Scott Colmer Posted October 26, 2018 Posted October 26, 2018 (edited) It is too much to expect that a built model will arrive as pictured in the ebay add? For the second time I bough a fairly expensive built model only to have it arrive broken. This time it was the old Monogram chopped 32 coupe, which is mint in the eBay pics. As soon as I won the auction I contacted the seller and asked them pack the model carefully. I said I would pay for additional packaging. No response When the model arrived, it was in the small box with red plastic bags on either side. That box was wrapped in a black plastic bag inside another box. When I carefully lifted it out, I saw both front axels snapped off and a head light knocked off and somehow one of the lenses split. Can I fix it, yes. But I really just wanted to put it on the shelf. I get that shipping models is tricky. Am I expecting too much? Scott Edited October 26, 2018 by Scott Colmer
cobraman Posted October 26, 2018 Posted October 26, 2018 Models as you know are fragile for the most part and they should be packed well. I have sold many models on ebay and take special care to pack well. I had one where a side mirror got broken off but the rest made it there in one piece. Sometimes I double box and use packing peanuts and bubble wrap. I also always ship priority so hopefully it spends less time in transit. No excuse for a model to be all broken up at all.
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 26, 2018 Posted October 26, 2018 I've had, at best, mixed luck buying built-ups. I recently got one in that was exceptionally clean in the photos, but had been ham-handedly "repaired" by someone with a lot of tube-gloo, obviously NOT the original builder. I've had 'em come in as little more than a collection of loose parts...and I'm always thankful when the seller puts the whole mess in a ziplok bag for just this reason. I bought a Pocher Alfa, and though the packing was marginal at best, it had been kicked around so hard in shipping that the wire wheels were all bent and the frame was actually cracked. It was NOT bagged internally, and had shed so many parts through holes in the box, I had to buy another one for bits to restore it. Die-casts, being heavy and liable to slam into the solid parts of their packing when mishandled (if they're not shipped in the factory boxing with tie-downs) routinely arrive with bumpers, brackets, and any other projections snapped off or flattened. Even the little HO-scale train cars and locos I've been buying lately almost always arrive with moderate to severe damage, most all having the couplers and railings destroyed. About the only built-ups that have come in unscathed are simple screwbottom annuals.
randyc Posted October 26, 2018 Posted October 26, 2018 As a seller of builtups and buyer of built cars, it's really a push. I do all I can to pack carefully. Before it goes in box, I carefully wrap car and any packing in a plastic grocery bag, so hopefully, if anything comes loose, it will stay in close proximity of the car. And if a model is built carefully, there isn't a lot of glue holding some ot the smallest parts on. In my case, if the car is very fragile, I sell it with a display case so I can pack the car in the case, tape the case closed, and then pack in a box. And stuff still comes off. If you guys buy any of my cars, I will try to pack it best I can. I apologize in advance if something happens. As a buyer, I bought a beautiful Danbury Mint 58 Bonneville. Looked great in photos, but when it arrived the whole front end was mangled. I think it was dropped at some point in transit. Serll hadn't packed as good as I would have, either. Balled up catalog pages do NOT protect. So seller & I had to negotiate a deal. But I was able to repair because I am a modeler. Some folks don't do modeling so they would have problems. I have a friend who pays me to fix his cars.
Scott Colmer Posted October 26, 2018 Author Posted October 26, 2018 Thanks for your insights Randy. I think if the seller would have put material under the model it might have saved the axles from snapping.
1930fordpickup Posted October 27, 2018 Posted October 27, 2018 Scott as old and as rare as that model is it should have been packed very well. Sellers sometimes don't know they are selling a rare kit.
slusher Posted October 27, 2018 Posted October 27, 2018 They always need to go priority so they don't bounce around in a semi trailer. When Joe shipped me a model this week, the car was wrapped in tissue paper all around and the wrapped I one piece of long piece of bubble wrap. I am sure some models being sold are not put together very well. I would not be pleased if I received a model in pieces and would contact eBay....
Tom Geiger Posted October 27, 2018 Posted October 27, 2018 (edited) I remember one top builder telling me that when he shipped models to shows, he'd wrap it in an entire roll of toilet paper, wrapping it tightly so nothing could move, encasing it like a mummy. Then that wad was packed into a box surrounded by packing peanuts. Then double boxed. You cannot pack it too well! I once got a built up convertible in a Priority Mail box without any packing what so ever. The windshield frame was destroyed. People are clueless. Edited October 27, 2018 by Tom Geiger
randyc Posted October 29, 2018 Posted October 29, 2018 I also bought a 62 Galaxie promo that was beuatiful in the listing. It was listed as a diecast, so the promo ppl were not seeing it. I got it for $10.25 total, shipped with some Mint diecasts. Was going to resell anyway - they were selling for $40+ in this condition. So when it arrived, was packed with the Mint diecasts and had been jammed in too tightly and that old plastic had cracked the top OFF and the body in two. I was crushed. I still sold it for parts and made my money back, but not what it woulda sold for had it been unbroken. If I have something really fragile, I try to sell it with a display case, so I can pack it in the case a little more securely.
Jantrix Posted October 29, 2018 Posted October 29, 2018 A long while ago I send a model to a fellow modeler who, without mentioning names, is a pretty well known fella in modeling circles, so the model could be shown at NNL Birmingham. I packed it as well as I could, double boxed, bagged, bubble wrap. etc, etc. It arrived there with parts broken off. After the NNL, he packed it as well as I had and it arrived back home, with other parts broken off. IMHO, even if the model is well packed it depends on what gorilla is handling your package on any given day in the mail system.
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 29, 2018 Posted October 29, 2018 (edited) There's a very real set of engineering problems that need to be overcome to ship a model using the available services. As Rob alludes, "handle with care" gets you nowhere. Consider how REAL cars are shipped: tied down on chassis hooks, or by the suspension. There's not a wad of padding inside the containers, against doors, hoods, or fragile rear-view mirrors and antennas. NOTHING TOUCHES THE CAR BUT THE TIE-DOWNS UNDER IT. Now consider how new die-casts are packed: tied down by the suspension or the chassis, inside a case. In effect, just like a REAL car is shipped. The chassis and suspension are usually kinda clunky, but stout enough to withstand handling shocks. But here's the BIG problem with a PLASTIC built-up model: a well-built model isn't going to have its suspension attached sturdily enough to withstand tying-down in a case. When the box is inevitably dropped, drop-kicked, of falls off the dock, the car WILL break away from its suspension. Maybe installing little screw-eyes in the underside of the chassis, and tying down inside a case is the way to go, but delicate plastic parts and glue joints will still most likely break free. This explains quite obviously why the only models that have arrived at MY place almost completely intact are simple vintage screw-bottoms...and even they are guaranteed to lose exterior emblems and mirrors in transit. There is simply no way (that I can imaging would actually work every time) to pad the exterior of a built plastic model car selectively enough to prevent SOME damage...especially when a moron includes a heavy die-cast model in the same box. Edited October 29, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy
Pete J. Posted October 29, 2018 Posted October 29, 2018 I think the package handlers union has some sort of vendetta going on. I get a lot of packages(my adult kids think my house is a safe drop off place) and most have at least one crushed corner at best and totally mangled at worst. In this conditions I would be reluctant to ship a model anywhere. Recently I had the opportunity to trade a Gunzie motorcycle kit with another modeler. Both of us understood that the kits were valuable and took the time to put packing in the box, the pack the box in a box that was at least an inch bigger in all dimensions. They both arrived in good condition, but with mangled outer boxes. I think one of the problems with shipping models is that they are very light weight and led themselves to being tossed with vigor. Shipping a build model is a problem of even support all around the model and anticipating shock. I have used pluck fit foam to ship things and it's ability to conform and provide shock protection is very high. Unfortunately, if you get an unsupported mass, like the engine it is likely to separate if not well glued to the frame. For this reason I build with solvent type glues like Weldon, Tenex and Tamiya extra thin where I can. These make the plastic a single homogenes piece. Superglues and white glues rely on the strength of the chemical bond much like the peanut butter in a sandwich. They are not as strong and tend to separate with the right type of shock. Regardless, the fault lies with the shipper for the most part. One day express, will not only get it there faster, but any reduction the exposure to the shippers employees is a good thing.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now