Last week my online purchases came in the mail. The first one was a six pack of Deluxe Innovations twin tub coal gon that I thought was an okay deal. I can't believe that they would release such junk. The wheels don't roll, the paint isn't very smooth, and I don't even know how to explain the couplers. Oh ya they didn't even come with loads. My second purchase was another DI TTX maxi III. The paint was better, the wheels turned and the couplers worked. I knew that it didn't come with loads, but that was alright because I have some; I thought. My containers that I have don't fit. Now do I spend even more money on these two items or just put them away? I thought that since DI was more money, that it would equal a good product. I will never buy one again. My last package contained hy-cube boxcars and trinity 3 bay hoppers from ExactRail. I really like these, except that 2 of the boxcars needed their weights glued back on and a set of the wheels on the hoppers won't sit flat on the rail so it derails all the time. Just a little frustrated right now!!
Actually those problems has nothing to do with on line purchases.The real culprit is shoddy QC at the Chinese factory. Contact Deluxe Innovations and ExactRail and advise them of your problems..I am sure they will remedy your problems by standing behind their products..
If you can't get the coalporters or the maxis replaced, I will take them off your hands if you're looking to get rid of them. What road name are on the coal cars?
How do your containers not fit in the Maxi III cars, are they too wide? Do they fit in other well cars you own? (Athearn, Walthers, Kato, etc) You'd think that any N scale container would fit in any N scale well car! I don't own any DI stuff, but I just got an Athearn well car and use Con Cor containers in it, I can't imagine how they could not fit. As for the hopper, is the pin (or screw maybe) holding the truck in place bent or in too tight, or is the actual hole crooked? Maybe if you enlarged the hole in the truck so it wasn't so tight on the pin it might give the truck more play or wobble to let it sit level...I donno. Maybe replacing them with MTs, though with most new cars today that really shouldn't be necessary. Bad luck though, so far all of my online purchases have turned out well, hopefully that continues. Kinda one reason I like going to the LHS, though even there you often won't spot problems until you get it home and put in on the track, but at least you can get an idea of the quality of the company's products.
CK, Sorry to hear about all the issues. I have never had any issues with DI and never heard of anyone else having any issues either. In fact, I have really enjoyed their products and found them to be superior! Anyway, I know that doesn't help you, but you should contact them and talk it over with them. Give them a chance to make it right! I've spoken with one of their reps on here and really feel like he is in touch with his customers. Chris
Why post it here? Why not get in touch with Deluxe? If you had done that first and they hadn't made it right, then post here. You are going to get all kinds of people, myself included, saying they never had problems or if they did, it was fixed right away. I understand your frustration, but I think it ______(fill in the blank) to go after a manufacturer before giving them a chance to deal with your problem. Best to sleep on it before attacking a manufacturer. I have never found any containers that don't fit. What brand were they?
I've had good experience with Deluxe as well, especially their paint & decoration. RE the containers: Con-Cor containers are wider than prototype, but I'm guessing they should still fit in a DI well. Are you perhaps trying to fit a 53' container (like a Kato container) in a 48' well (the Maxi-III)? (Not trying to cast aspersions here, just trying to help solve a problem.) -Gary
Re the containers, it's a shot in the dark (you don't say where you are) but could they be made for British 1/148 or Japanese 1/150 N scale and hence slightly larger than American 1/160 scale? I could be wrong but the DI coalporters may come without loads, I can't remember if the last lot I got did or not, I use the excellent loads made by Hay Brothers that come in an almost unbelievable variety. I wouldn't single out Deluxe Innovations, they all have bad days. One of the pitfalls of getting stuff made on the far side of the world in a country where industry is known for taking shortcuts for a market that wants increasingly sophisticated products at the same price they paid for Model Power junk in 1968.
Why attack the poster because he is "disappointed" and "frustrated" and best I can tell he never attacked the manufacturer. He reported HIS experiences. Just as all Toyota or GM customers are not 100% happy, but that does not mean that 99% aren't happy. The poster 1) vented his disappointment , 2) asked what to do. That is not attacking a manufacturer. In addition if he gets plenty of people saying yes DI is a good company and I never had this problem, then perhaps he may give them another chance based on a overwhelming support for the company.
I'll chime in my 2 1/100ths of a dollar with suggesting taking this up privately with each manufacturer. I once had an issue with a Kato F40PH in Amtrak. It was DOA. I had several Kato engines at the time, and contacted the customer service dept, sent the engine in, and a week or so later, a brand new unit arrived at my doorstep, good as new. Customer Service is there to do this, it's their job. Try them first. You might be surprised!
Thanks for the replies. When buying the DI's I searched this form to see if anyone had issues and no one did, so that is why I bought them. I never thought of contacting the manufacture. I'll give that a try. New at this, so I assumed that every manufacture made thier stuff to scale. Tried my Kato 53' containers for width and they slide right in. The Walter's won't fit, too big all the way around. But they will fit in my Athearn and Kato.
ck, Another string to your bow in this hobby is to develop a basic understanding of how your trucks and couplers work. By that I mean use a magnifier to examine the operation of your trucks and couplers under a desk light at your work table. Run the truck back and forth slowly through a switch, and couple and uncouple a pair of cars. From this, you obtain a basic level of mechanical understanding of the things, and that in turn allows you to recognize common issues with new equipment. You will then be in a better position to decide whether it's worthwhile to complain to the manufacturer, or fix it yourself. For example, I just assembled a passenger truck kit (purchased a long time ago to be used with the American Limited passenger car core kits). When done, I ran the completed truck back and forth on a piece of test track (pressing down from above with a finger) in order to test the result. When compared to a standard Micro-Trains truck, the truck I had just assembled felt "rough", apparently due to the wheel sets being out of true. I substituted a different company's wheel sets (36" for that passenger truck), and the truck ran fine. Issue solved. MH
For trucks, I am finding that I get around 10-20% of my rolling stock from pretty much all manufacturers (DI, FVM, Athearn, ExactRail, Atlas, etc.) with some issue with the trucks. Usually, it's easy. What happens is that the wheelset has popped out of where it's supposed to sit in the side-frame. If I keep having problems with a wheelset I just replace it with a metal one. I am doing that on most of my rolling stock anyway. Make sure you use the write length of axle measured pin to pin if you do this. Most are MTL's length but there are others out there. I have a caliper to use when in doubt. In only one case was the truck so warped that I had to replace it, and that was on one Athearn boxcar out of I don't know how many I've owned over time. If I had noticed it earlier I would have sent it back in, but, as it was, I ended up replacing it with a Micro-Trains truck.
I have found that most Walther's containers do not fit the DI wells. This is especially true with the older DI release of the Gunderson Twinstacks. I simply file the locking corners down a little (on the container) until they fit.
