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Heh, I hadn't even noticed that.

mu snikrot went together easily. now the SAG mek on the other hand, flew across my house twice.

Metal models can be frustrating but it's good to see them put together. Now FW Elysians..

studderingdave wrote:mu snikrot went together easily. now the SAG mek on the other hand, flew across my house twice.

This is such an coincident , those 2 bastards are what im gluing atm.

Snikrot 's arms are falling off over and over again , the SAG gun arm isnt staying on.
By the time it did, the tube from right arm sort of pushed it off again.

*screams

Now they are sort of glued on. But i have habit of scrubbing them before i prime.
I have a feeling more tragedy are to follow.

Snikrot didn't give me any trouble, the SAG had trouble getting the tube to stay attached, but I eventually forced it...even my Deff dreads are together and not falling apart, but Ghazghkull seriously irks me, and now that I've ordered them, I'm wondering if I've made a poor choice buying killa kans.

from what i recall assembling mine, the only real tricky part for the kan was the legs

the body, once filed to fit together, held itself together without the need for glue almost
the arms also fit fairly snuggly, but the legs were a pain

LunaHound wrote:
Every time i put together a GW multi piece metal kit , i feel like i accomplished something.

Is this funny, or others feel the same too ><?

Maybe I'm just spoiled. I have hundreds of Battletech minis assembled, all metal. Metal isn't a big deal. A little harder to work with, but it just takes a bit of patience.

Plastic is a lot easier to screw up while filing and smoothing things out than metal is.

Heh heh... kans and dreads are notoriously bad molds. I never heard of anyone who liked to complain not having a whinge about them, but surely you must know how the hobby is by now.

GW have never given me anything too horrible - nothing worse than warped base-tabs that needed to be straightened off or filed down. My first experience with Flames of War was a Russian Platoon that was misaligned by at least half a millimetre. Pretty horrible on that scale. The gunner in the pic below is one of them (the other crewman was from an different lot obviously) - a bit blurry, but hopefully you can see the line down the centre of his helmet.

There's a reason why, when my group of friends and I first got into modelling and painting, we called it our "Weekly Lesson in Frustration". I agree with Redbeard; If the pieces are so warped/bent/misshapen that you truly cannot build the model, then you may call and complain to GW and get a new model. Having to pin metal models is a fact of life, and really it's not that hard to do.

I tend to avoid GW's metal models whenever possible. I haven't seen much in the way of major deformation or broken pieces, but ever metal Gw model I've ever acquired has strange texture inconsistencies, rough in places that should be smooth, and vice versa.

I also seem to end up with a lot of minis that have what I can only call "negative mold lines" -- where, instead of a raised line where the molds came together, there is a valley. Cleaning that up is always a major pain.

Additionally, I always hear people saying that the detail on metal models is just better than on plastic, but I fail to see it. The details on plastic models seem to be much crisper to me, as well.

My experience is limited to infantry models, though. I have yet to build any larger-scale metals.

On the topic of getting replacements for borked minis from GW, I'm glad to hear that you all seem to have had good luck with getting replacements. Over the years, I've had several friends contact GW about missing pieces or severely mis-cast minis. In each case, they've been promised replacements that never show up. I don't actually know anyone who has successfully gotten a replacement from GW.

No, you're right Luna, it's probably due to the increased amount of work we tend to put in.

Dashofpepper, if you're getting Kans, just be prepared with a descent set of files, a pair of mid-sized pliers (or an expander, that'd be even better) and a razor saw. Use the saw to cut the inner tab from the Kan body, then use the pliers or expander to align the outer edges properly. After that, file and green stuff to taste. It sounds like a lot of work, but it's really not that bad. I've built two Kans now and the first one took days because I was farting around trying to make the tabs fit. The second one, for which I just cut the tab off, took around half an hour.

In terms of returning things, well, Redbeard is correct in that if you return something with a bad mold (like a Kan), you're just going to have the same issue with the new model GW sends.

Now, in terms of returns, I've only had a couple of times where I've had to, which is good. Metal models both times, but that's not incredibly surprising since I actually prefer to work with metal when I can (I'm not sure why, it just the way I like to work I suppose). Basically, if the models is deformed to the point where I can't fix it (or convert it in an entertaining way), GW is getting a phone call. If it's missing pieces, I get on the phone. Finally, if it's broken, I get on the phone.

My point of view on it is two fold. First off, I'm helping GW improve their QA and packaging. Whether they want to do anything with that help or not really isn't my problem, but in providing feedback to the company on the quality of their goods, I am doing them a service. Second, I look at costs, specifically mine and GW's. I still buy a fair bit because I like the product and enjoy the hobby. That being said, I know enough about production and business to figure out a ball park cost for GW to cast their models and pay off their molds. The 70 odd percent margin they referenced in their annual report sounds about right. I'll pay that margin (I'll grumble about it, but still pay it) so long as I get the models I want in an acceptable state. If I get broken, missing or severely deformed parts, it's simply not acceptable to me.

Over the past three years, I've bought about 5000 points of Orks and I've called GW twice. I got a run around the first time when I had a problem with a box of Kommandos. The second time, I rang up when my Wierd Boy arrived with a missing leg and got some of the best customer service I've ever received. Now, I'll freely admit that despite the issues with my first call, I'm in that group of satisfied complainers who have a 90% repurchase rate.

Dashofpepper wrote:I've had mixed results with metal models...

I bought a Zagstruk model and had to file down a leg to get it to fit into the joint. Snikrot needed significant retooling to get him to fit together. My Ghazghkull Thraka model still doesn't fit together right; the torso doesn't attach to the legs, there's a square protrusion on the top that's supposed to fit into a square hole on the legs, but it doesn't...but after my wife spent days painting him, I'm not about to try getting it replace...


Now, I've just put in an order for six killa-kans. They're metal, and I've got a poor track record with metal models. If they show up and are as deformed as some of the stuff I've gotten, then what? Is this typical? Do I call GW and ask them to find me a model that actually fits together without requiring L75 metalworking?

With GW, I have come to expect crap every time I open box. Everything people here say of the Killer Kans is TRUE. They are a joke, in the little bent bottom, the overflash on the top, and the misfit of the seams.

-Miliput
- a good file set
- a dremel tool with grinders, cutters and drills.
Bring your patience.

If I were you, I would STOP that order, and only get one to three to begin with.

EXPECT that GW's metals suck, and you won't be disappointed. Thast why its called the GW hobby.

Half of the battle is getting the models to the table, the other half is the paint job/ assembly.

The Kans tabs will not fit. Ever. Don;t even try it. Easiest way to assemble Kans

1. Remove tabs using Modelling clippers.
2. File down both sides until the surfaces you want stuck, are level, and smooth.
3. Glue.

If one of the primary body components is bent, don't even try and assemble. It won't work, the component is too chunky to bend back, and it'll look awkward if you glue it. You can rectify this with green stuff like I did, but on the whole, that's just way too much hassle. You might as well just get another one and saave yourself a headache.

GW are happy to replace anything thats miscast as long as you call them (same for forgeworld) and yes some of their metals are horrible (i'm looking at you killa kan and thunderfire cannon) but things like Ghaz and the SAG go together mostly ok as long as you pin them and being organic they dont look horrible if you have to gap fill (unlike machines) Having said that the metals are work to assemble but the end result is generaly worth it.

I've worked sales / customer service for more than 10 years. If something I sell you does not meet your expectations, I NEED you to let me know. I need to know there is an issue in the quality of the product / service I'm providing and I need to make sure that at the end of our transaction, you are satisfied to the point that you feel your money was well spent and that you will return in the future.

Plain and simple, if you're not happy with what they sent you, let them know and let them work out the fix.

To all of you out there telling him to accept it and that his expectations are out of line: If you do not demand quality product for your money, you will not get it. Period.

After enough people call and complain about the crap quality of a model like ghaz or a zoanthrope, the folks that run GWs QA/ QC will decide that replacements cost more than a new mold and will get the problem taken care of.

Say what you will about GW's ability to write rules or their life long ambition to rape your wallet, but the one thing they do right is customer service.

Every time I've had a problem with an order or a kit, be it plastic, metal, or Forge World resin, they have made sure that I was satisfied at the end of the day with their speed and efficiency in replacing the part.

I haven't played a GW game or purchased a GW product in years, but customer service is definitely not the reason.

Bad casts/warps/mispacks happen. GW will fix it. Just let them know.

I've always had excellent customer service from Games Workshop. It's one thing they always fall over themselves to sort out.

Only once did I receive a sceptical response when I rang up mail order about a missing part. But they were perfectly amicable when I said I'd post the whole thing back to them and sent the part out that I needed.