RESIN PRODUCT DIFFICULTIES

[Drake69]

I am opening this thread in the hopes that modellers and resin makers can work together to resolve difficulties in such topics as quality, ordering status, and manufacturing delays. Since resin is becoming more widespread in the modeller's toolbox, many vendors have cropped up selling excellent pieces for our kits. Some though have shown less-than-proper-business etiquette and have actually bilked many hobbyists for their money, folded up business, only to come back and do it again. Or, even worse, shoveled sub-par product to modellers and pass it off as "design flaws", "shipping damage", or "customer skill level" work.

These problems/issues need to be addressed in a proper format, so in order to meet with the standards of this forum...

1: RESPECT THE RULES OF THE FORUM. NO SWEARING, RANTING, ETC. KEEP IT CIVIL.

2: NO BASHING OF ANYONE (MODELLER/VENDOR) IS ALLOWED. PERIOD.

3: RESPECT THE ART. DO NOT DISRESPECT THE TIME, SKILL, AND EFFORT THE HONEST HARD-WORKING VENDORS PUT FORTH TO PROVIDE THESE RARE PIECES.

4: DEFECTS IN PRODUCT SHOULD HAVE ACCOMPANYING PICTURES IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. IT GOES A LONG WAY TO PROVING A CASE.

5: COMPREHEND THE TIMETABLES THAT A VENDOR ASKS FOR. IF THE VENDOR REQUIRES A MINIMUM OF 4 TO 6 WEEKS FOR PROPER PRODUCT, THEN DO SO BEFORE REPORTING IT.

6: THIS IS STRICTLY FOR RESIN PRODUCTS ONLY. DEFECTS OR INACCURACIES FROM MODELLING COMPANIES HAVE NO PLACE HERE. THIRD-PARTY DECAL MAKING COMPLAINTS SHOULD NOT BE ADDRESSED HERE. MAGAZINE, ADMINISTRATION, OR MODDING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS NEED LOOK ELSEWHERE.

7: THINK BEFORE YOU POST. HOSTILITY AND ANGER TRANSLATE INTO DRAMA THAT THIS THREAD (AND THE FORUM IN TOTAL) DOES NOT NEED.

I really hope this topic serves the purpose for which it was intended. So long as these guidelines are followed this thread should be allowed to stay open, and we will have an honest and open forum to work out our differences.

It may be a lofty goal, but for the sake of the hobby, I think it's worth it.

Edited May 26, 2011 by Drake69

[Drake69]

From DENCON Resin's website:

As of April 30, 2011

THIS PART OF THE WEBSITE IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED.

NO ORDERS WILL BE TAKEN AT THIS TIME.

PLEASE READ

Thank you for your support, understanding and business. I enjoy, very much, conducting this service for the model car hobbyist. I love what I do and

consider my customers my friends.

Matt Conte

DENCON SCALE RESIN SPECIALTIES

Due to a back up of orders I am in the middle of. I feel that it is best to temporarily close the site down from any order taking ans suspend advertising in

Scale Auto. I am going to keep this site close until I get every back order out.

DENCON IS NOT CLOSING DOWN.

Because of this, I will not be taking any orders at this time. I will be selling on E-bay periodically during this time because I have to keep some sort of

income coming in to keep production going and get these orders filled. It is the only way. I am sorry that many of you that are waiting feel that e-bay sales

are unfair, but it has to be done or I will never get all of these orders out.

I am getting flooded with e-mails and I just cannot give the answers that you want to hear. I have one basic answer to all of you waiting, and there are quite

a few.

"I am working as hard as I can on all of the back up orders at this time. I have no way of giving or promising ANYONE at this time on when

they will be receive their order. Just know that I am working everyday in the shop to get every order filled."

This is the only answer I can give at this time. I cannot allow myself to be forced to give a date that I may not be able to keep.

EVERYONE WILL BE GETTING THEIR PRODUCT!

(Please take the time to review www.denconresin.com/order for more information)

[Drake69]

Good point. Feel free to speak out IN FAVOR of resin vendors that provide great service, time and again. I would only ask that if you wish to showcase items these vendors have produced, please do so in the general RESIN topic. It's great to see how good these guys can get, but it detracts from the issues this thread was opened for. A quick pic to illustrate the quality of a vendor's piece to refute a bad piece (given explanation of when such pictures were taken, i.e. - bad piece, then a higher quality piece months later) is acceptable.

[bandit1]

great people thos STS model truck guys/galz are!

got an 8100 ihc conversion kit off of them and its not bad... needs some cleaning... but not bad!

i have pictures up under that what was it ... fire/police something communnity build thread!

i got that a couple years ago right now its an oop peice!

Edited May 26, 2011 by bandit1

[MikeMc]

Good point. Feel free to speak out IN FAVOR of resin vendors that provide great service, time and again. I would only ask that if you wish to showcase items these vendors have produced, please do so in the general RESIN topic. It's great to see how good these guys can get, but it detracts from the issues this thread was opened for. A quick pic to illustrate the quality of a vendor's piece to refute a bad piece (given explanation of when such pictures were taken, i.e. - bad piece, then a higher quality piece months later) is acceptable.

DRAG

4 honest hard working resin groups all at one place......Michigan Rocks!!!

[scale trucker]

porky at p&p resin works makes sweet truck parts...will always buy from him..as long as he sells it...

[highway]

porky at p&p resin works makes sweet truck parts...will always buy from him..as long as he sells it...

x2!!!

[Mark Brown]

Something that I haven't seen mentioned but that seems like it should be pretty obvious to me, especially after being on both sides of the resin business:

As a customer, if delivery time is important to you, and particularly with the problems that have plagued some resin casters over the years, you should ALWAYS ask before placing your order whether the caster has the item(s) in stock or what the delivery time will be. In a perfect world, the customer should be able to count on the resin caster to inform him or her if there will be a delay in delivery, but we don't live in a perfect world and, to be honest, I've never even heard of a caster letting the prospective customer know about delivery delays until money had changed hands.

It shouldn't be the responsibility of the customer to ask first, but too many resin casters simply refuse to run their businesses - and they ARE businesses - in a businesslike fashion, and that's a real shame. Many people have one or two bad experiences and just make the assumption that the entire resin business operates that way, and never bother buying resin again. I know many modelers in that position. In the long run, poor service and poor products have the potential to hurt everyone in the resin business. Honest, responsible resin casters should encourage criticism when it's warranted because, if the scrutiny results in higher standards for the industry, both customers and resin casters will be much better off for it.

[Drake69]

^^^ Very good point.

Ok. As of this Tuesday, DENCON has successfully sent me my part. Seeing as how it took from January 23rd to May 31st, I can only hope they are starting to work themselves out of their situation. The piece is well detailed with no faults I can find, so it should work well with my model.

Again, I hope DENCON can make it through their troubles and continue to provide great parts like this one. Anyone else with outstanding DENCON orders, post up and let us know if you've received any word or your product yet.

[Chuck Most]

As far as vendors go, I have had great luck with Steve Kohler at STAR Models. No, I take that back, luck has nothing to do with it- Steve runs his business efficiently. He says something to the effect of "We don't take your money and make you wait weeks and weeks". Just ask him if he has it in stock, and if he does, you'll TYPICALLY have it in within a week, if he doesn't have it he'll tell you, and let you know when he gets it in.

As far as buying direct from casters, I cannot fault Bandit Resins, Replicas And Miniatures Company of Maryland, Time Machine Resin, Motor City Resin Casters, Modelhaus, Promolite 2000, and Jimmy Flintstone. No serious issues with any of them, and when something cropped up, it was dealt with in a professional manner. Hope to add a few more to this list in the near future!

[Mr. Moparman]

Nobody forget me at Mississippi Resins! Yes my products are not very good, but that shall (hopefully) change very soon!

[The Creative Explorer]

Maybe I am thinking too simple, but why not sell what is in stock?

No stock = no sales = no backorders = a lot less stress.

I understand it takes a bit more time and effort in a website, but it does solve a lot of issues as well.

[Guest Johnny]

Maybe I am thinking too simple, but why not sell what is in stock?

No stock = no sales = no backorders = a lot less stress.

I understand it takes a bit more time and effort in a website, but it does solve a lot of issues as well.

Because most cannot have that much money tied up on parts just sitting on a shelf waiting for a buyer! Most are doing it as a sideline and have a regular job and family obligations. So it is mostly evenings (depending on shifts worked) and what weekends that they have free to do their casting in. Also most are a one man operation!

A lot of the casters aren't really making much off of their product. They are doing it as a service to the modeling community to help them get things that are not readily available to the builder.

They just have to remember to not take more orders than they can fill in a reasonable amount of time! Be upfront when orders are placed about the wait time.

But you have to keep in mind that at any time just like you there can be personal issues arise that are unavoidable that can put them behind in a flash! Then communication is the key!

A caster also should not take more money in from the customers than he can cover in refunds if a crisis arises and he cannot finish the orders!

[Dragracer]

Top End Miniatures is a top notch business,Chris Buck (the owner)makes some really well detailed resin parts, he had to shut down the shop for awhile due to his mother getting sick then passing away,moving & then some health problems of his own, but he is slowly getting TEM up & running again, the store is now open again (he only has a few items now, but they are growing.When I made my first order (just when his mother was getting sick)of superchargers (3), nitrous fuel cells (2),3-speed Lenco transmissions (3) & 4-speed Lenco transmissions (2) he sent me a e-mail telling me that the order was received but would be delayed for the above listed reason, when I received my order (about a month later) it had 5 clutch cans in the box, I wrote to Chris letting him know I received some parts I didn't order, he told me he sent the clutch cans free for being patient & understanding about the delay, Chris's parts are highly detailed, examples are on the Pro-Mod Dodge Daytona built by Wayne Stevens Jr., the supercharger & transmission (including the air shifters) are TEM products, Wayne also does some of the castings for TEM.

[Art Anderson]

With resin cast parts, bear in mind that regardless of the size of the manufacturer, or his line of products--it's a very labor-intensive process, and delays almost always happen. Even the best casters, such as Time Machine, Modelhaus, Motor City etc. experience this, and most always, they will quote you a lead time of 4-6 weeks from the time they recieve the order. Resin casting is not something where the maker simply punches a button and out comes the product. It's all hand work, all manually operated, and there is no way around that.

Art

[Chuck Most]

Just got an order from Ken Kitchen of Kitchen table Resins, and could not be happier. I could have had it a week ago, but Ken said when he tried to cast my engine the first time, he realized the molds were shot. So, he went ahead and made a new mold, and I got my Buick inline 8 today, plus a couple of bonus goodies for the wait. Now, I waited all of fourteen days for my order to arrive, and Ken was apologizing for THAT! Considering the typical wait time for many casters when you buy direct, that's an eyeblink!

[von Zipper]

Just got an order from Ken Kitchen of Kitchen table Resins, and could not be happier. I could have had it a week ago, but Ken said when he tried to cast my engine the first time, he realized the molds were shot. So, he went ahead and made a new mold, and I got my Buick inline 8 today, plus a couple of bonus goodies for the wait. Now, I waited all of fourteen days for my order to arrive, and Ken was apologizing for THAT! Considering the typical wait time for many casters when you buy direct, that's an eyeblink!

The same thing happened to me around two weeks ago .......And it was the Buick Inline 8 that was holding up the order. I bought one of his Buick I-8s a couple of weeks earlier and it was so good I wanted another. The last time I ordered from Kitchen Table Resins-Ken sent an invoice, I paid him by Pay-Pal and had my parts inside of one work week !! This time he said his mold was bad and would take a few days to make a new one- If you ever deal with Ken Kitchen you'll know his word is gold ! He will keep in touch and has always contacted me the day my order was mailed out. Here's a shot of Ken/ Kitchen Table Resins 1941-51 Ford flat head straight 6 cylinder engines that fits right into the AMT '41 woodie with NO fit issues-

Edited July 10, 2011 by Zipper

[jeffs396]

Just got a set of Fuchs wheels from Mike (shucky) and they are top quality castings, all within a WEEK from order to delivery!

EXCELLENT!

Thanks Mike!

Edited July 15, 2011 by jeffs396