Airfix

[Martin H]

I doubt your being ripped off, Airfix are renowned for their new release timetables slipping. Its most likely a problem with decal printing that causing the delay.

[lancer]

I doubt your being ripped off, Airfix are renowned for their new release timetables slipping. Its most likely a problem with decal printing that causing the delay.

I agree with what's being said and I think it's bloody bad form on the part of Airfix/Hornby as far as the slippage times are concerned. ANY other business that had schedule shippage as bad as this would be ripped up one side and down the other!! IS it because they 'just' do models that they can get away with it? It's also piss planning if it IS problems with decal printing - they should have had that sorted at before the test shots were available.  I used to get reamed if any of my project schedule slipped.

[NARSES2]

I doubt your being ripped off, Airfix are renowned for their new release timetables slipping. Its most likely a problem with decal printing that causing the delay.

I agree with what's being said and I think it's bloody bad form on the part of Airfix/Hornby as far as the slippage times are concerned. ANY other business that had schedule shippage as bad as this would be ripped up one side and down the other!! IS it because they 'just' do models that they can get away with it? It's also piss planning if it IS problems with decal printing - they should have had that sorted at before the test shots were available.  I used to get reamed if any of my project schedule slipped.

If you work in manufacturing there are always slippages, it's a fact of life. We had one infamous order that was 3 years late   It was at the limits of current technology at the time and as it was to do with safety in the power industry it had to be right. The fact that the installation it was intended for was running 7 years late didn't mitigate us being 3 years overdue. IT by the way is even worse - how late was the last IT project we had delivered  

As far as Airfix are concerned most of their production run (if not all of it) is completely out of their hands. It's all sub contracted out to the far east for the plastic and the transfers are possibly Italy. The simplest things like overseas holiday dates affecting your shipping schedule can have a huge knock on effect on actual delivery times. Once you miss a deadline for a shipment you might have to wait ages for another. Trying to organise these things by e-mail, telephone is a nightmare and that's not accounting for the language barrier. You are probably being told "everythings ok" until the very last minute. Also don't forget that there have been quite a few natural "disasters" out East recently and even places like China are starting to see industrial unrest. You won't read anything about that in most of the UK's so called media but it's happening and it all effects shipping dates.

Just be happy that you've got an apparently thriving Airfix back again with an ever increasing catalogue of new tools. In all honesty is waiting 3 or 4 weeks for a kit life and death ??

Chris - rant mode off

[PR19_Kit]

Just be happy that you've got an apparently thriving Airfix back again with an ever increasing catalogue of new tools. In all honesty is waiting 3 or 4 weeks for a kit life and death ??

No it isn't, but the principle of taking my money and not delivering means that money is generating interest, however small that may be, for THEM and not ME. It's the same system that prevaids in banks where they take note all the outgoings on each day before they note the incomings, no matter what time the movements really happen. That generates an artificial 'overdraft' for which they have the NERVE to charge me!

Once again it's corporate greed, it'll be the death of civilisation as we know it, and I'm not joking.......

[NARSES2]

Just be happy that you've got an apparently thriving Airfix back again with an ever increasing catalogue of new tools. In all honesty is waiting 3 or 4 weeks for a kit life and death ??

No it isn't, but the principle of taking my money and not delivering means that money is generating interest, however small that may be, for THEM and not ME. It's the same system that prevaids in banks where they take note all the outgoings on each day before they note the incomings, no matter what time the movements really happen. That generates an artificial 'overdraft' for which they have the NERVE to charge me!

Once again it's corporate greed, it'll be the death of civilisation as we know it, and I'm not joking.......

Kit I can understand how you feel re the money and I can't say there aren't occasions when I feel the same way. It would be better if they held the payment in the same way some hotels do with advance bookings. They only debit your card the day before you check in even though you have "paid" weeks before. No show you still pay but at least it's not out of your account until the day you arrive. The banks is another matter all together.

Chris

[Thorvic]

The issue will be with the decals, either tied up with the legal aspects of Model Alliance folding, or the decals printed were either flawed or incorrect which would require a reprint.

Seeing how the webpage for the product clearly says payment in advance, i don't see what your issue is Kit, and if you have a beef that should be taken up with Airfix Customer Services and not openly on a forum.

As for paying in advance, that relates to the third party that managed the On-line store for Airfix, becuase this kit is a limited edition of only 1000, they were obviously unable to use their normal stock notification method  as interest may exceed availability, and should customers change their mind they could be left with excess unsold stock which cannot be sold as a free stock item after being advertised as limited edition. Thus they require a pre-order to confirm actual orders, the reason they take payment now is that they process it as an order then and there, they do not like to hold on-line pre-orders with card details these days as those tend to be held in a seperate file which may not be as secure as the standard order processeing (Thats what happened to Hannants  and it nearlly wiped out their on-line business after the account data was stolen).

Back to the Model Kit industry, all of them are the same, Steve's still waiting on the Revell 32nd Lynx, Italeri/Special hobby's Sunderland has been in development for a few years now, no idea what happened to the announced Italeri 1/48 naval merlin or the 1/72nd Canberra B2 and it looks like the Douglas Bolo, Martin & narses have been awaiting since about 2006 is finally going to appear this year !!!. Those who tend to keep to a deadline happen to be the ones with the minimal amount of new kit production and only tend to announce them once they are in pre-production.

[Aircav]

Back to the Model Kit industry, all of them are the same, Steve's still waiting on the Revell 32nd Lynx, Italeri/Special hobby's Sunderland has been in development for a few years now, no idea what happened to the announced Italeri 1/48 naval merlin or the 1/72nd Canberra B2 and it looks like the Douglas Bolo, Martin & narses have been awaiting since about 2006 is finally going to appear this year !!!. Those who tend to keep to a deadline happen to be the ones with the minimal amount of new kit production and only tend to announce them once they are in pre-production.

I heard about the Lynx long before it was public and still in the planning stage because of something I over heard in the car park at Telford one year but didn't tell anyone because it may of jeopardised its release. There are things I've heard since and not said anything for the same reason and as its been said already, if your dealing with two or more organisations then things don't always go to plan, but the main thing is if you start slagging firms off you may either not get the model as it may be dropped or you could just end up in court.

[The Wooksta!]

Happened with the Tamiya Meteor.  They released the F1 but had made a cock up with regard to the wing (they'd measured the hybrid airframe at Cosford) but modellers went mental and slagged Tamiya off relentlessly.  Tamiya corrected it but held back on the planned F3 for some years.

Even wrong, the Tamiya Meteor F1 is still a stunning kit of a museum aircraft.

[rickshaw]

Kit, I assume you paid by credit card?  Simply cancel the transaction if you account has been debited.  If it actually hasn't been debited, then Airfix doesn't have the money and is earning no interest (the Credit Card company/bank is).

[Thorvic]

Kit, I assume you paid by credit card?  Simply cancel the transaction if you account has been debited.  If it actually hasn't been debited, then Airfix doesn't have the money and is earning no interest (the Credit Card company/bank is).

Can people stop making 'helpfull' suggestions, the first course of action if you have an issue with this delayed model is to take it up with Airfix first, only should that not prove successful should alternative actions be investigated.

Please remember that trading standards vary from country to country, what may be valid in your own country be be inappropriate elsewhere and could drop an unsuspecting member in hot water should they wrongly act on the 'advice' given. Not only that but it could land the forum in trouble which can have a knock on effect with the associated Special Interest Groups and their relationships with the business.

The first course of action should be always to deal with the retailer first, then the manufacturer and then contact you local trading/consumer standards organisation should the issue be unresolved as they should be able to recommend the next legal course of action.

[PR19_Kit]

In this case the retailer IS the manufacturer, and the letter is already in the post.............

[rickshaw]

Kit, I assume you paid by credit card?  Simply cancel the transaction if you account has been debited.  If it actually hasn't been debited, then Airfix doesn't have the money and is earning no interest (the Credit Card company/bank is).

Can people stop making 'helpfull' suggestions, the first course of action if you have an issue with this delayed model is to take it up with Airfix first, only should that not prove successful should alternative actions be investigated.

Please remember that trading standards vary from country to country, what may be valid in your own country be be inappropriate elsewhere and could drop an unsuspecting member in hot water should they wrongly act on the 'advice' given. Not only that but it could land the forum in trouble which can have a knock on effect with the associated Special Interest Groups and their relationships with the business.

The first course of action should be always to deal with the retailer first, then the manufacturer and then contact you local trading/consumer standards organisation should the issue be unresolved as they should be able to recommend the next legal course of action.

Oh, I'd always suggest taking it up with the retailer before undertaking such drastic action as cancelling the transaction.  I am surprised though, by your comments suggesting that is not possible under UK law.  I didn't realise that UK and Oz consumer law was so different.

[Thorvic]

They vary from Country to Country, theres even slight differences between English and Scottish laws  .

That's why we would prefer if we avoided getting into these discussions as the law varies and in this case we had an over reaction before the issue had been handled by due process, Kit only made comment that the model was delayed, it was others who decied that this was a major breach of consumer rights without bothering to verify the facts or what action Kit had decided to take.

[Aircav]

The Valiant PR conversion is out, got three in at work today.  

[NARSES2]

The Valiant PR conversion is out, got three in at work today.  

Is this the start of sometning new ? I wonder if Airfix will bring out any other conversion sets ? Cheaper way (for them) to extend the range ?