[Elmer]

I just received B11E200. The box should have read: "WARNING: HUGE BADLY APPLIED WATER-SLIDE DECALS THAT COVER UP HALF OF THE WING DETAIL!!!" I never applied decals this badly... not even when I was 12! (Well... maybe when I was 12). What is the freakin' deal FM??!! Weren't the newer releases supposed to be pad printed only? Were these crosses really that difficult to pad print or paint?? Hell... I could paint them on. No joking... trapped air bubbles, especially in rivets and panel lines, bad silvering around the edges.

Ok... I am settling down a little. The model is beautiful... the best detail I have seen from FM. The remainder of the decals are pad printed and nicely applied. But the wing crosses will never do. Is the BoB model fully pad printed???

I am afraid this dealer will do nothing for me and leave me stuck with this. I loved the livery, but I can't accept this. Suggestions?

[PappyB]

Originally Posted by Elmer

I just received B11E200. The box should have read: "WARNING: HUGE BADLY APPLIED WATER-SLIDE DECALS THAT COVER UP HALF OF THE WING DETAIL!!!" I never applied decals this badly... not even when I was 12! (Well... maybe when I was 12). What is the freakin' deal FM??!! Weren't the newer releases supposed to be pad printed only? Were these crosses really that difficult to pad print or paint?? Hell... I could paint them on. No joking... trapped air bubbles, especially in rivets and panel lines, bad silvering around the edges.

Ok... I am settling down a little. The model is beautiful... the best detail I have seen from FM. The remainder of the decals are pad printed and nicely applied. But the wing crosses will never do. Is the BoB model fully pad printed???

I am afraid this dealer will do nothing for me and leave me stuck with this. I loved the livery, but I can't accept this. Suggestions?

Oiye! And I thought I had FM's decaling system figured out..... that's too bad, Elmer. Maybe you can remove them and reaplly some after-market decals?

[Elmer]

Originally Posted by PappyB

Oiye! And I thought I had FM's decaling system figured out..... that's too bad, Elmer. Maybe you can remove them and reaplly some after-market decals?

Yeah... I also thought of loosening with Micro Sol and attempting to get better adherence, but who knows how thick these monstrous decals are?

Lesson for FM/A models: Insist the dealer tell you if the model has water slide decals and then get guarantee on return if incorrect.

[Ara1]

That blows. Sorry Elmer.

I agree w/ Pappy but, replacing the decals on this beast may be a toughie. My reasoning: the decals are so big, it will be tough to cover up any trace of the previous material, unless you do a phenomenal cleaning job.

I suspect they didn't pad print this insignia due to the size of the cross and curve of the wing.

I'm surprised you can't return it for another version? The small cross version perhaps?

[dasboot]

I share the same frustration with you as I too discovered the quality on these water decals to be unacceptable (cracking along side panels) but fortunately for me the dealer accepted a full refund. On the BoB version, the decals are pad printed and if I were you would try to acquire this model instead. I'm getting very annoyed with FM and only need a couple of more planes to finish off this collection before I switch over to Corgi for good.
Elmer can you post a picture of your decals for reference please?

[CLLCTR5]

I had a feeling I would see this thread here.

Don't worry Brent, "the dealer" will absolutely exchange this model for you. We had a misunderstanding on the special order and I am willing to go to any length I need to in order to insure that you are pleased with your purchase. Thanks for working with me thus far we will make you happy.

Oh...and please check your e-mail!

Best Regards,

Randy

[hworth18]

Elmer,
It seems like the dealer will help you out, but you should always contact them first before airing complaints openly on the forum.. Most retailers care about their online customers and will help fix any problems from a defective order..

[Elmer]

Originally Posted by CLLCTR5

I had a feeling I would see this thread here.

Don't worry Brent, "the dealer" will absolutely exchange this model for you. We had a misunderstanding on the special order and I am willing to go to any length I need to in order to insure that you are pleased with your purchase. Thanks for working with me thus far we will make you happy.

Oh...and please check your e-mail!

Best Regards,

Randy

Thanks Randy. I am greatly relieved. My e-mail is down right now so I cannot access your reply; I will call my ISP to see when it will be back up.

For those of you interesed in FM's He-111, the casting from the mold is nice, much nicer than I thought it would be. I think it is a good sign that FM is finally applying some surface detail to its molds. The fit is better than I thought it would be. Overall, I am very pleased with the model. The finish is also nice, the other graphics are pad-printed and nicely applied. The paint job is nice. Now why, oh why would FM go and ruin this nice model with these huge monstrous decals?? They lay over the wing like a blanket! Mine do not completely settle into rivets and panel lines -- with lots of trapped air; also, the decals are not clipped closely to the edges--they really do look like someone applied in a hurry or just did not know what they were doing--very amatuerish! I just cannot undrestand why FM uses this as its standard with the prices they are charging.

Eliminate this model from your wish list and go for one of the other three (unless you want to go through the trouble of removing these decals and painting them on yourself); I hope the BoB version does not have decals, but at least if the wing crosses are decaled, they will not cover up half the wing! Too bad, because I really love the unique look of those oversized crosses.

[Elmer]

Originally Posted by hworth18

Elmer,
It seems like the dealer will help you out, but you should always contact them first before airing complaints openly on the forum.. Most retailers care about their online customers and will help fix any problems from a defective order..

You are right Harry. I apologize to the retailer. I let my frustration get the better of me.

[Elmer]

Originally Posted by dasboot

Elmer can you post a picture of your decals for reference please?

I will attempt to. I am working on a dinosaur machice and we have not yet figured out how to download images form our digital camera.