How common are visual defects on new trains?


G

GPtrains

New Member
Within the last year I've become deeply invested into the hobby and am trying to do things "right" this time compared to my short interest in the hobby when I was a teen all those decades ago. It's also nice to be an adult with a stable income and able to throw money at it now to build a nice fleet for a new layout.

And while the quality and features of modern model trains is amazing... I'm finding a disturbing trend with nearly every new train I order... visual defects. I know these are mostly mass-produced (even if still generally limited runs) etc, but for the money it's kinda scary what seems to get through whatever they call quality control.

Some have had broken parts right in the box... sometimes even due to just being jammed into the blister packaging wrong. Some had chipped pant, bent metal ladders, and even burn marks. For $500 and more this has been pretty disappointing.

I'm curious how often this occurs to others in the hobby? What are some things you've come across? What do you do about it? Do you shrug and move on or return it? Has it discouraged you at all to keep going? What brands have you had the worst luck with? Which have you had the best luck with?

I just hope I'm not alone or so picky that I'm in for an ongoing disappointing experience.

I would just love to know what others have experienced in this regard.
 
I believe most of us (not all) buy 1-2 cars at a time, or 1 engine, or 3 switches, slowly building up to the level of MRR we've planned..
Perhaps your buying in bulk, $500 worth in one fell swoop has increased your chances of obtaining rejects. Near all the MRR products on the market today are well designed.. Even Bachmann, which at one time was at the bottom of the barrel, makes some of the finest locos and cars today..Then there's Rivarossi, Atlas, Athearn, Peco, B'way Limited, NCE, Digitrax all offering well built hobby products; locos, cars, throttles, track, structures, scenery...
I think you just may be 'alone' in your experience with today's MRR products..Sure there will be problems, but nowhere near the extent you seem to believe there are...
Try going slower. Buying too much too quickly can be a killjoy in this hobby, as you seem to have unfortunately experienced, where most, I for one, haven't..Sorry this has happened to you..But it's the exception, not the rule, or there'd be no MRRing hobby at all...
;)
 
They are all warrantable, so if you decide you have a defective/unacceptable model, contact the seller or the 'manufacturer'...what are really just importers...and ask for an exchange. I wonder if some outfits seek 'seconds' and are willing to buy them from the distributors/importers at a steep discount. Then, they offer them NIB on their websites and hope the buyer will shrug and enjoy it, or not notice at all.
 
In my experience, minor defects are no more numerous than they have been in the last 15-20 years. Part of this is all of the delicate detailing that newer models have. I have had some issues, but not as numerous as you seemed to have experienced. Part of the problem is that much of the model railroading stuff today is made in China and quality control is hit or miss for some product lines. Transportation to North America takes it's toll as well. Almost all manufacturers will happily replace broken parts, although you have to install them. For example, I have bought 13 engines from ScaleTrains since their beginnings, but I have only had one broken horn which they replaced. Several came with handrails that had come loose and warped slightly during the long trip, but those were easy to fix with a spot of super glue.
I am sorry to read of your experiences and I hope that they don't deter you from continuing in this great hobby.
 
Thanks for the replies. In this case I'm referring to engines mostly. Luckily, rolling stock that I've bought has been mostly fine. My engines are a mix of Athearn (Blue Box), Walthers, MTH, and BLI. And when I said $500 and up, I was referring to the cost of an engine each. Right now I have about... 10 with a plan for 4 more before I stop for now. A little excessive, maybe, but with how short the supply is between runs I'd like to secure a nice fleet while I can.

It's good to hear that companies will send replacement parts. I might look into that for a couple of them. Currently I'm going back and forth with Trainworld on the last two that I bought. We'll see what happens.
 
What r you buying for $500 locomotives ? The only $500 locomotives I have purchased were some brass and the Scaletrains.com turbines and they were flawless.
 
santafewillie said:
In my experience, minor defects are no more numerous than they have been in the last 15-20 years. Part of this is all of the delicate detailing that newer models have. I have had some issues, but not as numerous as you seemed to have experienced. Part of the problem is that much of the model railroading stuff today is made in China and quality control is hit or miss for some product lines. Transportation to North America takes it's toll as well. Almost all manufacturers will happily replace broken parts, although you have to install them. For example, I have bought 13 engines from ScaleTrains since their beginnings, but I have only had one broken horn which they replaced. Several came with handrails that had come loose and warped slightly during the long trip, but those were easy to fix with a spot of super glue.
I am sorry to read of your experiences and I hope that they don't deter you from continuing in this great hobby.
Click to expand...

When you make that spotfix with super glue, aren't you concerned with the super glue showing up??
 
GPtrains said:
Thanks for the replies. In this case I'm referring to engines mostly. Luckily, rolling stock that I've bought has been mostly fine. My engines are a mix of Athearn (Blue Box), Walthers, MTH, and BLI. And when I said $500 and up, I was referring to the cost of an engine each. Right now I have about... 10 with a plan for 4 more before I stop for now. A little excessive, maybe, but with how short the supply is between runs I'd like to secure a nice fleet while I can.

It's good to hear that companies will send replacement parts. I might look into that for a couple of them. Currently I'm going back and forth with Trainworld on the last two that I bought. We'll see what happens.
Click to expand...

Be concerned that the importer HAS replacement parts. In many cases these importers ARE NOT bringing in replacement parts.

BTW, are you concentrating on particular road names??
 
beiland said:
When you make that spotfix with super glue, aren't you concerned with the super glue showing up??
Click to expand...
When needed, I use the broken off end of a #80 drill bit to apply it. The bit is about .014 in diameter, slightly less than the thinnest human hair. If you ever worked with #80 drill bits, then you have a broken stub somewhere.
 
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