Academy kit with no instructions or decals?

I have always had wonderful service from them.  Squadron has been great, too.

I had all but given up on the instructions when I got an envelope in the mail from Korea. Unbelievable. And they sent an other set of main gear for some reason. Decals too. That is what I call customer service!

Instead of replying to their "shipped" e-mail, you might want to send them an e-mail at help@spruebrothers.com to let them know about your issue.  I use Spruebrothers all the time and have always had excellent customer service.  In my experience if a part is missing or damaged, they will replace it and are quick to respond to e-mails.  The tape "dots" are normal for a lot of manufactures from the Far East.  A lot of times, the kits are only shrink-wrapped for the U.S. market.  Hope this helps.

Seems a bit odd. Not all kits are wrapped in plastic and being secured by the tape dots is pretty normal. My experience with SB has always been first class, but then I have never had any problems with any kits they sent. Though it does seem to be an error by Academy, your first point of contact should be SB.