Todays post is a little bitter sweet, my Lambda class Imperial shuttle arrived on the 3rd of September. Now this was 6 weeks after ordering, that I can cope with as obviously it takes a while to print, unfortunately my model has several problems with it, first one of the wings arrived broken, not too much of a problem, as all the bits were there. Also one of the body halves was miscast and had huge chunks missing, but was repairable, here is a shot of what I had to work with.
The biggest problem was all the missing parts, all the wing cannons were missing, so was the tail gun, a small top plate, and the lower ramp.
As you can see I've already built or started a lot of these parts, as I tried contacting the seller, and have been completely ignored, this wasn't a cheap model at £150, I'm just glad I didn't go for the Legion scale version at £450, as it would have been an even bigger waste of money ! This isn't the first model I've got from this seller, the Y-Wing came from them, that one at least had all the parts, even they were missing some of the pipes on the main body. It's a shame as they had a lot of models I would have got, this is the seller to avoid popcultureprintinguk
Right after that negativity back to the model, as I was going to have the ramp open I painted the internal area like so, the white bits in the top are plasticard U bar as the fittings were also missing !
Once put together you can't see any of it ! LOL I also painted the crew cab, as I wanted to put a dark smoke screen on the model.
Unfortunately the screen didn't work, so this is now hidden behind the resin screen ! LOL While I'm finishing the wing guns, and the ramp I have got the whole model basecoated, and a layer of contrast paint on it, I think it's going to take a while to finish painting it, hopefully I can get it done before the end of the challenge, as it takes a toll on my hands very quickly with the weight.
That's all for today, so until next time, stay safe, and have fun !
Cheers Dave
I really dislike the 3D printing thing, I am not even sure of the longevity of the prints. Simon
ReplyDeleteThank you Simon, resin prints are about the same as resin cast models on resilience, and fragility, so a level of carefulness is required in handling and fitting together, but that part I'm used to, but you still need to be careful not leaving them in direct sunlight as they will bend ! LOL
DeleteNow this has made me grumpy. Dark Fire designs are fabulous, so there should have been no problem with the printing, this is just poor customer service. Such a shame as it looks like a cracking model. Mind you if anone can turn this around it would be you Dave.
ReplyDeleteThank you Michael, yes Dark Fire sculpts are top notch, but it all depends on who is printing them unfortunately. As you know I don't mind scratch building, just when I've paid for a complete model ! LOL
DeleteThat's a LOT of work and fixing to do on such a pricey kit. I'd be tempted to google where that person lives and pay them a visit in person do demand a full refund. With a baseball bat. -__-
ReplyDeleteRegardless - that Lamda is looking great Dave, thanks to your repair work and creativity. Way to go by saving an absolute shitshow from being a total waste.
Shame about all the time you took to paint the interiors though, they looked really good :/
Thank you Dai, saving the last of my fight incase I ever get mugged ! LOL
DeleteIt's taken a lot of work but it's finally coming together, luckily I had the skills to cover the missing parts.
I know, but at least I know it's painted, and have pictures to prove it ! LOL
the only ship I dont have in my Imperial fleet for X-Wing miniature game.
ReplyDeletebut that looks beautiful man, great job.
Thank you Mr. Martin, it's such a classic shape, shame you didn't manage to get one for your X-Wing fleet, you might be able to find a 3D print in the right scale, as I've found all sorts for Armada.
DeleteDang, this is just disappointing. One of my concerns about 3D printing is the overall quality of the miniature. As a miniature snob, the print has to be up to "commercial" levels or it just isn't worth buying to me anyway. Having said that, there's zero excuse for the poor customer service and I'm sure minis get broken in transit from time to time so they should be prepared for that too. I'm sorry you had to deal with the situation and your repairs look great to my eyes. Its going to look fantastic with weathering applied too!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jeff, this is the worst I've ever purchased, yes I've had broken bits, but they were easily fixable and made stronger with pining and rods, but I also paid a lot less for them. I know from my own business if I get a message from a customer, I do everything I can to rectify the problem, and if I spot a weak point before posting I've strengthened pieces to make sure my customer doesn't have to. Luckily I can scratch build, otherwise I'd have an expensive paper weight ! LOL
DeleteShame about the print quality, but fortunately you have the capability to fix it. I'm sure there are many who couldn't and would be stuck with a wreck.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be a great model when you've finished.
Thank you misterc, indeed it would have been a different story if I had no scratch building skills, which is why I wanted to put out the warning, so no one else I know got stuck with a duff model, been reading up on this sellers comments that this is quite a common occurrence, wish I'd read them first ! LOL
DeleteWell considering all the breakages, mis-prints and missing parts I think that looks fantastic, Dave - absolutely fantastic. As someone who prints a lot of stuff out for friends I must confess to getting the odd bits confused with other parts; especially when a few bits don't print out on a plate and I have to work out which pieces I need to do again. But that's no excuse for when people are paying you those sorts of prices for a model. No excuse at all. You'd have thought they'd have some checklist of some kind for all the parts needed.
ReplyDelete