Is this group dead or what

Ah, but I think the person who sends back faulty RTR stuff is doing the right thing. Then the makers might actually do some quality control. This is a million miles from "no modelling skill" or "box-opening modelling".

Example, in N, the little Farish 04 shunter is often (usually?; all five I've seen were wrong) assembled with the pickups not touching all the wheels. To get inside is a collection of small screws, 8 of them, different sizes, four of which are a sod to put back in. Now, in all the cases I've ended up fixing them; two were my own locos (which I modified to 2mm FS, so the warranty is out of the window), three belonging to others. Bought over quite a long period with different liveries, so not all from the same manufacturing batch.

But, there is no pressure on Bachmann-Farish to fix their quality control from my actions. They can carry on selling duff product which works erratically unless passed to someone with suitable skills to fix it. Pickups fixed and they run superbly.

- Nigel

Perhaps part of the reason why they are easier is that there are fewer posts compared to the web forums.

Fred X

Yes, the moderators behaviour is over the top with respect to some of the posts. In fact only last week an American member started a thread about his experiences of his recent visit to Britain which was critical of some aspects of the country, but was totally fair and nothing worse than what we natives would say. But for some reason one of the moderators thought the author was being deliberately provovative and locked the thread!

Fred X

them know. What about an email to customer care or a comment to the retailer ? What do you think is the cutoff at which the product should be returned - for the average person that is, special cases can be ignored for this question.

cheers, Simon

I know it was he that said it, but wasnt it Les Dawson that could play the piano slightly out of synch ?

Cheers, Simon

Agreed. Some of the regular posters seem to have a lot of leeway and are startlingly rude to other posters. Unfortunately over the time I've been reading it, the place has gained a terribly prissy, sanctimonious tone, with warnings and threats from the moderators about behaviour posted all over the place. It seems to have adopted Chris Leigh's line that opinion has to be "controlled". FFS. It's a shame, because there's some really good stuff on there, especially the DCC forum and posters' layout/workbench blogs.

Retailers vary from box shifters to serious model shops. The latter might pay attention, but how much attention will the Bachmann/Hornby rep pay to them ? Box shifters shift boxes.

I have my doubts about some maker's customer care.

Difficult for me to say as I buy so little RTR. I think I've bought three locos in the last two years and no rolling stock; two Farish 04's and a Bachmann 20 in OO. All were re-wheeled to finescale standards, couplings replaced. The 04's were DCC'd (see sagas elsewhere about the DCC controlled couplings inside them), and the class 20 is about to have various modifications.

I build a few kits, and kits are in some respects worse than RTR. I think there are a few kits on the market where a full refund for being "unbuildable piles of crap" would be supported if the claim went to trading standards. There are also some totally superb kits which are a delight to build. I tend to research what I buy and stick with the stuff from designers with a good reputation.

- Nigel

Ah, that might be why I haven't bumped into the nasty bits of RMWeb; I tend to hang out in only the DCC forum and a couple of layout/workbench areas. Those tend to be fine.

Even so, I have noticed, even in the DCC bit, the occaisional trigger-happy locking of a thread, and the growth of the "rules" postings at the top of the pages is annoying (I complained about it once, pointing out that having a vast number would ensure all were unread, and they were trimmed back a bit, but they are growing again like the weeds in my garden).

I'm sorry that some decent modellers have left due to the actions of the RMWeb management/moderators.

- Nigel

Try some reviews of Starfix model aeroplanes: "traditionally used as non biodegradable landfill, as place holders on Ebay" is one. I have one on my shelf, bought in a sale at a pound shop in Hull. People peer at it and say "WTF? OK, just maybe it is a little bit like a Spitfire. Well, except for the shape."

Maybe I've just not found them, but there don't seem to be many railway kit review websites around. There are lots - maybe too many to keep track of - for 1:72 aeroplanes and 1:35 Panzers, but even things like the Airfix/Dapol and Revell plastic loco kits only appear as lone oddities tagged on the end of other review sites.