Bowser USRA Lt Mikado, Deluxe Kit build

[ocalicreek]

"nastygram"? from Bowser? What do you mean?

Galen

[iis612]

Galen,

It is a form letter saying that I did not follow their policy about missing parts and that they provided the part "This time" at no charge.
When I opened the box, brand new, their was nothing inside about missing parts policies, warranties, parts lists, etc.

As an aside, I have been obsesively planning the track for this thing to run on, and my wrists are getting worse, so I have not done anything with it since the last set of pics. I will do something tomorrow, as long as my wrists will allow it.

Matt

[nkp_174]

Galen,

It is a form letter saying that I did not follow their policy about missing parts and that they provided the part "This time" at no charge.
When I opened the box, brand new, their was nothing inside about missing parts policies, warranties, parts lists, etc.

As an aside, I have been obsesively planning the track for this thing to run on, and my wrists are getting worse, so I have not done anything with it since the last set of pics. I will do something tomorrow, as long as my wrists will allow it.

Matt

I've received one of those letters before...or rather more than once.

I felt bad when I received one from Precision Scale. I'd ordered one of their excellent styrene handcar kits from Walthers. I made a couple small mistakes on it, and needed new parts. I emailed them, and they sent me the parts with a note that their records didn't have any reference to me ordering a brass handcar kit from them. Then I got my kit out and realized two things: 1) it was plastic, and 2) I ordered from Walthers.

I'd love order a few more of those kits for my future layout...not only do they look really sweet just sitting there, but they look even better when pushing the bar down causes it to be propelled down the tracks.

[ocalicreek]

Ah, I see. That's too bad they feel the need to do that. THE best customer service experience BY FAR I have ever had came from Jaks. I had purchased a Scale Structures Limited Timber Gantry on ebay. I discovered that I had two lefts instead of a left and a right, of a particular metal cast brace, along with a broken piece of stripwood. I emailed them and received, at no charge, replacement parts in a few days. I made sure to mention in my request for replacements that I was prepared to pay for them, plus shipping, because I had not purchased it directly from them, however, that was never an issue as they promptly replied saying they'd send the parts out for free. Fantastic.

The only comperable service like that came this past summer when I discovered my Sugar Snap Peas were actually a blend of sugar snaps and snow peas! I had purchased the seed at a local nursery but when I contacted Territorial, the seed company, they credited my AmEx right there over the phone, saying they stand behind their products and want customers to be satisfied with it wherever they purchase it. With so many model making companies practically cottage industries, you'd think they would take a similar approach in order to build a good customer base. I have no trouble recommending Jaks (current manufacturer of SS Ltd et al) to anyone precisely because of the great service.

Anyway, thanks for satisfying my curiosity. Hope your wrists get better, and not just because I'm anxious to see your progress!

Galen

[LynnB]

You gotta luv them steam engines, keep up the great work.

[Russ Bellinis]

Galen, I suspect that the fact that it is cottage industries makes poor customer service and bad attitudes more prevalent. A friend was telling me once that he and another friend went into a business selling some craftsman type model railroad structure kits made out of wood. They signed a contract to supply the kits to Walthers and gave Walthers an exclusive deal. It was intended to be a part time business, but the demands were such that they suddenly had second full time jobs to go with their "day jobs." Since the price they had given Walthers wasn't paying enough per hour to justify the time they had to spend making the kits, they stopped production and went out of business. I am surprised at Bowser's attitude, though. They are owned by English which is one of the largest model railroad companies with a vested interest in doing customer service. I did notice at the National Train Show at the NMRA convention in Anaheim last summer that Bowser, like most other companies is shifting more toward r-t-r products. I guess there is a much bigger market for r-t-r than there is for kits. I hope kits don't disappear completely though.

[nkp_174]

I think I understand their frustration. I suspect that the first problem was that the parts list was missing...as I'd bet that it was supposed to have one. Perhaps it was a kit that had previously been returned to Standard Hobby Supply by the original purchaser...with the sales associate failing to make certain that it was complete...or an error at Bowser.

If the mistake was Bowser's, it is more difficult for them to discover the source of the problem. While this isn't as much of a problem for them, it is a serious problem for short run items. What do you do if a customer comes to you for replacement parts on an item that has been out of production for several years? I know that every manufacturer always has spare parts produced for their products...or even complete RTR items held in reserve...and they hold onto them for a limited period of time (that is how I acquired the drivers for my 2-8-0 project). I suspect that the absolute worst is when someone request free parts for an item more than once...which implies that they lost/damaged parts during construction. Grandt Line's old replacement parts sheet was your one time offer for free parts...after it, you'd have to pay.

I'd bet that your kit was supposed to have a parts list and that the replacement policy was printed on this. I'd guess that this was removed in between it leaving Bowser and arriving in your mailbox. They did not realize that you did not have this, and presumed that you'd probably just lost or broken the parts you wanted replaced since you didn't follow the missing instructions.

Another animal entirely is the customer relations with specialized companies such as Cimarron works which provides unique stuff to minority scales...they have it in their interest for you to be happy enough to purchase more kits...and it is in your interest not to sink the lone supplier of the items you need through critical reviews.

Just to be clear, I don't think you did anything wrong. I think their is a misunderstanding on their end.

[iis612]

I have no frustrations with Bowser. They did get me the parts that where missing and placed the form letter in the box. Attached to that form letter was a "Replacement parts" order form.
I am sure that companies such as Bowser are contacted several times a day by modelers who lost, broke, or otherwise disfigured parts and are looking for the replacement for free. That is why they have policies in place to deal with such things.
They took care of me graciously, and in a timely manner. I am grateful for their effort, and I would not hesitate to order anything from them, or Standard Hobby. As a matter of fact, I was looking at ordering detail parts from Bowser and their afilliate companies so I can dress up my other locos. The Cal-Scale parts are very nicely cast and even the simplest of items can make a huge difference in a models appearance.

Matt

[iis612]

I managed to get a little bit done today. Very little. I had to ream the cut lever stanchions, and that takes some time when your wrists don't work right. I also got the air and steam lines on the pilot.

Hopefully I can get more done over the weekend.

Matt

[iis612]

Well, after taking a few days off, I will be back at it tomorrow.
I am looking for ideas to make the clasification lamps operational. I am wondering if it would be best to drill out the bezels and place small LEDs or "grain of rice" bulbs in them. Does anyone know if anyone makes/sells operational clasification lamps?

Matt

[doctorwayne]

I think that Utah Pacific sold working class lights at one time, but I don't know if they're still around. The loco shown below had working class lights, although they were illuminated by the headlight bulb, so the colour was the same as the headlight. The ones that were on the loco when I got it, used, in 1957 or '58, were one-piece turnings of what appeared to be Lucite - they had a shaft that extended 1/4"-or-so into the smokebox, and the lamp body was represented by black enamel. They would probably look good-enough even today. The ones shown, drilled-out Cal-Scale markers, are lit by fibre optics, again using light from the headlight, which is inside the smokebox.



Wayne

[jglfan]

I've seen ones with fibre optics, with a colored bulb inside the boiler, or smokebox. With DCC, you could use a multi color led I suppose.

Gary

[iis612]

I checked out the lights offered by Utah Pacific (now owned by Tomar). They are for the caboose. They would work, but I will have to modify them a bit.
I have not found anything that would work straight from the box, so I will either use the lights offered by Tomar, or I will modify the ones that came with it, and order the colored jewels from Tomar. Either way, pics to come.

Matt

[iis612]

I have opted to go with fiber optics on the original lights. The Utah Pacific offerings would work with some modifications, and I have ordered a few for my fleet of crummies, but I don't want to cut the finneals (sp?) off the tops to place them on the loco. I will add the appropriate color jewels and see how it works out.

Matt

[Bigsteel]

matt,your build is looking great (those rods and valve gear would scare me ) i dont have enough good photos of C&O mikes,but would the bowser heavy mikado be correct for C&O without major modification? it would be easier for me to find out if i was still part of the COHS but i cancelled my membership as i dropped plans of a C&O layout .(but i can still model the locos )--josh