There is little that surprises me from this manufacturer anymore. Poor production quality? Check. Little--if any!--quality control? Check. Poor communication? Check. To that we can now add indifference re: customer satisfaction.
KM has acquired a well-earned reputation for not only mis-packaging kits (as in wrong box, wrong insert--which makes you wonder how many of any one kit are truly out there?); but of selling incomplete, or incorrectly packaged kits: shorted parts, duplicate parts, etc. As I mentioned in my review, this was my first experience with anything of this nature; but based on on-line reviews and comments, it is far from uncommon. I wrote KM upon receipt of the shorted kit, and their reply was frankly shocking: "The Stars Wars line is no longer part of our held licenses", and that "they regret the error". That's it! I read this as, "We sold you an unusable/ defective product. . . too bad!"
As I said, KM has lost my patronage. I can forgive--or rather, turn a blind eye to--technical and production issues. But this is beneath contempt--and fraudulent!
As before, enough of that. May they reap what they have sown threefold! I still have an incomplete kit to make whole. . .
And that I have! I was very lucky to find a local collector who was willing to part with his kit of Darth Maul for a very reasonable price. While certain pieces of the kit were deplorably cast, his kit was not only complete, but they had thrown-in an extra left leg! You can well imagine the surface damage due to incidental contact by soft metal in an over-packed tin; but as they say, beggars can't be choosy. . . Given what I plan to do, I am now short but one right leg. I can live with that--especially as I have a decent right leg to clean-up, mold, and from which I will be able to cast as many right legs as my heart desires!
And so, I now have TWO Darth Maul projects on the stove-top: 1T is the original plan, depicting Maul in his encounter with JM Qui-Gon Jinn on Tatooine, an essentially OOB undertaking. Now for the lemonade from the remaining lemons: Project 2N will be based on the depiction of Maul in his epic, but fatal, encounter with JM Jinn and the then-Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi (bka "The Duel of the Fates") in the Theed power generator on Naboo. This will be a moderately extensive conversion as he will not be wearing the Sith hooded mantle, his [under-]clothing will have to be enhanced/corrected and detailed, and the legs will have to be reanimated to varying degrees.
That's it for now. Before closing, I would just like to strongly urge that if you must buy any KM kit, do not do so sight unseen! Inspect the kit carefully before purchasing: if the seller is at all hesitant to let you do so, walk away. If you do agree to buy sight unseen, make sure that the conclusion of the sale is contingent solely upon your satisfaction with what you have received. If that is unacceptable. . . walk away!
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