NG's Quality Control Issues

[redriveraviation]

Right, another crazy example is GeminiJets waiting nearly 2 months for a release set to arrive about a year ago at this time.

 

[Purpleplane]

I do as well - it will be very interesting to see how this all settles post-Covid and what the new norms will be. It has been an extremely difficult time, I can only imagine how tough it must be running a manufacturing business overseas. I'm sure that if they had the choice, and the economies of it stacked up, they'd bring manufacturing back home again.

I'd love to see some manufacturing come back from China...even if the result is higher prices, the quality should be better.

 

[Barison82]

Overall I’m amazed (and grateful) that the supply chain didn’t totally seize up and we were still getting models throughout the worst of the pandemic, at one point I thought that things might grind to a halt completely

 

[Midwest]

I'd love to see some manufacturing come back from China...even if the result is higher prices, the quality should be better.

Many types of manufacturing have been reshoring back to the United States the last few years. Lots of advantages of course but it's hard to get over the initial financial push to begin manufacturing over here. Although with recent increased manufacturing costs in Asia as well as increased shipping costs the costs savings aren't like they used to be.

 

[Purpleplane]

Overall I’m amazed (and grateful) that the supply chain didn’t totally seize up and we were still getting models throughout the worst of the pandemic, at one point I thought that things might grind to a halt completely

You're right. I'm surprised they didn't just shut everything down model-wise

 

[Barison82]

I'd love to see some manufacturing come back from China...even if the result is higher prices, the quality should be better.

I would as well. It would be surreal, seeing ‘Made in England’ or ‘Made in USA’ again, I’d support it. In my toolbox (I’m a carpenter by trade) I’ve got some decent shuttering hammers made in the USA, made by a brand “Estwing”, proper solid cold-forged steel, not some cheap pot-metal junk. Love the quality. I have an early spun-cast 1:200 BA Negus TriStar model (Skyline Models), from around 2004, that was ‘Made in England’. Would love to see it brought back.

 

[Purpleplane]

I would as well. It would be surreal, seeing ‘Made in England’ or ‘Made in USA’ again, I’d support it. In my toolbox (I’m a carpenter by trade) I’ve got some decent shuttering hammers made in the USA, made by a brand “Estwing”, proper solid cold-forged steel, not some cheap pot-metal junk. Love the quality. I have an early spun-cast 1:200 BA Negus TriStar model (Skyline Models), from around 2004, that was ‘Made in England’. Would love to see it brought back.

Yes, we need to bring it back.....when you could get quality and well-made products.

 

[pons399]

This is mostly an issue with 200 scale that requires more detail, but I really hope we see improved landing gear. Most models have extremely crude gear detailing, and the magnetic gears often don't fit snugly. That's unacceptable when they cost close to 200 bucks.

 

[Barison82]

Yeah the initial upfront costs to close contracts, set up a new one, secure and move all tooling then secure a new site must be significant…and lining up the transfer of production with minimal disruption…and then, not to get stung by the previous factory out of spite for moving away, by having your moulds cloned and used in competition against you. We know who this has happened to!

 

[redriveraviation]

Overall I’m amazed (and grateful) that the supply chain didn’t totally seize up and we were still getting models throughout the worst of the pandemic, at one point I thought that things might grind to a halt completely

I completely agree. I am really surprised it didn't affect releases more. It was crazy that only QC suffered bad.

 

[Barison82]

I completely agree. I am really surprised it didn't affect releases more. It was crazy that only QC suffered bad.

Definitely! It’s amazing really when you think about it. Too easy to take things for granted, in this world of instant gratification. In fact, I think we’ve got more choice now than ever before in this scale coming through these last 2 years, rather than it being diminished by all that has happened

 

[OscarBravo992]

Moving production back to the US or UK would be just awesome. I fully agree with the idea that this would likely remove a lot of the QC issues, and it would also likely eliminate zinc rot completely, as the zinc would have to comply with western standards. Although, yes, it might drive up prices, I am willing to sacrifice a little bit of my wallet for a larger benefit from increased QC.

 

[Midwest]

US manufacturing generally maintains some of the highest, and in many cases the highest, standards in the world. You can also feel good knowing that the employees earn a respectable earning and are in safe working conditions. It would be great to see models made here but US diecast work is primarily done in very high volume for corporate use. Hard to make it work for only a few thousand units a year but it's certainly possible.

 

[redriveraviation]

Definitely! It’s amazing really when you think about it. Too easy to take things for granted, in this world of instant gratification. In fact, I think we’ve got more choice now than ever before in this scale coming through these last 2 years, rather than it being diminished by all that has happened

This right here. I try to be positive about almost any situation, and the fact that models have been getting released on an average level throughout this time is truly remarkable. Very grateful.

 

[OscarBravo992]

This right here. I try to be positive about almost any situation, and the fact that models have been getting released on an average level throughout this time is truly remarkable. Very grateful.

I agree. Yes sometimes there are problems or bad releases, like the messed-up E170s, but for the majority of models, they are all still fairly accurate representations of the real thing, some very accurate. I do like to have a model on the best mould there is, but if there is a model I want, I am more likely to choose one that I can afford than one that is a whole lot more expensive (The sole exception is the Phoenix 747s). In the end, these are models, not the real thing. And in 2022, the models we have are, overall, pretty damn good!

 

[DiamondCollector]

So I was pre-recording Massive Unboxing 6, and unfortunately one model from @Midwest came broken which was so unfortunate. This here is my NG Models United Airlines 737-900ER in the Continental Globe colors as part of their June 2022 release set. So unfortunately for NG's QC to go down hill as of recent, especially if they release a huge set of models from a release set (examples: June and August 2022). Luckily I was able to contact them after I unboxed this model, and I needed up dropping it off at a nearest post office. I'm looking forward on getting my replacement soon if everything goes well. But all I can say to NG is for them to do a smaller release set and make sure that the quality control is check properly.



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They should just use crazy glue, no joke that stuff works better then whatever these model companies use good luck!

 

[Alzyerpal]

In my now full 20 years of collecting 1:400 models, I've had loose parts from every manufacturer. Whilst I don't doubt there are no armies of men in white gloves with magnifying glasses by the factory conveyer belt, I don't see how it's in any manufacturers interest to be putting out broken product. Most loose parts are obviously cause by bad shipping or a sudden attack of gravity somewhere along the line. As ever the shipping and mailing companies appear to have avoided any sort of finger pointing thus far.

 

[Barison82]

In my now full 20 years of collecting 1:400 models, I've had loose parts from every manufacturer. Whilst I don't doubt there are no armies of men in white gloves with magnifying glasses by the factory conveyer belt, I don't see how it's in any manufacturers interest to be putting out broken product. Most loose parts are obviously cause by bad shipping or a sudden attack of gravity somewhere along the line. As ever the shipping and mailing companies appear to have avoided any sort of finger pointing thus far.

The rough journey and vibrations encountered during transit will absolutely have a large part to play and more often than not, the shipping and mailing companies can be blamed, I agree.

However there have definitely been QC problems along the way as well, and the shipping process is the final nail in the coffin for the affected models, so it’s a 50/50 thing.

Last year some NG models were having a loose parts problem, where paint was also being stripped off, which I experienced. NG did actually confirm a QC issue with the glue during production.

Another example I remember was with the Aeroclassics DC-10’s, at the start of their production back in 2008. Many were affected with loose wings and stabs (it still happens). It was one of the first moulds AC used which employed the slotted-wing method rather than the more robust cradle-mount, which does not suffer from this problem.

Again, some had paint stripping off, and were on big deal releases including AeroMexico and American Airlines. There were quite a few complaints from disappointed collectors at the time and the problem was acknowledged by Andrew at the time as being at factory level.

I’m sure these problems account for a low % of total production across any of the manufacturers when it occurs. The bummer is when paint strips off as it ruins the model. Otherwise, it’s an easy fix when it’s encountered, although for some, perhaps not.