3rd times the charm? MKII Despoiler casting issues

[Laughingman]

Note: technically this might be a PCA subforum question, but I am not sure, please forgive me if I mis-posted it... 

 

Got a question, I recently acquired a set of MKII despoiler marines from Forgeworld, the casts had a variety of issues... I contacted Forgeworld and they sent me a new set, Which is great and all, but they went to the trouble of sending me a second kit, with 75% of the same issues. How should proceed? I can email them again, and see if they will send me legs with less issues. Anybody ever gotten webstore credit instead? I've had much better luck with forgeworld upgrade sprues in the past over the actual models....

 

Sorry for the badly taken pictures, but the point is gotten across.

 

[Major_Gilbear]

Contact them again, and send them the new photos. Also, send them photos of the two sets side-by-side to show the recurring problem.

If it's a batch issue, I'm sure they'll want to know. Plus, I'm also sure they'll send you out further replacements (if that's what you want).

 

Otherwise, I don't think there's much anyone here on the forum can do for you... Other than to suggest trimming off the mould slip as best you can and hiding the rest through heavy corrosion/weathering effects.

[Ishagu]

Depends on the age of the kit unfort, they're probably all going to be like this :-/

 

You can work to clear out the mould lines.

[m_r_parker]

Yeah, not much you can do but get in contact with them again and send them more pics. As Ishagu has mentioned the older kits tend to suffer more from this, and these have been out for quote a while now. I've been in your shoes with MkIII legs and miscasts before, and trying to tackle it yourself is a nightmare especially if you're trying to preserve details like the studs. I don't think you're going to get a clean cast on these though.

[Laughingman]

So Forgeworld responded saying the following.....

 

"Thanks for getting back to us. looking at the images you have provided the mould lines look to be workable and just need cleaning up using a sharp hobby knife. This replacement kit was not a free kit but was a kit to replace the defective parts from your initial purchase, with the replacement full kit you should have enough parts to complete your initial purchase of 5 models, and spare parts are in addition to this but will not be replaced again.  Provided you have 5 workable legs, torso's, left and right arms and so on we consider the issue resolved."

 

Less then pleasing response, Especially compared to Kromlech Customer service, Which gave me  web store credit when a casting issue prevented replacement legs from being satisfactory... 

 

 

Decided to see what I could do with the more salvageable ones (I still only believe 4 are truly salvageable), saved two sets of legs and torsos so far, Using Holsters and other equipment to cover up the most egregious errors.   

Edited March 17, 2018 by Laughingman

[battle captain corpus]

If you're still unhappy email them back. If you feel as a consumer you have not received eventually the service or product you intended to purchase then you are in the right. Frankly their response is at best curt and at worst assumptive.

 

Its your call though. Work with what you have or go from there. I agree though, Kromlech's work is by far of a higher standard, as is Anvils and Maxmini. FW just rely on the fact a lot of people don't always know the alternatives I feel.

 

BCC

[Major_Gilbear]

It's also important to note the difference between mould lines and mould slip.

 

Mould lines are annoying but can be scraped.

 

Mould slip can't just be scraped however, and requires considerable effort to overcome by rebuilding the step with putty before filing/sanding back into shape. And even then, the overall form if the affected parts is still often distorted.

 

I would see if you can photograph the parts to show that it's mould slip and not just heavy mouldlines. I would also check to see how many legs you can realistically salvage from the sets you have and insist that FW send you enough to make up the difference. Finally, I would also offer to send the defective legs back to them, so that it's clear you're not just trying tp opportune from their replacement policy.

[Disruptor_fe404]

Honestly, that actually looks normal for their Mk II and Mk III legs. All of the ones I've gotten certainly look like that, and certainly all the ones my friends have bought.

 

Their response is probably a touch curt, but if they sent you more, they'll have the same issues.

 

Unfortunate!

[Laughingman]

Managed to fix roughly 4 2/3 legs and 6 torsos. With minimal  reconstructive surgery, The rivets are largely intact, but the symmetrically of the banded plates suffered somewhat, contrary to the FW representative claim  these "mold lines" appear to be varying degrees of slippage, and require some "blending" to truly fix. However the blending would inevitability effect the rivets forcing me to rebuild them as well... 

 

Side note: Anyone know the size of rivets forgeworld uses on the legs?

 

Still not pleased with the condescending response though, it implies that shipping 12 dollar miniatures with parts that require major reconstructive green stuffing is somehow ok...

 

Update: Emailed Forgeworld back, More to send a message regarding my displeasure with what I considered uncourteous customer service, then the actual product itself. 

Edited March 18, 2018 by Laughingman