Questioning the quality of today’s models

This is not an apology.

Recently there has been a trend of commentary criticizing the nastier members of our hobby. You know the type: they are grumpy, they are never happy with your scratch-built model, your rivets are off, your colours are incorrect, your models are 1 scale inch too big.

While not representative of the majority, they are a loud turn-off for newcomers to the hobby.

MRH had an editorial discussing just how non-beneficial this is to newer members. One of Rapido’s most recent newsletters responded to scathing criticism that its products are made in China. True Line Train’s website has tongue-in-cheek commentary under the photos of new products that seems to pre-emptively attack would-be attackers.

And watch any video on model railroading and the host will often disclaim himself that whatever technique they’re demonstrating is not the be-all and end-all, but just a method that works for them.

It sounds like everyone is a victim of these rude individuals. Boo hoo.

It turns out that, despite my criticism, I am one of these rowdy fools. Let me explain.

I recently bought a True Line Trains caboose. The model arrived with broken parts and warped wheels. I wrote a pretty unfriendly email to the manufacturer about the state of this model. The manufacturer, pending proof of purchase, offered to fix the problems but was generally unresponsive to my questions about quality control. If anything, I got the impression that they just did not care. That’s probably because in the model train industry -- a fiercely competitive world where every penny counts towards the bottom line -- quality control does not exist.

I probably should not have written that unfriendly email, but the caboose was the famous straw that broke the camel’s back. This isn’t the first time this has happened to me. In fact, almost everything I have bought has had some kind of manufacturing problem:

An Athearn Genesis GP9, an over $300 model: due to improper wiring at the factory half the incandescent bulbs burnt out almost immediately. The DCC decoder does not work when LEDs are installed even though the functionality to do so is provided. It can barely handle running up and down the track without stalling, stuttering or completely stopping. Athearn offered new bulbs but otherwise shrugged.

A frog juicer that caused some very interesting performance problems. Albeit the manufacturer was a challenge to reach, once found they were quick to assist.

ScaleTrain’s boxcar. The most basic of kits the company made to test the whole manufacturing process. It arrived with wobbly wheels. The manufacturer was quick, friendly, and promptly replaced them.

Broadway Limited Imports’ Consolidation, sporting some serious software issues to its Paragon3 board widely documented on YouTube as a factory problem. As I was not the original owner, no help from them. I ended up returning the model to the store and getting a full refund.

A Rapido caboose: came with broken piping, a broken magnetic wand, a non-working magnetic reed-switch, and some serious issues when travelling over some really moderate curves. I don’t know if this is Rapido’s fault as the model came custom weathered, but I’ll say this: Jason, if you need to shave off a few dollars per model you could stop making the bottom of your models so ridiculously detailed. That’s not what I’m looking at when the model runs down the tracks. Just sayin’.

Hobby stores have not been that great help either. There is never any guarantee that anything you are buying works. The above caboose decorated by their in-house artist? They pointed me to Rapido and that was that. Bought a DCC decoder? You have 30 days to bring it back, but if you open the package, install it, and determine there is something wrong, you’re simply redirected to the manufacturer. Yes, most manufacturers respond and are helpful, with the keyword being “most.”

I am not apologizing for the email I wrote to True Line Trains. I know it was stupid, but that tongue-in-cheek commentary on their site got me pretty riled up. Being a noob, I own as many trains as I own fingers and the overall experience has been pretty discouraging.

Is being a grump model railroader beneficial in any way? Absolutely not. Does it make sense why they exist? It’s starting to.