suspect parts located on a warped DC sheet and look at the assembly to determine if they are usable in their state. Being the perfectionist that I am, I probably replace some borderline parts that might actually be usable. I do use discretion and do not ask Hobby services to replace anything that is not straight. With the P47, I actually requested replacements for only 5 of the worst DC sheets and a few other "shaped pieces" that I cannot locate at my LHS. I know that the quality is there and that is why I purchased these kits - I believe that the P47 and Spit are just anomalies. It should also be noted that the problem DC sheets were all banded together in the box perhaps they were stored in an odd position and became warped/twisted over time. I think you have answered my question and I understand your position. I will continue to be careful in determining which parts if any need to be replaced in the future. If it would be of any benefit, I can send the DC sheets to you once I get the replacements - let me know. Thanks for your support.

Regards,

Steve

love those warbirds

My Feedback: (39)

I just got a .60 size JU-87 stuka ARF from GP and the quality of the packaging was excellent. The only problem I had was that a first 1/4 inch of the rudder stab had cracked off. Its a easy repair and my only one from GP so far. Now how kyosho packs is a different story