Hi everyone this is my first post her. I normally don't complain to much, but I just bought a walthers caboose kit and was amazed at the quality or the lack there of. None of the parts fit right or the locating holes were to small or not there. Maybe I was expecting to much. But when I pay fifteen dollars for a kit I think the parts should fit and the holes be there and of the right size. If this is normal for Walthers this will be my last Walthers kit.
Hmmmm....Over Christmas I put together a Walthers Conrail caboose kit. I'm happy with it and it wasn't at all difficult to put together.
Yes it was the bay window kit. It was a NS caboose. I did see something yesterday that caught my attention. I saw a Walthers train set at the hobby shop and it had that same caboose in it minus the hand rails and grabs.
Welcome to our family here at the TrainBoard! Several have mentioned Walther's lack of stock on hand, poor quality, and higher than normal prices. About all we can do, is become kit bashers and grit our teeth. You might try writing Walthers a nasty letter detailing all that is wrong with the kit. If you do, be sure to note the date and who you bought it from if a dealer, and photo copy the receipt. Don't do any more on the kit until you hear from them. Who knows, sometimes they write back, sometimes they even replace the kit with another, sometimes they act like you should be grateful they allowed you to buy their product at all. We hear all kinds of strange things now days. I had one very well respected dealer tell me they do not buy from Walthers any more either. They said that Walthers wants to control the whole industry, but they do not stock hardly anything, they just take orders and order from the factory. That's why it takes so long to get, and there is no inspection for quality, not freight damage. Sad.
On the walthers cars, I bought about $150 worth on Ebay for $26.50!!!! And so far in the construction I've done I have only one complaint! I hate the couple cover they supply with their kits! Its that plate they use to seal off a coupler and its plastic with a small pin on it and my question is what happens if that car took a hurl though the air off a trestle? or derailed and fell off a bridge??? and the coupler breaks? How the hell do you replace it without breaking that tiny pin on the coupler cover plate??? So what I did was, cut the pin completly off and file it till it was smooth and drilled it for a screw and installed it that was on 3 cars so far. But agreed that Walthers need to get better inspection of their products. As for the performance of the car since I done this I have no other complaints. I can't say I have a bunch of money tied up in those cars, but I am glad I didn't dish out $150 for them!!!! Gotta love Ebay.... [ 11 March 2001: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ] [ 11 March 2001: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]
