Tomahawk Products

noobee captain · 02-11-2005

I am building a small scale Perkasa and require two small motors and speed controller. An article in MMI last year mentioned such a system from Tomahawk Products. The number in the magazine has changed and I was unable to contact them. Looking on the web their webpage is unavailable although a number of sites (particularly in the US) refer to a wide range of their products.

Does anyone know if they are still trading and if so, how I can contact them?

Thanks
James

KenP · 02-11-2005

To my understanding, Tomahawk went out of business

**Bunkerbarge** · 03-11-2005

Hunter Systems do some very nice miniature stuff. Try to find the Model Boat magazine with the article on motorising the Revel 1/72 U-Boat where the bits were used.

new to trains · 03-11-2005

i have a tomahawk smoke unit and it is excellent, sadly they are no longer trading, - my personal opinion on hunter systems is somewhat based on an experience i had with one of their speed controllers, needless to say i have NEVER given them anymore business- action kit electronics also do some great stuff so shop around,
( the forthcoming warwick show will have most of the named traders displaying there goods !)

alan_b · 03-11-2005

I'm afraid to say I will no longer be using Hunter products.
I used a Hunter marine mixer unit and it malfunctioned and burn't out
two Electronize speed controllers @ £40 a piece.
Reply from Hunter Systems - You must have wired it up wrong.
Sorry, the unit was ready built and worked for about 3 seconds and
fried itself.
Second reply - It must of been the speed controllers.
Funnily enough I bought and Action Kit mixer and it is still going strong today.
For the sake of £25, Hunter Systems have lost all of my business

new to trains · 04-11-2005

i had exactly the same response when the 40 amp electronic speed controller fried my boat after only 2 minutes, - i had a !; 12th scale arun with a 40 amp speed controller in it, fitted with a 20 amp automotive blade type fuse, the boat was checked on the bank and everything was fine, launched and everything operated fine for 2 minutes, then it stopped 25 feet from the bank, then smoke poured from the superstructure and then a horrible smell of cooking electronics, whne the boat came back in the fuse was intact, the board had gone into meltdown so much so the fibre glass hull delaminated and cracked, the inside of the hull was just black charred GRP that had turned to powder,

when i spoke to hunters his response was it must have been incorrectly fitted, - - the biggest joke was i fitted it 2 weeks previously at a show he attended, he and i checked the current the 2 motors were pulling and he suggested the controller and the recommended 20 amp fuse size ! - he also checked the installation over after fitting it at the show !- all i did was charge up the 12 volt lead acid battery- nothing was changed, but when i challenged him on the phone after the unit melted he had no idea who he was talking to and he totally refused a refund or even to repair the burnt out unit.....

HE LOST MY BUSINESS AFTER THAT CALL!

**Bunkerbarge** · 04-11-2005

I have to admit I find it suprising that people are prepared to accept such treatment and do nothing more than complain about it to everyone else.

I would expect that Hunter Systems probably get a great deal of faults and returned items due to nothing more than incorrect fitting so the response, whilst not always justifiable, is probably to be expected. However, as with so many things nowadays, the initiative has to be taken by the customer and followed through. Once vendors realise that you have a justifiable case and that you are prepared to see it through to the end you will almost certainly get your money back.

A year and a half ago I purchased a wooden tool chest from Rotagrip in Birmingham, based on what I had seen of it on top of thier stand at an enginering show. When I received it it was a bit dissapointing as it was basically cheap Chinese tack. My own fault, I should have looked closer first. Anyway I repaired the broken bits and waxed up the runners, freed up and oiled the locking pins and polished the casing until it came out presentable.

!0 months later the sides and the top started to split. I contacted Rotagrip who messed me around until they came out with the response that, according to thier expert(??) I had stored it near a window or I had put it near to machinery and it had been splashed with coolant. As it happens it was in a workshop in my house with under floor heating, no-where near a window or coolant and probably in the best possible conditions it could be. (See my workshop in Nigels competition thread, the new chest is in the same place below the Bismarck) In also know a thing or two about wood and I know poorly seasoned cheap wood when I see it. So I spoke to them and the bottom line was that they were not prepared to do anything as thier importer has never come across such a thing before.

At this point I could have given up and complained endlessly about the appalling treatment but I wasn't prepared to accept that. Firstly I spoke to my local Trading Standards Authority who advised me to get an indepandant report written, which I did. Then I wrote a number of letters, including the report, which were all ingnored until I sent the final one on a Trading Standards Authority template and commenced proceedings to take the case through a small claims court.

It only costs 30.00 pounds to take an item through a small claims court up to the value of 500.00 pounds. If you have done your homework and present your case according to the advice you are in with a good chance of winning. Anyway Rotagrip eventually realised I wasn't giving up so they sent me a cheque for a full refund.

Even if you are talking about small items you should do everything you can to make you claim and most vendors, if they realise that you are justifiable in your claim will usually pay up. They are of course constantly up against people who are trying it on to get something for nothing so it is not suprising that they are sometimes reluctant.

I was even ripped off once by an Ebay seller to the tune of 25.00 pounds for a transmitter. Trading Standards said it wasn't worth chasing so I had a chat with the Police. They agreed that I was a victim of fraud and investigated the claim with the guy, who turned out to be a schoolboy, at the other end of the country. When his father got involved I got my money back.

Just a couple of experiences that I hope will encourage people to follow through a justifiable claim and make you realise that you have the means available to see through such issues.

new to trains · 05-11-2005

i pushed and pushed for a refund with hunter systems, but as you well know you dont always get receipts when your purchase things at shows !- i however did have proof of purchase from hunter, but he still refused to accept liability for the failure of the unit claiming the only way it would have failed in such a catastrophic way was incorrect installation..... he would not budge on this... .it was my word against his........

what really annoyed me was his manner, making out i was an idiot who wired this thing incorrectly, i have fitted over 20 ESC in a similar number of models and never had a fault, i know what i am doing- but he seemed to think i was totally incompetant and brought this upon myself, he did not accept he or his products had anything to do with the fault- i decided not to pursue them any further, but i vowed never to give them business again.... plus i dont recommend their products either !

but i agree, we should fight and stand up to bad service and poor products !

not for a good quality service and good products then M soniks ESC and Fleet control ESC's are brilliant !

noobee captain · 06-11-2005

Quality these days is shabby. Someone at club bought two mtronics ESCs. They were intermittent and he replaced them with two Electronize ESCs. As he went to remove the mtronics from the boat the switch fell off of one. The wires had never been soldered, in fact they had not even been bared. They were held on with shrinkwrap. The other was the same. Mtronics did offer to replace them though.

new to trains · 07-11-2005

well you live and learn !!!- i can only talk from my personal experiences of m soniks !- and they are all positive !