What An Pile Of Sh...............!!!

[Redcap]

My last Andrea purchase was the 90mm "Son of the Morning Star" General Custer figure bought last year and the horse's leg was badly twisted almost 90 degrees out of line at the hoof and fetlock area making it look like the poor beast had suffered a compound fracture. I emailed a picture of the problem and the Q.C. slip (sic) to Andrea Mins. asking for a replacement part as per their undertaking on the Q.C. slip. They refused and I simply got a short reply of - "It will bend back into shape and if it does not and breaks, THEN we will change it." reply. They have obviously not heard of stress fractures or structural integrity issues caused by bending and twisting (soft) white metal so excessively back into shape! It also begs the question what's the purpose of the Q.C slip?

A shame really as the rest of the figure is a cracker but it's silly avoidable mistakes like this as well as c**p aftersales service that leave a bitter taste in the mouth. I will not buy anything Andrea now unless I have it in my hand and can personally inspect the contents BEFORE I cough up the cash.

Gary

 

[Blind Pew]

I no longer buy Andrea figures that are pre 2004 or so. After that the quality went way too far downhill. They used to be good as well, what a shame. I won;t buy now unless I've seen the casting first hand.

 

[Gellso]

That is the quality of China.......
Lucky us that Pegaso (to name one) keeps the casting in his own hands, and alot more.

Marc

Not true about Pegaso Marc,
When I complained about my shockingly poor Gladiator bust, he stated they have outsiders casting them. To be fair when I complained he did give me a completely new bust.

Dan have you tried contacting Andrea regarding the piece?

 

[Jazz]

I agree about Andrea kits being a poorer quality pre 2004. I was one of the first to cough up over £100 for Andrea's Ramses ll chariot several years ago. (I think it was around 2001) I believe that it is much more to buy than that now. The fit of the parts were not good. A lot of filling was needed on the horses which came in halves. The worst fit was trying to get the feathers to fit on the horses headpiece. The spear was made of flimsy white metal which couldnt be straightened. For this sort of money Andrea should have included a brass rod I think. Etched brass reins were used which IMO was not the best material for this. I ended up ditching this and used lead sheeting instead. At the time I didnt complain but if it was now I would. I see lots of really nice looking expensive Andrea kits now, IE the stagecoach, but due to my troubles with the chariot I would not part with such a lot of money to Andrea again. I stick to the smaller kits.

 

[abbo]

Several years ago my brother who makes model aircraft purchased the Andrea 1/32 Fokker dr1 after I had painted the Red Baron and Moritz figure for him from the same manufacturer.
This was over £100 and when it turned up it was total crap.
When he showed it to me it was more like a toy than a collector quality item.Everything was badly warped or misshapen.The detail was very soft and the resin the same.
The instructions were complete rubbish .in the end he sold it off on EBay at a huge loss and bought Roden version at a quarter
Of the price of the Andrea one.
Turned out a really nice piece in the end.

Just finished the Andrea Gothic Knight that I bought on EBay a couple of months ago but only bought it because I saw it was in the old Andrea red box so knew it was old and therefore of top quality.If it had been in the new box wouldn't have gone near it .
Martin

 

[Ron Tamburrini]

Ron, would you like to borrow my little tenk while you get your car fixed.

Only if it comes with a driver As i would like to sit in the turret

 

[Ron Tamburrini]

I have to agree with Jason,I've assembled quite a few Andrea kits over the years and on everyone I've had casting issues or fitting problems,3 months ago I purchased the 90mm casting of Lawrence of Arabia and that has been the same,the problem I have is although I get p----d off with these issues I like some of the subjects they produce,I feel f
a big company like Andrea should be producing better as one of the leading European manufacturers.

Sometimes these companies are not as big as you imagine.

 

[Canbeans]

Sadly I have to agree. Every time I'm tempted to buy a Andrea kit, I remember the last being a pain in the butt. We are plugging out a lot of money these days. Casting and the detail of the figure is so important. I want a kit that has minium clean up and a great fit. Box art be dam spend the money on the finished product.

 

[Steve]

My last Andrea purchase was the 90mm "Son of the Morning Star" General Custer figure bought last year and the horse's leg was badly twisted almost 90 degrees out of line at the hoof and fetlock area making it look like the poor beast had suffered a compound fracture. I emailed a picture of the problem and the Q.C. slip (sic) to Andrea Mins. asking for a replacement part as per their undertaking on the Q.C. slip. They refused and I simply got a short reply of - "It will bend back into shape and if it does not and breaks, THEN we will change it." reply. They have obviously not heard of stress fractures or structural integrity issues caused by bending and twisting (soft) white metal so excessively back into shape! It also begs the question what's the purpose of the Q.C slip?

A shame really as the rest of the figure is a cracker but it's silly avoidable mistakes like this as well as c**p aftersales service that leave a bitter taste in the mouth. I will not buy anything Andrea now unless I have it in my hand and can personally inspect the contents BEFORE I cough up the cash.

Gary

I have their "Hostile Fire" vignette featuring four US cavalrymen in the Indian Wars descending a slope. It is missing an ENTIRE FIGURE. I have not contacted Andrea for fear of exactly what Gary experienced. Looks now to be a waste of time to try. This ain't just bad business, this is out and out THEFT.

 

[MENTAL DENTAL]

It never ceases to amaze me what rubbish product or service we get dished up with from time to time. In my view a stock figure should primarily be a painting excercise. Yes I do accept there will be some minimal mould lines, I do accept there will be the need for a modicum of filler and obviously parts need to be glued together but that's as far as it should go. If I wanted a major modelling project I'd scratchbuild or at least do major conversions. I don't expect missing parts but if there are I expect a replacement by return of post not having to go grovelling by repeated emails or phone calls to get the part. It's their fault not mine. I don't expect having to expend my time or money putting right suppliers' mistakes or shoddy workmanship.
I also expect that the item will then last for years without degarding over time because of inherent problems with failure of material eg lead rot. Horses should not collapse under their own weight because of insufficient support in the legs. It's not enough to cast a steel rod into the leg, that steel rod should also extend down into the base.
I do expect that if an item is sold online then it should be in stock, if not then payment should not be taken until it is in stock. This particularly applies where for example paypal is used as the payment mechanism and payment is taken at the point of order.
These things are not inexpensive and I would suggest that most of us wouldn't tolerate poor service/product like this on other retail items. Imagine buying an electrical/electronic item and being expected to have to resolder or replace components or to have to reprogram the thing yourself.
Ok I know that's a protracted rant but if some some suppliers can get it right why can't they all?

Geoff

Totally agree Geoff!

 

[Captain Sprout]

I think to measure the decrease in quality from Andrea since they moved production, you can compare one of the old kits. But I tend to find its really much more hit and miss and it might be some moulds stand up better than others.

I recently luckily found the big red box mounted knight (90mm) and its such a lovely cast, it would make itself. Also the box screams 'I am a lovely model'.

I have the mounted viking in 54mm and while not awful it will be an effort to construct it.

I do have the mounted Lawrence though on a big camel and its a good cast and well made.

For me its the inconsistency that is the issue these days..these kits used to be amazing quality every time and now its terribly hit and miss.

If the price had changed down this wouldn't be such a big deal but they are very expensive kits. Andrea are put to shame by Pegaso on the one end of the size scale and by the little manufacturers with great QC on the other.

 

[Colin_Fraser]

I have their "Hostile Fire" vignette featuring four US cavalrymen in the Indian Wars descending a slope. It is missing an ENTIRE FIGURE. I have not contacted Andrea for fear of exactly what Gary experienced. Looks now to be a waste of time to try. This ain't just bad business, this is out and out THEFT.

What are you complaining about when they produce such lovely coffee table books showing how well cast their completed kits are?

Colin

 

[Steve]

Right you are Colin. I lost my head.

 

[Mark S]

Apparently the coffee table book has some pages missing and the dust cover doesn't quite fit properly.