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1/24 Airfix F6F-5 Hellcat "Kicked Up A Notch": New eBook Now Available!


chuck540z3

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2 hours ago, Rocat said:

Too bad for those parts. I really hope the "support" will work out for you...I had no luck with a missing canopy, a few years ago :-/

 

Me too.  I'm already getting a bit of a challenge with the following after sending them the same 2 pics above:

  1. On the link above, they mention, "We may have to charge for items that have been damaged, lost, or purchased within a second hand kit"
  2. They want an original bill of sale
  3. They want a "traceability code" marked on the box, to, quickly identify the correct product and manufacturing batch so that we can check to see if the parts are available and establish if there are any other recorded issues

I get #1 and #2, because you never know how parts could be lost or damaged with second hand kits, so thankfully I have the bill of sale.  As for #3, I really don't care about any of this, because I just want my missing parts which are clearly flawed during production.

 

We'll see what happens and I will report back accordingly!

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

Edited by chuck540z3
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1 hour ago, chuck540z3 said:

 

Me too.  I'm already getting a bit of a challenge with the following after sending them the same 2 pics above:

  1. On the link above, they mention, "We may have to charge for items that have been damaged, lost, or purchased within a second hand kit"
  2. They want an original bill of sale
  3. They want a "traceability code" marked on the box, to, quickly identify the correct product and manufacturing batch so that we can check to see if the parts are available and establish if there are any other recorded issues

I get #1 and #2, because you never know how parts could be lost or damaged with second hand kits, so thankfully I have the bill of sale.  As for #3, I really don't care about any of this, because I just want my missing parts which are clearly flawed during production.

 

We'll see what happens and I will report back accordingly!

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

So #3 is the bar code and batch number. That way they can identify and fix run issue. 

 

Because even if you got the lit today it could have been a initial run shelf queen. 

For example I believe the typhoon canopy was addressed after initial issueing

Edited by Neo
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Hi Chuck, I can confirm that the pieces in question are just those, in my sprues there are and luckily they have no defects.

However, I find it unacceptable that a kit of this importance and above all of the new generation suffers from really poor quality control.

if you can help on the bags there are some numbers written in felt-tip pen I think they are written by who checked the sprue

 

main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_it

Edited by spartacus2000
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5 hours ago, spartacus2000 said:

However, I find it unacceptable that a kit of this importance and above all of the new generation suffers from really poor quality control.

if you can help on the bags there are some numbers written in felt-tip pen I think they are written by who checked the sprue

 

First thing I do when I open a kit to build is toss the bags.  In any case, I don't want to get anyone into trouble for an easily missed mistake and the "traceability code" they asked for may shed some light on the problem.  I would bet 5 to 1 that this isn't the first kit with this very problem, yet the rest of the sprue looks perfect.

 

4 hours ago, levier said:

There's a seller on ebay, deals in lots of sprues.  Maybe someone on forum knows his store name?

 

I noticed that when I was looking for a pic of the faulty sprue, so that might be a solution.  In any case, I like my chances of a happy ending with Airfix. ^_^

 

Cheers,

Chuck

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A small update from Airfix.  They have responded yesterday, telling me that the best way to get replacement parts is to go to the seller of the kit, in this case Sprue Bros, but if that isn't successful, they are willing to send me the parts if I pay shipping of 7 GBP, or about $10 US.  <_<

 

I let them know that this problem isn't due to anything that Sprue Bros have done, because the problem originates with Airfix, so I want them to send me the parts for free.  These parts aren't broken or missing, they are flawed, so Airfix should stand behind their products.  $10 is nothing in the big scheme of things, but it's the principle of the thing.  I'll eventually pay it if I have to, of course, but so far I'm not very impressed with Airfix customer service.  We'll see what happens Monday.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

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There must have been a change of strategy in the replacement policy, I remember that some time ago I bought the legendary hurricane in 1/24 scale second hand and unfortunately the canopy was broken, I made the request and it was sent to me for free .... .perhaps Brexit has also affected this.:lol::lol:
I'm joking of course but as you say the problem starts with them, you haven't lost or broken anything.
Anyway I'm happy that everything is resolved, I can't wait for new updates.
If you want something more detailed, all you have to do is ask

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I had a claim with Airfix only a few years back over a cracked canopy for the 1/24 Typhoon. A quick response from them sent a replacement to me in a week. 

 Maybe you just snagged the wrong service representative. Maybe a supervisor would be would be interested to know that your Hellcat build is being followed by hundreds; possibly thousands of modelers around the globe! 

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November 2/21

 

 

No luck with Airfix on replacing the faulty parts without me paying $10 US for shipping.  These parts were not damaged and they weren’t second hand, because I bought the kit new from Sprue Bros. only months ago.  They are miss-cast at the factory for some reason, so now I have to pay extra to get them replaced.  I totally understand that $10 is nothing in the big scheme of things, but what they are essentially telling me is that the kit cost $128 US if it has no problems, but it’s $138 US plus a lot of hassle if there are defects.  To make things even more of a pain, they won’t accept Paypal or an e-Transfer for payment.  I have to phone “Hornby Hobbies” in the UK tomorrow and give them my credit card number if you can believe it.  Very bad customer service and yes, I tried everything, including drawing attention to this build thread.  If anyone from Airfix is reading this, shame on you.  Instead of charging me, you should be paying me for promoting one of your products.

 

 

Moving on, I added the bottom fuselage Parts F36 and F41 (incorrectly indicated as F37), sans the above radiator vent parts which I can add later.  Here’s a look at the front, where the radiator should be painted aluminum, although I bet I never see it again when the engine is installed.

 

 

IvVxOZ.jpg

 

 

And the rear.  Overall fit is pretty good, although I did widen the mounting holes to accommodate a bit of movement.

 

 

G5rULq.jpg

 

 

Right side fit is good, although I did fill a depression as noted with CA clear glue.

 

 

zBt9Gg.jpg

 

 

The left side has a bit of a gap where it touches the wing.  I suppose I could have sanded the part underneath it a bit to close the gap, but the fix is simple enough.

 

 

kBmCSv.jpg

 

 

Which I filled with putty, just like the wing root.  The front will be filled a bit more when I add some of the cowling parts later.

 

 

2QxAV3.jpg

 

 

I next assembled and glued the tail parts together, but be careful of Parts P11 and P12, that connect the elevators to the horizontal stabilizer.  There is a thick anchor on the inside and a thinner anchor on the outside, which I glued in backwards and fortunately, figured it out before the glue had set too long.  Reading some other builds of this kit, I’m not the only bone head to do so!

 

 

Note that the central rudder anchor, Part P6, needs a LOT of sanding thinner to get it to fit.  Once thinned, it slips into the recess quite nicely with a snug friction fit that needs no glue.

 

 

jYM9w1.jpg

 

 

These parts give you the option to have the control surfaces deflect at various angles, much like the wing flaps.  However, after looking at hundreds of Hellcat pics, anything other than level is fairly rare, unlike a Spitfire where the elevators are usually down when parked.  As a result, I glued them in flat, which is a bit boring, but fairly “correct” for most circumstances.

 

 

aGo7Ye.jpg

 

 

EYkCTz.jpg

 

 

What I was very surprised with, is that these parts fit the fuselage almost perfectly as is.  With a liberal amount of Tamiya Extra Thin Cement, I got them to suck up to the fuselage without using hardly any putty.

 

 

dcnNp5.jpg

 

 

 

9CKKAx.jpg

 

 

Even underneath.  Very nice fit all around.

 

 

O0V7WM.jpg

 

 

You may have noticed that rather than using my typical blue fabric background, some of my pics have a softer gray background.  As mentioned earlier, my trusty 16” photo-booth that I’ve been using for years, is no match for this big model, so I upgraded to a 20” one, which is big enough to get the model into at an angle, but still too small for overall pics of the entire model.  I have a 24” photo-booth that I use for final Ready for Inspection pics, but it’s way too big for my work area, so this will have to do.  If anyone is interested, it’s called a Neewer Photo Studio Lightbox, 20” X 20”, which I bought through Amazon here:

 

 

Neewer 20 X 20" Photo-booth

 

 

What I really like about this version is that it comes with a strong overhead LED ring light, but it also has a dimmer switch so that you can adjust the lighting, which I have never had before. Lace white nylon fabric hangs from above and diffuses the light, so that there are no strong reflections. It doesn’t have a blue vinyl background, but since this model is almost entirely dark blue, it’s time to lighten up my background anyway, in this case a light grey.

 

 

t6J3Om.jpg

 

 

I think I’m going to attack the metal landing gear next, so that this model can stand on it’s own as I fiddle with other parts.  The other reason is that that big PW Double Wasp engine is very complex and intimidating, especially with all the aftermarket stuff I’m going to add to it.  It’s an entire model all by itself and it’s my intention to do as a good job as possible, with it and the cockpit the focus of this model.

 

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited by chuck540z3
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