J
Jens Andrée
Guest
As some of you know I forked out the money and ordered the Haunebu II kit from Squadron a bit earlier.
It was way more expensive than I could afford but I really wanted one (which I'm sure I don't have to explain here
) so I went for it anyway.
I can't remember the exact price right now, partly because I'm in denial, but it was more than £90 so a fair bit of quality was expected.
When I started the assembly - which is super-easy with just a couple of really big parts - it became clear very early that the two halves that make up the bottom side of the disc was not like they should. Not one of them at least.
When I tried to join them I could only line up one of the edges, not both. With the centre base (for the control room) in place it was impossible to make the two halves to meet up level.
We're talking 10-12 mm gap here - and the plastic pieces are extremely thick so it's not just a case of a bit of bending and you're done...
I know we have to expect some bending when we're dealing with thermoplastics but in my mind there's a limit to what one can accept - especially when buying a premium kit!
Anyhow, I soldiered on, attempted to use a lot of force, even heating, but when I managed to get the edges to line up there was now a "bulge" a bit further in, because the plastic part wasn't level. sigh...
I first tried cement and clamping but that snapped as soon as I let go of the clamps. CA glue to the rescue, or so I thought, but the same effect... I clamped up the piece the third time and clued on as much support on the backside as I could fit, and I used a high strength CA glue that I built up very thickly on the backside with the help of spray activator - and this time it didn't snap when I let go of the clamps, but an awful lot of putty was going to be needed to make them appear even again, and the mating side of one of the halves would require some serious plastic removal - which would make it weaker.
One of the halves was also noticeable less wide than the other and required a lot of putty to build up the edge, to form a perfect circle. When sanding the perimeter of the disc the reinforced glue joint snapped again... :mad:
By now I was rather upset so I documented the scenario and sent a polite email to Squadron helpdesk.
I described the situation that there must've been something wrong in the moulding/de-moulding process and that I couldn't continue the build. I was super polite and asked if I could PURCHASE the faulty parts (hoping they'd give me replacement parts for free) so I could finish the build?!
Their answer was in line with "this is a normal issue, nothing we can do"...
I got pretty angry with that answer so I didn't reply. I've tried to learn that if you've got nothing nice to say then don't say anything at all. Sadly this doesn't work as well as being honest, but this is a hobby and not my professional work so I try to be humble.
Anyhow, last night I was looking at the damn box again where it's sitting, almost in the bin, thinking enough is enough so I sent my reply to their answer, not accepting that this is a "normal issue". A few weeks have now passed and I've calmed down and got some distance to the situation.
I supplied yet another photo that should highlight the issue better, but I sadly didn't take the pictures I should've during construction because I was focusing on making it work - not having a photo session, but the two pictures plus my detailed description should be more than adequate for them to act. That's my opinion.
This has taken all of my creativity and made modelling just a big pile of frustration - and that's not what I wanted.
The store that sold the kit to me were super friendly and very supportive but I haven't contacted them yet. I went straight to Squadron instead since they're the maker of the kit. Regardless they are the ones who need this feedback, not someone just selling it.
If I don't get the help I should get from Squadron I will contact the store I bought it from to see if they can help me? I'd rather they didn't have to do what Squadron should do, but it's a very expensive kit that should fit out of the box.
Here are the pictures I sent. The plastic parts are very thick and not easily bendable - which makes them store a lot of spring force when bent anyway. Not what you want in a model...
I don't know the rules here about outing a company before things are settled, but since it's no secret that it's Squadrons own kit there was little point in trying to hide their name.
They still have the chance to change their opinion - which I will happily receive and publicly write about, but for now I'm not impressed and I regret spending all that money on a kit bent out of shape...
I hope I'm not unrealistic trying to get new parts when mine are dodgy, but this is not a £10 70's kit where you have to accept lesser quality - this is a kit, by modellers - for modellers, and a premium one too...
I got back into modelling again as a form of therapy after some serious life altering events that I'm really struggling with, and that has had a fantastic effect on me. That's why I didn't need this.
Let's hope I get a positive answer this time! Just wanted to share...![Sad :sad: :sad:](/smiles/sad.png)
It was way more expensive than I could afford but I really wanted one (which I'm sure I don't have to explain here
I can't remember the exact price right now, partly because I'm in denial, but it was more than £90 so a fair bit of quality was expected.
When I started the assembly - which is super-easy with just a couple of really big parts - it became clear very early that the two halves that make up the bottom side of the disc was not like they should. Not one of them at least.
When I tried to join them I could only line up one of the edges, not both. With the centre base (for the control room) in place it was impossible to make the two halves to meet up level.
We're talking 10-12 mm gap here - and the plastic pieces are extremely thick so it's not just a case of a bit of bending and you're done...
I know we have to expect some bending when we're dealing with thermoplastics but in my mind there's a limit to what one can accept - especially when buying a premium kit!
Anyhow, I soldiered on, attempted to use a lot of force, even heating, but when I managed to get the edges to line up there was now a "bulge" a bit further in, because the plastic part wasn't level. sigh...
I first tried cement and clamping but that snapped as soon as I let go of the clamps. CA glue to the rescue, or so I thought, but the same effect... I clamped up the piece the third time and clued on as much support on the backside as I could fit, and I used a high strength CA glue that I built up very thickly on the backside with the help of spray activator - and this time it didn't snap when I let go of the clamps, but an awful lot of putty was going to be needed to make them appear even again, and the mating side of one of the halves would require some serious plastic removal - which would make it weaker.
One of the halves was also noticeable less wide than the other and required a lot of putty to build up the edge, to form a perfect circle. When sanding the perimeter of the disc the reinforced glue joint snapped again... :mad:
By now I was rather upset so I documented the scenario and sent a polite email to Squadron helpdesk.
I described the situation that there must've been something wrong in the moulding/de-moulding process and that I couldn't continue the build. I was super polite and asked if I could PURCHASE the faulty parts (hoping they'd give me replacement parts for free) so I could finish the build?!
Their answer was in line with "this is a normal issue, nothing we can do"...
I got pretty angry with that answer so I didn't reply. I've tried to learn that if you've got nothing nice to say then don't say anything at all. Sadly this doesn't work as well as being honest, but this is a hobby and not my professional work so I try to be humble.
Anyhow, last night I was looking at the damn box again where it's sitting, almost in the bin, thinking enough is enough so I sent my reply to their answer, not accepting that this is a "normal issue". A few weeks have now passed and I've calmed down and got some distance to the situation.
I supplied yet another photo that should highlight the issue better, but I sadly didn't take the pictures I should've during construction because I was focusing on making it work - not having a photo session, but the two pictures plus my detailed description should be more than adequate for them to act. That's my opinion.
This has taken all of my creativity and made modelling just a big pile of frustration - and that's not what I wanted.
The store that sold the kit to me were super friendly and very supportive but I haven't contacted them yet. I went straight to Squadron instead since they're the maker of the kit. Regardless they are the ones who need this feedback, not someone just selling it.
If I don't get the help I should get from Squadron I will contact the store I bought it from to see if they can help me? I'd rather they didn't have to do what Squadron should do, but it's a very expensive kit that should fit out of the box.
Here are the pictures I sent. The plastic parts are very thick and not easily bendable - which makes them store a lot of spring force when bent anyway. Not what you want in a model...
![haunebuII-issue2.jpg](http://arrendegarden.se/models/haunebuII-issue2.jpg)
![haunebuII-issue.jpg](http://arrendegarden.se/models/haunebuII-issue.jpg)
I don't know the rules here about outing a company before things are settled, but since it's no secret that it's Squadrons own kit there was little point in trying to hide their name.
They still have the chance to change their opinion - which I will happily receive and publicly write about, but for now I'm not impressed and I regret spending all that money on a kit bent out of shape...
I hope I'm not unrealistic trying to get new parts when mine are dodgy, but this is not a £10 70's kit where you have to accept lesser quality - this is a kit, by modellers - for modellers, and a premium one too...
I got back into modelling again as a form of therapy after some serious life altering events that I'm really struggling with, and that has had a fantastic effect on me. That's why I didn't need this.
Let's hope I get a positive answer this time! Just wanted to share...
![Sad :sad: :sad:](/smiles/sad.png)