Revell packaging problems

[Weaver]

Has anyone else noticed that Revell seem to repeatedly make cock-ups when boxing/bagging kits?


Exhibit A:

The last time they released the old Matckbox Victor K.2, it was in an end-opening box so small that the sprues would only fit in it diagonally, but the depth of the mouldings meant the box had to be twisted to fit them in.


Exhibit B:

I bought one of the new £6 unpainted Star Wars Snowspeeder kits a while back. When I got it out of the box, I realised that the sprues had been jammed into the bag in such a way that one of them was bent over the others, leading to banana-shaped gun barrels. I've since looked at a few other examples and they're all packed the same and have the same problem. Basically, the bag is too small.


Exhibit C:

I've just come to put a couple of 1/35th Ural 4320 truck kits on ebay, only to discover that both kits have the cab mouldings broken in exactly the same way. The delicate part that forms the windscreen frame is attached to the sprue at four points, two of them on the top of the frame, and protrudes significantly above the sprue. Due to the parts being squashed into a plastic bag that's WAY smaller than the box, these parts have been crushed, breaking the window frames. A search of online build/review articles revealed at least two other examples of the same problem. By contrast, Hobby Boss and Trumpeter boxes have the cab mouldings in a separate compartment in the box and each sprue in it's own bag.


Has anybody else encountered similar problems?

[zenrat]

Made and packed in China?
Revell's eagerly awaited new (last year) 1/24 1930 Ford Coupe has vanished from the shelves and is going for silly money on evil-bay.
This is allegedly due to the moulds being deliberately damaged in the factory in China when Revell tried to change to a different facility.
Maybe the two things are related?  Maybe this corner cutting in the packaging was a contributor to the decision to move factory?

[Weaver]

Made and packed in China?
Revell's eagerly awaited new (last year) 1/24 1930 Ford Coupe has vanished from the shelves and is going for silly money on evil-bay.
This is allegedly due to the moulds being deliberately damaged in the factory in China when Revell tried to change to a different facility.
Maybe the two things are related?  Maybe this corner cutting in the packaging was a contributor to the decision to move factory?

Maybe so. Who knows - they might even decide to take some or all production out of China like many other companies (in lots of different fields) have done. Some of the shine is coming off the drive for outsourcing when the realities of dealing with an under-regulated environment half-way around the world come home to roost...

[Thorvic]

Its not just the bagging its the crap boxes, Revell adopted an easy recycle policy with flimsy one piece end opening boxes that loose structural integrity as soon as they are opened. 

Much prefer a proper box with a lid, they stand up better when stacked even after being opened, they tend not to crush the parts, they are handy for storing assemblies and arts during the model assembly and can used to store other bit afterwards. Zvezda tend to do a plain solid box with an integral lid and then use a flimsy printed lid to cover the box which is still better than Revell's crap.

[Weaver]

I've got a big Hobby Boss box here which has a plain, heavyweight lower tray and thinner printed lid. Trumpeter often do the same thing. If the cost is so much of an issue, then I'd like to see them take a leaf out of FROG's old book and use the inside and outside of all parts of the box for useful printed info that therefore doesn't need to be in the instruction booklet.

On a related note, credit to Airfix for using lidded-tray type boxes for series 2 and above, but it's a shame they waste the bottom of the tray with a pointless general advert for Airfix. If somebody's standing in a model shop looking at the bottom of a box, then they really need more info about the specific kit rather than a generic 'feel good' message.

[Thorvic]

On a related note, credit to Airfix for using lidded-tray type boxes for series 2 and above, but it's a shame they waste the bottom of the tray with a pointless general advert for Airfix. If somebody's standing in a model shop looking at the bottom of a box, then they really need more info about the specific kit rather than a generic 'feel good' message.

Ah but generic lower boxes means they only have to do the upper lid specifically for that kit rather than lid and box. Must admit I preferred to see kit specific reference material on the bottom of the boxes but then I used to like the other kits in the series on the sides of the box when it was just a plain cardboard lower box, but that's because I started in the 70s 

[Dizzyfugu]

I also frequently wonder about Revell's box sizes -  esp. when it comes to the re-boxed Matchbox kits. They are either massively oversized (you buy lots of boxed air, and the sprues rattle loosely all around) or so tightly packed that you wonder how they put the sprues and the instructions into the box on an industrial scale basis (e. g. the Beaufighter or the Buccaneer).

[PR19_Kit]

The Revell boxing of the M'box Victor has to have its fuselage moulds removed from the sprue as it will only fit the box diagonally!

[jcf]

Revell USA kits don't use the one-piece, end-opening boxes like Revell Germany, they still
use the classic top and bottom style.

The Ural kit is Zvezda sourced, so I doubt it's packed in China.

BTW Round 2 (AMT, MPC, Polar Lights etc.) print contents info, including sprue silhouettes, on the bottom of their boxes.

Moebius do full colour glossy printing on all side of their two part boxes.

[loupgarou]

Made and packed in China?
Revell's eagerly awaited new (last year) 1/24 1930 Ford Coupe has vanished from the shelves and is going for silly money on evil-bay.
This is allegedly due to the moulds being deliberately damaged in the factory in China when Revell tried to change to a different facility.
Maybe the two things are related?  Maybe this corner cutting in the packaging was a contributor to the decision to move factory?

Maybe so. Who knows - they might even decide to take some or all production out of China like many other companies (in lots of different fields) have done. Some of the shine is coming off the drive for outsourcing when the realities of dealing with an under-regulated environment half-way around the world come home to roost...

Also in the model railway world, there are horror stories concerning chinese production. The main outsourcer for a big european brand closed down, manager ran away with the money or somesuch, moulds hidden away, and the firm asked for a ransom in order to get HIS paid moulds back.

[zenrat]

Living standards in China are on the rise and so are wages.  It is no longer the cheap production wonderland is used to be.
There are also language issues and the lead time needed to make modifications or adjustments to products.
There was also a laissez faire attitude to intellectual property rights and copyright but that may be changing.

The current Round 2 boxes Jon mentions are excellent.  Good solid quality card with interesting (reproduction mostly) box art.  Shame they don't invest the same effort into what goes in the box.

Trumpeter boxes are excellent while Italeri are as bad as Revell.

[KiwiZac]

I've never had any issues with Revell packaging - except for cutting open the box top to make my own "lid" - but, now that you mention it, the ex-Matchbox 1/72 SB2C I got in my giftbox this week has sprues veeeeery close in dimension to the interior of the Revell box!

[Rick Lowe]

Heard a story from one manufacturer that their moulds were 'improved' from what was sent across to be manufactured, by a Chinese firm...
they were changed back before production began, but you have to wonder at that attitude...   

Maybe they sent the wrong test parts back, and it was from the copy they have sitting in the wings to start their own production? Or is that too cynical? 

[zenrat]

Heard a story from one manufacturer that their moulds were 'improved' from what was sent across to be manufactured, by a Chinese firm...
they were changed back before production began, but you have to wonder at that attitude...   

Maybe they sent the wrong test parts back, and it was from the copy they have sitting in the wings to start their own production? Or is that too cynical? 

Nope.  You ought to see some of my chinese knock off Matchbox kits.


I also tape up the ends of end opening boxes and cut the top out to make a flap but I shouldn't have to.  How much more does it cost per kit to pay for a decent box. 10c?
It's false economy because if I am trying to decide between 2 kits and all other things are equal then for me the box is going to sway it.

[NARSES2]

Trumpeter boxes are excellent while Italeri are as bad as Revell.

Some of the Italeri boxes are ok, but those for bigger kits can I agree be pretty flimsy.