Steve, don't take my posts to imply any criticism of you or your teammates. As I said in my first post:
1. The Y is fantastic, and I am thrilled to have it
2. Great return policy, MR.
My issues are on the production end, not the design end. As I said, I was on the wall about sending the model back for just the pipe issue. Very likely I would have taken care of business offline as you helpfully suggest in your post.
What tipped my decision the first time was paint damage in addition to the pipe issue. What tipped my decision the second time was MR's failure to ship a complete kit. I prefer a complete kit. I'm just wacky that way.
You seem to be projecting on me arguments and motives I have not expressed. To take your comments in order, I have not:
1. Complained that the kit wasn't studio-accurate enough.
2. Made any comment at all about the fine artisans who made this product possible (save for implied praise).
3. Gone on an MR-bashing crusade.
4. Expressed regret that there is not an even better Y-wing on the market. (There was indeed a better Y on the market last year, but I waited for MR's version because I was willing to pay extra for a pre-assembled product.)
Whence come these extraneous comments? My sole question was whether this misalignment issue was common or not. Is it?
Am I out of line because I expect not to see misaligned parts come out of a factory? I can't think of many $500 products where cosmetic flaws are not only acceptable, but the customer is questioned for even mentioning them and told he should pay third-party repairmen extra to get them set right. There's a reason outlet centers sell their cosmetically flawed products at clearance prices: it's because they are unacceptable at full price. That's how things work in the retail world MR has chosen as its playground, a world of trade shows and retail accounts, not at all like our little community of artisans. The stakes and expectations are and must be different.
