I am shocked at how poor Revell's service is for missing parts!

Actually, I'm not too worried about it and definitely am not loosing sleep over it.  I just feel sorry for the people they named.  Those poor souls are banned for life and don't even know that they are or why they are such.  What happens when they order something only to find this out?  I'd say that Revell would have a tough time getting around that to explain it away.  Who knows?

I have dealt with four model companies in regards to replacement of damaged or missing parts:

Testors- superb service, no questions asked, prompt delivery!

Revell Monogram- good service, many questions, fairly quick delivery.

Tamiya- good service, a bit of phone tag, part obtained in a reasonable amount of time

Hasegawa/Dragon- fair service, multiple email exchanges, excessive wait (approx 9+months), part eventually obtained.

I dont boycott any particular company, but this is one reason I prefer a LHS to an online one. If there is a problem with a kit, I can return it to the purchase store and get it dealt with there promptly- either exchange or refund, instead of thru customer service which may or may not be responsive.

I am sorry to hear that you are having such a bad experience with Revell. In the past I have made two requests for parts. One was for an entire hull with some miscellaneous small parts for a 1/96 Cutty Sark;, and recently for a tail light part for a '68 Mustang. Both times the parts were delivered in a timely matter (three days for the tail light). There was no charge and I received what I needed. I can not expect more than that!

Revell is one company I no longer buy kits from after the bad customer service I had......here's the story.

I bought the Revell 1:1200 ocean liner Queen Mary 2, however the hull was warped rendering the kit useless. So I sent them a courteous e-mail giving them the kit bar code and info and asked for a replacement of the hull and a few other pieces that were also of poor, poor molding quality.

He clearly didn't read the e-mail thru, because I didn't want spare parts I wanted replacement parts for a kit they messed up in the first place. So I sent them another e-mail asking for some questions to be cleared up, like what shipping costs I'd have to pay and etc. Never got a reply back, thus if they don't want to answer me then I won't reward them with being a customer.

cthulhu77

If you think that is bad, try some of the other places...Dragon took SIX months to replace some bits...on a kit I was supposed to review .  LOL.  I don't think it's publishable.  

I had a broken fuselage on a Dragon Me 262 that they replaced with no fuss in less than a week after I emailed them a copy of my receipt. I guess like most things it is luck of the draw.

Perhaps I am the lucky exception . . . I have not ever had to have missing parts replaced.  (I'm knocking on wood!)

Bill

I placed an order via Revell's online service for ONE part from ONE kit.  This was the first time I've done this in OVER A YEAR!!.  This was two days ago.  This morning  I get a strongly worded email from a person with the initials A.P. stating:

"We at Revell will no longer honor replacement parts requests from you, any of your family members, or friends (with NAMES given for each of these categories, mind you).  You are now banned for life from using our service.  If you find a part is missing, defective, or damaged, we suggest you purchase a new kit.  If, upon opening the kit, you find a defective or missing part, return it to the store where you purchased it.  DO NOT bother us with this again!!!!" 

AGAIN???  When was the last time I contacted them to have an "again" so soon?  Evidently a year and a half is too soon.  Well, like I said, NAMES were given and I am now banned, BANNED, for LIFE.  And I don't even know who any of these people she named are...no clue whatsoever!  Anyhow, I sent a strongly worded reply to this effect.  Who knows what will come of that. 

Regardless, I've contacted most of the members in all three of my modeling clubs about this, and it was decided unanimously to boycott Revell, and that each member would both email and write to Revell (and this A.P. #!$*^) about it.  I hope she got what she wanted!!

Katzennahrung wrote:

Heller is likely better in this respect. I wrote them an email that I destroyed some parts in my ship kit. Two weeks later a postman knocked on my door and expected me to take delivery of an express package from Heller. I had not additional costs. Okay, I am living in Europe and cannot comment how such a situation had turned out if I were living in America (overseas shipping is not that cheap I assume).

I haven't dealt with Heller, but I have dealt with Airfix, which is the parent company.  I have contacted them a few times for parts.  When it was a missing or broken part, they always replaced it free and shipping was on them.  One time they sent the wrong part, but they sent the right one when I told them what happened and told me to keep the other parts.

There was one time I got three Airfix 1/24 Hurricanes on Ebay that all had missing parts.  I wrote them and explained what I was trying to do and they charged me a nominal fee to replace the parts.  I think it was something like 5 pounds, which just about covered shipping.

Back when Marco Polo was importing Hasegawa kits, I was able to get some replacement parts from them with no hassle.  Since Dragon USA is the importer now, I have not even had responses to my requests for parts.

I've had to contact various manufacturers because I buy a number of kits on Ebay and they are sometimes missing parts.  Revell-Monogram (US) is very good.  Airfix is excellent.  Hasegawa used to be great, but not any more.  Tamiya is responsive, but expensive.  Dragon has said they would get parts to me and I never heard from them again. 

Trumpeter is also lousy.  I've been waiting over a year for replacements for a 1/32 P-38 which came brand new with broken booms.  I've contacted their US distributor a few times and I always get the answer that they will send the parts soon.

Anyway, that's been my experience.

Bill

mfsob wrote:

It IS sad the lengths we have to go to to get things we've already paid for, be it model parts or cell phone service (Sprint is the devil and I have the pictures to prove it!) That said, look on the bright side - at least Revell is still in business! I bought a Williams Bros. Lockheed Electra at my local hobby shop recently, took it home and discovered that ALL of the clear parts were missing. No problem, I'll just write the manufacturer ... except for the fact that Williams Bros. went out of business almost a year ago. As I am not much of a scratch building or vacuum forming guru, my only choice was to buy the identical kit on Ebay, in effect paying $45 for a $15 kit. And I am going to build that kit, as soon as my skills get up to the level where I feel I can do it justice.

Williams Borthers went out of business because one of the founding brothers died and the other brother was ill.  They sold everything to a company in Texas that is supposed to be starting production again by the end of the year.  You could probably write them for the part.

Bill

I've had similar problems (missing parts) I never had troubles with getting the replacements tho. Revell didn't charge me for the missing props for by 1/48 B-17.  I normally deal with Squadron so, when something turns up "missing" in a kit, I contact them first. 1 kit I had ordered was warped beyond all help. I tried the manufacturer first (MRC) and nothing was done. squadron replaced the whole kit "free"so, I have a parts kit which, I've been  scalping parts off for other projects.

Heller is likely better in this respect. I wrote them an email that I destroyed some parts in my ship kit. Two weeks later a postman knocked on my door and expected me to take delivery of an express package from Heller. I had not additional costs. Okay, I am living in Europe and cannot comment how such a situation had turned out if I were living in America (overseas shipping is not that cheap I assume).

Regards,
Katzzennahrung
PS: I once destroyed some parts in a Revell kit of the "Junkers". I wrote them an email (Revell Germany) and asked for some replacement parts. However, they wanted me first to give them the serial number of the kit. I have never replied to them since I lost interest in up-bulding the "Junkers" because I like more to build ship kits. However, I am still baffled why on earth they wanted the serial number of the kit. Heller did not ask me of any serial number.

If you think that is bad, try some of the other places...Dragon took SIX months to replace some bits...on a kit I was supposed to review .  LOL.  I don't think it's publishable.

 

    

I had to replace some parts for the Revell Queen Mary 2 model scale 1:400 earlier this year.

I photo copied the relevant part on the instructions and sent a covering letter by registered mail to Revell.

To make the proceedure easier you should quote the reference number on the box.

The parts arrived on time and were very well packed.

Delivery should taake no more than three weeks.

Maybe I have been lucky.

 

hello,

I had some missing parts from a second hand kit, and I wrote a mail to the revell company.  I got no reply, but after 4 weeks I received a package with the missing parts.  It was all for free, so in that way I surely can't complain...

regards

It IS sad the lengths we have to go to to get things we've already paid for, be it model parts or cell phone service (Sprint is the devil and I have the pictures to prove it!)

That said, look on the bright side - at least Revell is still in business! I bought a Williams Bros. Lockheed Electra at my local hobby shop recently, took it home and discovered that ALL of the clear parts were missing. No problem, I'll just write the manufacturer ... except for the fact that Williams Bros. went out of business almost a year ago. As I am not much of a scratch building or vacuum forming guru, my only choice was to buy the identical kit on Ebay, in effect paying $45 for a $15 kit. And I am going to build that kit, as soon as my skills get up to the level where I feel I can do it justice. 

Gee lets see how mine comes out I bought a revell/monogram 1/48 F-18C hornetwhen i got home i opened the box to find that the main canopy wasnt fully injected the hole back of it is missing so i took a picture of it because iam not paying 3 bucks for something ive already paid for and wasnt my fault, so i write down the info in the instructions part # mame of the part and inserted the picture in the envalope with the info, that was only week and half ago so i hope it dosent take no 4 month to get the part. I guess that's y i pay more for the better kits, havent had any problems with the other name brand kits (yet).

After waiting until the middle of October, and still no parts, I wrote a third letter to Revell and sent it off-- asking what had happened ot the bag of parts they had promised.

Two days later, a box arrived, with the bag of missing parts!  The postmark showed that they mailed it the same day I sent my last (flaming) letter!

So. I finally got them, at least!

A couple of years ago I requested a couple of five inch turrets for Revell's ancient Baltimore Class CA as several in the kit were basically plastic blobs. I mailed the defective pieces to Revell as evidence and was informed that no replacement pieces were available due to a faulty mold. Well--the mold managed to produce most of the pieces correctly for the kit I had---why couldn't they pick out several correct pieces for me?

Hocking. I think any hobby shop will let you check the kit out in the shop once it's been paid for.

Model builders are a curious bunch and we love to look at kits even if we aren't buying that subject.

Some of the shops near here will actually have a sample kit opened for inspection so one can see the kit before buying, especially an expensive one.

Glad you got the parts though.

I had a missing parts problem with a Revell kit.I purchased the South Goodwin lightship model and was missing the sprue containing all the clear plastic pieces. I called revell and was told I would receive the parts in the mail. This kit is made in Germany and I was told that it would take six weeks to receive my parts. I spent six months making calls and waiting for the parts. I finally got tired of waiting and just scratchbuilt what I needed to complete the model and it is a really nice ship model.I never did receive the parts.

I received my package from Revell today. Revell definitely replaced the entire missing sprue with all the parts attached. Therefore, I cannot really complain about Revell's service after all. I don't think they should charge me $3 for something they failed to do (put all the necessary sprues in the box). I placed the order for the part last Sunday (I think), and received it today. That is only 6 days, and I consider that to be very acceptable. I guess I will consider buying Revell models again in the future if they make something I like.

I will check the model as soon as buy it from now on. I will check it in the parking lot if they won't let me check it in the store. I also still think that Revell should teach there employees a little more about their products. After all, they are the face of Revell if they are the people that we consumers talk to when we call them.

I've received good service from them before.

If I bought a kit with that specific sprue missing, I would have gone back to the shop I got it from and requested a replacement kit. The shop isn't out anything as they send it back to their supplier which I suppose forwards it to the manufacturer for replacement.

If as you say, had started the hull, no problem, just switch the parts from one kit to another.

My hobby store will actually let you look in the kit box there at the store if you just ask. Yes they are a little more weary of this if you decided to not buy the kit afterall, but they still let you do it. I've done it before, and it really helps. I hope you can get this sorted out.

Bill, your story amazes me as to how stupid Revell is acting about modeling. It really makes you wonder if they have 1 or 2 people who develop the models, and then a bunch of low paid college kids who run the business. I can't beleive that they actually seperate all the parts from the sprues and limit you to 10 parts at a time. It only makes sense to me that a very common problem in model kits is buying one that is missing a sprue out of it. Not individual parts, but an entire sprue.

I am supposed to get what Revell sent me today or Monday. If it is 10 parts that were attached to the sprue that I am missing, the model goes back to the store (without the hull halfs). From now on, I will just check to make sure that all the parts are present as soon as I get a model home, and if it isnt, the model goes back to the store. Heck, I may just check it right in the store if nobody is watching. I am definitely not going to go through this "Replacement Part" fiasco again.

After all these stories, I am very hesitant to buy anymore Revell models. I think Revell is quickly becoming a company that is focused on serving the low-cost, cheap models, segment of the modeling industry anyway. I hear people complain about fit problems, and lack of quality, all the time about Revell. They surely don't have any customer service to back up their models.

Furthermore, it is completely ridiculous to make your paying customers wait three weeks to a month to even get a reply to an inquiry let alone replacement parts sent to them (and then make them pay $3 for this lack of service). It is you, Revell, that has made the mistake, not your customers. This time delay, again, makes me wonder who is running the company. In today's day and age, this should take no longer than a week with the use of the internet. You will always have people who will attempt to take advantage of you, but you must just write that off as the cost of doing business. DON'T CHANGE COMPANY POLICIES TO AVOID BEING RIPPED OFF BY THE MINORITY IN A WAY THAT COMPLETELY HASTLES THE MAJORITY OF YOUR CUSTOMERS THAT ARE JUST TRYING TO GET WHAT THEY PAID FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is terrible business.

I know that other companies may be the same way, but I will have to go on my own personal experiences with each company on a per-incident basis. I will let everyone know what I receive in the mail today or monday.

I can shed some light on Revell's policy....
My son got the big 1/96 scale USS Constitution kit back in early August. When we looked closely at the kit, we discovered that the bag of black sprues was missing. The kit is molded in three colors- black, tan, and white. All the sprues of each color are packed in together in a plastic bag, and we were missing the bag of black sprues. We were missing a couple hundred parts- all the cannons, eyebolts, yards, deadeyes, anchors, etc.

I went to Revell's website, and found that all you can do there is request up to 10 parts, by part number, for $3. So, I wrote a letter explaining our problem, and sent it. About 3 weeks later, I got a reply from Revell. We got an envelope with a copy of my original letter and a photocopy of the webpage showing the "how to request replacement parts, 10 parts max" policy.

I was not pleased, and sent a second letter, expressign my severe displeasure. about 3 more weeks went by, and then I got a call from someone from Revell. He apologized, and told me the following:

Revell uses a "Fulfillment House" to handle the parts requests. He said that it is more efficient to have the parts separated into bins, off the sprues. Most of the requests they get are for a single part from one of the kits with relatively few parts. (Think car kits.) The people at the fulfillment house don't know anythign about models-- all they know is they have a number bins with parts from kit 1234, and all they do is find part 34 and mail it.

He also told me that they had the limit of 10 parts because they felt that unscrupulous people had taken advantage of them to get kits for free- again, based on the fact that many kits don't have that many parts.

He said that he realized that the big Constitution kit was an exception, and that they would open up a kit and send us the bag of black parts. He said that the fulfiullment people only have the bins of parts, so they have no idea what parts come from what sprues, or how many would have come from the bag.

He ended the call by apologizing again, and told me our parts sould be sent. That was 3 weeks ago-- I don't have them yet- I expect them soon, though, or he's going to get a call back!

I should have taken the opportunity to complain about their $3 charge for replacement parts. Why shoudl I have to pay extra because they screwed up? I Bought a 1/72 tank kit that was missing the decal sheet- I wasn't going to pay $3 to get a replacement decal sheet for a $9 kit! IN my eyes, that is rewarding them for bad beahviour-- bad quality control is rewarded with my paying an extra 30%!!!!

-Bill

Since I head the local Office of Consumer Protection I can assure you that the attention paid by firms (even large national corp's) vary widely and even within the corpoartion's subsidiarys Some fall over themselves to try and help/please a customer mainly because they know they spent alot to attract that customer and if the don't do the right thing they may lose them forever and have the former customer "bad mouth them " to their friends and relatives Others take the attitude that there are many pebbles on the beach and if the lose one they will move on to the next I always reccomend is to be persistant, forcefull but polite and if you can work you way up the food chain if the clerk/operator can't or will not help

Your experience is why I always open the kits when I get home and check all the parts against the instruction sheet. Well, that and I finger the parts and dream of things to come!

I had some broken parts on my Type VII. I sent an Email, identifying the parts, and replacement parts arrived in about a month. No cost, so sweat.
Mike K.

the other thing that bugs me is if you have a defective part why should you pay that xtra 3 bucks for shipping that basically raises the price of the model and i should not have to pay a penalty for their defective products

Pff, I'm having quite the same experience with Academy and their supplier, I think bad customer service is the rule and not the exception all around the industry.