kpnuts Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Hi all i received this infamous kit as a present from my missus (note from the title I will only be correcting those errors my megre skills and even megerer knowledge will allow) that said as I'm building just a generic ship of the line it will end up being exactly right. I have today ordered some gold leaf for this kit as it worked so well on the La Reale and the Royal Sovriegn, I have some copper leaf and brass leaf, wish I could find some bronze leaf for the canons (does anyone know how I could colour brass leaf to look like bronze). I know everyone will be saying get good am blocks and tackle also bin the thread and get some proper stuff, but, the missus has said keep the costs down, also I feel why spend more on am stuff than the kit cost, so will be investing in bees wax and apart from the gold leaf all else will be oob (apart from maybe some scratch building. the molding is as exquisite as it was on the La Reale. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Let the fun commence! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpnuts Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 Can anyone workout my first problem(It's a biggie, wont be able to go far with this at the moment )You would think I would have learnt with heller by now (check everything, then check it again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Looks like Heller's right hand didn't know what the left was doing....... Oh dear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 You have to scratch your head and wonder how they let thing's like that happen! Once it,s sorted this should be a great WIP,the molding detail look's superb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jockster Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 You're kidding! The mind boggles! Hope they sort it soon budski! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxy Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Well your not the only one that has had that problem . My Victory also had issues, but Heller seem very able to send replacements,'Mine were free', I should think yours should be too. 'Well they better be'. Good luck when you get started proper. foxy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpnuts Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 Hi all well I cant do much more than this(of course when the gold comes will get more done) I really am peed off though, I know from experience it will be weeks before I get the replacement hull half, stuff like this is really frustrating. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefy66 Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 My word Ken think I would not be as polite about such a BIG mistake as that Makes you wounder what the quality assurance people at Heller do with there time Assuming they actually have anybody checking the box at the end of the line. Hope you get all the parts sorted soon best check the rest just in case mate. Beefy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlin56 Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 (edited) My word Ken think I would not be as polite about such a BIG mistake as that Makes you wounder what the quality assurance people at Heller do with there time Assuming they actually have anybody checking the box at the end of the line. Hope you get all the parts sorted soon best check the rest just in case mate. Beefy I am so sorry, I 'ave just 'ad my poached egg in red wine sauce with a delightful little Pinot Noir for lunch and absolutely missed the first hours of quality control this afternoon......................................................................maybe tomorrow we can fix the strange looking hull pieces. Bon chance, Monsieur le Frog Edited December 28, 2015 by Gremlin56 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefy66 Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 I am so sorry, I 'ave just 'ad my poached egg in red wine sauce with a delightful little Pinot Noir for lunch and absolutely missed the first hours of quality control this afternoon......................................................................maybe tomorrow we can fix the strange looking hull pieces. Bon chance, Monsieur le Frog Yes defiantly one from the Allo Allo book of script writing One fallen Madonna and a Big Bobbi from Heller Fnar Fnar Beefy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jockster Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 I wonder how many of us would make the same mistake if we were doing the quality control. I would probably look in the box for missing pieces see two halves of the hull but not notice that they were the same side! Doh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpnuts Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 Thng is (in my experience ) it is a common occurance with Heller I've bought three of their top of the range kits and this has happened twice, their (in my experience ) customer service is totally none existent. If the missing hull does not turn up lickety quick this will be the last Heller kit I buy (I mean it's not even like it's a cheap kit, it's supposed to be their premium kit) there seems to me to be no, that's none, nill quality control. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Let me know if you want me to rattle their cages for you! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympic1911 Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Thng is (in my experience ) it is a common occurance with Heller I've bought three of their top of the range kits and this has happened twice, their (in my experience ) customer service is totally none existent. If the missing hull does not turn up lickety quick this will be the last Heller kit I buy (I mean it's not even like it's a cheap kit, it's supposed to be their premium kit) there seems to me to be no, that's none, nill quality control. I bought this kit in the 1980s and there was a whole bag of sprues missing. My wife speaks French and that helped to get them quickly though. It was an awkward situation but I recall that Heller was eager to help. I have an old issue of Scale Models here in which all available kits of the HMS Hood are reviewed. The whole hull of the reviewer's Heller 1/400 scale kit was missing and Heller would only send a replacement should the reviewer come up for shipping costs. Instead this attitude was mentioned in an article in Scale Models which surely didn't go down well with some modellers at the time. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxy Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Yes have found Heller very help full in the past, so do not be to hard on them' Frustrating it is, but not the end of the world. My missing parts came fairly quick, so do not despair KP mate. foxy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darby Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Apart from that massive hull foul up this looks like a cracking kit even OOB. Good luck with the replacement 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpnuts Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 Hi all well the gold leaf has arrived for this but will leave any guilding untill\if the other hull side turns up. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Have Heller made suitably positive noises about the missing hull half or do they need a bit of a prod? Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpnuts Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 I emailed them again Monday and again got their standard email back, an all too familiar cycle with them they've got till I get back from the funeral on Thursday to at least reply or let me know what's happening, then that's it I will never buy another of their kits (shame as I was looking forward to the Victory after seeing foxys aazing exmple) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxy Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Well after my Victory its to Revel I be going. I to have had problems with this firm, but not seen it take so long in your case. Foxy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympic1911 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 When I had problems with missing sprues in my Soleil Royale kit in the early 90's Heller got me to send them the instruction booklet to prove that I had actually bought the kit. Did they get you to do the same? Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpnuts Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 They wanted the order number (ordered direct from them) so they know I bought it. I did say in the last email I could send photographic evidence (their contact facilities don't allows for posting pics. I think this is just normal for heller, they don't care once they have your money. It's a real shame as they make some real good kits. They just treat their customers with total contempt. I think the excuse they don't speak or read English very well doesn't hold water. If that were the case they should not be selling internationally 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 looking forward to following this one - it may even inspire me to build my Heller Victory this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nwanda Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 I am presently building this kit. Whilst the time taken by myself on my builds can normally be measured in geological epochs, this one is even slower and entire galaxies will have died before I finish it. I seem to have all the parts, but most seem to be either warped or ill fitting. However, I believe that this is a great challenge and the end result can be absolutely magnificent. Good luck with your attempts to overcome Gallic rudeness. I will be following your build closely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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