Andrea Garbage Mounted Kit

[RFL]

Well, as a birthday present my wife got me the Mounted Chasseurs of the Guard kit #S8-F43 from Chuck at RL. It was a **sealed kit.** When opened all the parts were compacted into one pile and had damaged each other.

Worse, the torso has most all the fine braid crushed AND was deformed and missing the cord braiding in places due to **casting issues.** The arms has massive mold shift lines and are not useable and were missing detail. Except the horse, all castings were very soft and not crisp, like poor re-casts. The sword was twisted like a pretzel and I doubt can be evened out.

This junk was over $260 of her hard earned money and she is heartbroken and I`m incensed that they would ship this garbage out. I will never, ever buy anything from them again...ever !!

 

[Sambaman]

Chuck is absolutely a stand up guy when it comes to returns. I would definitely ask if you can send it back for an exchange. He is usually more than willing to replace and take up those types of issues with Andrea himself. Sorry for the bad luck!

Jay H.

 

[Panzer]

Richard
Did you try contacting Andres before posting this comment?
I do know from past experiences that Andrea stands behind their products.
[email protected]
Chris Mrosko
__________________
Camouflage, all I see is Camouflage. Yeah BABY! Ya gotta dig them there colors !
Baron-von Mrosko

 

[pinsel]

hello
i too would go for an return.its to much ash to be written off.well thats the thing if the stuff is only placed between two layers of foam.small packs in which parts are sealed is better.thgats the thing why i prefere resin figures.the possibilie that they get smacked in the box tends towards zero.soft white metal is really an mess if not packed stout and carefully
cheers

 

[Blind Pew]

Dear Richard, very sorry to hear of this disgrace. This has been par for the course for Andrea for some time now. Sadly, I'd never buy from this firm until I'd seen the contents of the box. So often has this been the case for a long time now. I was told they'd shipped out the casting to China - hardly a byword for quality. And the kits are no cheaper.

I wouldn't mind,as we all realise things can go wrong, and I'm sure we accept this, but this is more than common now and their customer service is pants as well by all accounts - see other threads on the topic.

A shame for your missus as well.

If anybody from Andrea is reading this, what a good opportunity to put this right and get some good PR. This is one company that really needs it. Prove us wrong.

 

[Panzer]

It would not be RL problem

It would not be RL problem, he is just the retailer, and yes Chuck does stand behind the products that he retails.
Again Andrea is the point of contact.
Chris

 

[Wlas]

Whine, whine, whine....
Just kiddin' Rich.
Chuck will take it back.
But the surprise is the lack of quality control in one of the
major figure producing companies in these most difficult of times when every dollar counts.
There is usually an inspection number inside Andrea kits. Email them. Give them the number
and list the problems. You will get a response.
Then call Chuck.

 

[megroot]

I bought two figures from Andrea and that where the worst figures I ever cleaned and make fit.
What a deception for the money.
Never gonna buy a Andrea figure. They look great on the pictures at the www. But when you got it in your hands...
In my opinion Andrea should accept the return and give's you a new one, after they cleaned the masters.
Post and Package are for Andrea.

Marc

 

[scipion94]

RFL, wellcome to the "andrea's world" , i often have problems with this mark for some figures that I must pain for my clients and the only thing I can do is .... NOTHING ( and I1m from Spain).
It´s terrible but i think that this is not way of do the things .
ahhhhhhh, the inspection number i think is for nothing .
I think that this are the problems of doing the production in China ( that`s what mark in the box of this mark).
regards .

 

[theBaron]

Sorry to hear about this, Richard, and I will second/third the advice the others have said, contact Chuck, he is a stand-up dealer.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Michael Tse]

Terribly sorry to hear this and yes, I could testify the appalling quality from this manufacturer sometimes.

And sorry too, as a Chinese myself. Yes we do upset the rest of the world in this department, among others. If there's any consolation, this country takes up just as much ******** from some parts of the world. A hundred years ago, and this particular year. My own dad an exporter, I understand the agony his clients must endure. It's almost surreal seeing this from my angle. Apologies again.

I've been burnt before by Andrea. But their concept design and amazing box art somehow kept me buying. May I suggest that in relative terms, the following lines have not been quite so upsetting:
Pin-Up series (I've bought seven)
Wonderful World

And my must-avoid list from Andrea is pratcially all their busts. You know who I feel sorry for too? A major HK retailer whose staff are quite unaware of this brand, but whose management somehow do import Andrea kits. When I opened a box, it's the same rubbishness I saw back in UK. It's like a rigidly followed tradition.

 

[Jeff]

I am sorry to hear that your kit was trashed. Andrea bills itself as the largest figure maker in the world, but at what cost has this title come?

I remember many years ago my friend Peter doing a review of an Andrea kit and mentioned fit issues. When his review appeared Carlos Andrea wrote a letter where he questioned the possibility of one of his kits having fit problems or casting problems. His letter sparked a back and fourth between Peter and Carlos in the pages of the magazine. At the end of which Carlos apologized for over reacting, and stated the inspection process that I suppose is still kind of followed. At least the little sheet of paper is still in the box that says it was inspected.

The thing is the demand for figures is such that having to send production off shore to China is to me kind of crazy. I have a very small figure company and we do not have a big line but it still seems a little over the top to me. Having things made in China to me is a little bit of a double edged sword. It is cheeper to make things but at what cost? If the figures are cheeper to make but the quality is lost what have you really gained by moving your production there. Is the higher volume of product really worth the hit you take to your reputation for poor quality products. I think not. I have worked for toy companies with factories in China and unless you have people who are invested in the company at the factory all the time you have no idea of what is going on in China. I can tell you most of it is not good.

I echo everyones comments about Chuck he has a great rep and all my dealings with him have been good.

I hope Andrea fixes their problems and gets back its reputation as a quality manufacturer. They worked long and hard to build it. I really do not wish to see them laid low. It seems they should rethink things and try and be the best and not worry about who is the biggest.

 

[RFL]

Thanks all for the needed sympathy and support... I contacted Chuck at Red Lancers and he is sending another kit to me today next day UPS !

Said send him the bad one when I get the time and he will return it to Andrea.....

 

[Anders Heintz]

Yeah that is totally a bummer! Nothing like being excited to open a new kit only to find out it is trashed!

I have to say though, my experience with Andrea has been good. The last few kit's I've gotten from them have been top notch, including 90mm Sniper and the hitler in great coat as well as two mounted 90mm figures. Maybe I am just lucky though!

 

[renarts]

I'll only buy Andrea if I can open the box, and inspect it first. Been burned way too many times by them via mail order to trust the company's idea of quality.
Sadly, its Chuck that bears the brunt of this. His name gets splashed with their mud. He has to reship the item, and reship it again to his supplier and deal with the issue from both sides. So he gets banged 4 times. Once to him, then another back to you, then to Andrea, then from Andrea. Not to mention the impact it has on his mail order business for that line of figures that folks will be reluctant to mail order sight unseen and hope they don't have to play quality roulette.
I see the merits of Chris's suggestion from the TL forum about trying to resolve the issue before putting it up on a forum for all to see. But this is an old issue with Andrea and has been rehashed before. Seems little has changed. And it also acts as a critical account of responsibility and accountability for manufacturers to provide a suitable quality assurance for their products. Don't want to get thrashed? Don't ship trash.
As figure prices go up there is a give and take that is accepted. I don't mind paying more if manufacturing costs go up, thats only fair. But there is an expectation of quality that shouldn't change. Where manufacturing, packaging, subject relases etc. may change, quality should be consistent. While manufacturers benefit from the marketing exposure and testimonials forums provide, they are also bound by its ability to make accountable those same benefits. Many of us have bought pieces based upon the personalities of this hobby and their testimonial, when we're short changed there is a huge disappointment and frustration. This can be compounded with the distance of continents and language barrier. Where we see guys like Chris at shows regularly and he is approachable how many folks have seen Andrea as a company represented here in the states? Its a pretty big market share. Or is the company too big to care? This can add to the quickness of posting disappointment if for no other reason out of a sense of frustration and disconnect. It is infinitely easier to see Chris at a show and talk about quality issues or seek an exchange than it is with Andrea. Because he and other smaller companies make the effort to mix it up with their market and need that quality and exposure to build their branding. They have to look at us and ask us to buy something. (At least here in the states).
With things getting tighter and with far reaching as the internet is. It behooves more companies to tighten up on quality. Its too easy to go down in flames fanned by disgruntled forum junkies. Thats true for any company.

 

[Dan Morton]

I know nothing about Andrea except they charge what I believe is too much for most of their products. Never bought anything from them.

I strongly agree that you should contact Chuck. My own experience with him is zero problems and I've spent $100s of dollars with him over the years. I've even asked his advice about kits before buying and he's always told me the unvarnished truth. He's a stand-up guy.

All the best,
Dan

 

[gordy]

I'm glad to hear all worked out well.

For future reference folks, please keep these kinds of posts out of the news section.