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Why is the quality of Xtradecals often so poor?


Bedders

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Very disppointing that Hannants have sent me two sets of new decals that are not in register. The roundels in both sets are not concentric. Look at 27 and 34 below:

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And 31 below:

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And 4 & 5 below:

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Very poor reputationally from Hannants/Xtradecals, and not the first time either. Check out 47 & 48:

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And as for 15...!

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Is it just negligence, or rather wilful pawning off of poor quality product by mail order, which puts the onus on the customer to return the goods for refund/replacement at their own expense? Views welcome.

 

Justin

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I have quite a few Xtradecal sheets and while the odd one or two has an off register roundel, I haven't seen anything like the number you have. That's pretty shocking.

 

The good news is that Hannants are very good at replacing faulty decal sheets, so you won't be out of pocket.

 

Cheers,

Mark.

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The yellow rings on C1 roundels are almost always off-centre, whether in kits or aftermarket transfer sheets.  Hasegawa did give separate yellow rings on their Hurricane, but sadly the habit didn't spread.  One of the original aftermarket companies, I think Hisairdec, did the same.

 

There is however no point in sending them back if the replacement sheet still has the same flaw, as in my experience.

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Have you tried telling Hannants of this directly?  If they don't know about it they can't do anything about it.  I've seen examples of this on other forums where a comment about the quality of "product ,X" or "supplier Y" generates a shedload of negative comment, and/or a complete flame-war from the Boondocks to Bogborough-under-Grotwater generating bad publicity for manufacturers/traders/suppliers who've not been given the opportunity to right the purported wrong.

In this case Hannants probably don't print these decals in-house and they can't open and inspect every sheet, or every kit or whatever so I'd suggest ringing or e-mailing them to see what can be done to remedy the problem.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have noticed a decline in QC with Xtra-decals too although more with adhesion qualities that actual printing issues and people I have spoken with on this subject have said the same. I used one of their 1/48 sets (48-158)  on an Airfix 1/48 Meteor kit about a year ago and the decals whilst printed fine, just would not snuggle down no matter how many times I hit it with SOL and then even tried DACO . Quite amazingly, the next day one of the wing roundels actually just 'fell off' still complete and one of the serials also came away when I touched it. Those that stayed on just sat there as though pasted to the surface and there was no attempt at all to sit in panel lines or conform around curves etc. 

 

Given they were printed by Microscale, I was somewhat amazed as also last year I used a set of AOA decals also printed by Microscale Industries for a 1/32 F4J and those were amongst, if not 'the' very best AM decals I have ever used. Maybe Hannants have theirs done at a lower price than small run companies and so accordingly, QC, adhesives or inks etc used by the producer are of a lower standard? Irrespective and in fairness, Hannants have a superb after-sales service so give them a call and see what they say.

 

Gary

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I very much doubt anyone from Hannants will read this on here. Only John Freeman used to post here when doing decals or them and he has not been on since May 2019

 

You are best speaking with them direct.

 

Julien

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  • 1 month later...

I got a set of 1/72 WW2 roundels that were out of register. Hannants were fine about it and refunded cost and postage. I asked them if they could find a better set but they said they were all like that!

 

I agree with Gary that some of the Xtradecals are difficult to bed down, seemed to be a thickness issue.

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  • 7 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

The 'new' generation of decals seem to be a plastic type material, I'm convinced that they actually slide off the glue when you remove them from the backing paper! After bedding down, some of the larger decals seem to return back to their original state as if they have a memory.

 

Unfortunately, all the manufacturers appear to be moving to this new material.

 

My main issue with Xtradecals is with the amount of errors and omissions, it seems to be that every sheet I buy has something important missing, inaccurate sizes or details and markings that don't fit the intended model.

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  • 5 months later...
On 12/21/2019 at 12:53 PM, lasermonkey said:

The good news is that Hannants are very good at replacing faulty decal sheets, so you won't be out of pocket.

 

How would one go about contacting them? I sent an email to [email protected]  (the only mail address on their site) about one of their Starfighter sheets that was unusably out of register (almost as bad as 80s Airfix kit decals...), but not so much as a reply. I've also asked Jon Freeman who passed along a message, but no results either.

 

Looks like no more Xtradecals for me, then...  voting with my wallet here.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre 

 

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If it is that bad, send it back with a letter.  After all, you  might as well if it is otherwise useless, and there are other means of communication other than electronic.  My last complaint was done by email and answered personally by David Hannant.  However, you don't say when this happened.  At the moment Hannants are not able to maintain anything like their previous standard of support for obvious reasons.

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Thanks for the reply. I sent them an email last February, but no reply.

 

Sending the sheet back is an idea, but I'm Dutch enough to feel a bit worried that the money I spent on the sheet will be total loss...

 

Cheers,

 

Andre 

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Just before the lockdown changed everything I bought a set of RAF roundels that were out of register and sent them back with a request for a better registered replacement. They emailed me back to say they were all the same and refunded the money. In recent years I've found their customer support to be much improved. Of course, Graham is quite right, they are a bit stretched at the moment dealing with CV-19 and the problems with trying to export to EU.

Your best bet is to post them back asking for a replacement or a refund. Include a copy of your invoice and your email address.

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  • 1 month later...

Its not just the quality of these decals. Accuracy is something they lack. Latest example is the new sheets for the Northrop F-5E Tiger but they include Canadian CF-5As and described as CF-5A Tiger!!!! Why?  Canada never operated the F-5E. Another one is the 1/48th Tiger Moth set which states RCAf option but its not included on the set. In any case the Airfix Tiger would need several mods to make a Canadian operated Tiger Moth.  There are others in the range that are not quite right.

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I stopped buying them altogether. The last two sheets were almost as badly out of register as 80s Airfix or Heller decals, and I never received the courtesy of so much as a reply on various mails to their quote-unquote customer service. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I bought a set of Sea King decals, nothing wrong with them except that there was a side of illustrations missing (decal placement guide if you will). When I asked for a replacement copy of the instructions (not the decals themselves mind) I was told that there was a picture on the web site so to download it from there.

 

Personally I didn't find this very helpful.

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37 minutes ago, dad's lad said:

I bought a set of Sea King decals, nothing wrong with them except that there was a side of illustrations missing (decal placement guide if you will). When I asked for a replacement copy of the instructions (not the decals themselves mind) I was told that there was a picture on the web site so to download it from there.

 

Personally I didn't find this very helpful.

Especially when these pictures are in such low resolution. I'd badger them again or maybe ask for a scan in the appropriate area on the forum.

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After my last debacle with these decals, I took the plunge and I am currently using their 1/32 FW-190 'Stab' decals (X32064) on the Revell 1/32 FW-190 F8 kit . I used them yesterday and they were absolutely superb and (printed by Microscale) they look painted on with incredibly thin carrier film if you use Micro SOL & SET. These ones are every bit as good as the likes of 'Eagle Cals' costing almost 3 times as much. 

 

QC seems to be all over the place with this decal range and I really wish Hannants would sort this out.

 

Gary

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