Randy Cooper Blockade Runner - to buy or not to buy

[Nwerke]

OK, really hoping I won't set off another ****storm with this, but feel the need to balance the ledger after my negative remarks above. I have recently picked up two kits from Randy - the Spinner and the ISD (yes another one, sort of by accident in this case) and both are ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT. As was his service.

The Spinner is as near as could be to perfect. The ISD is too - almost no bubbles at all. It's night and day versus my first one - FAR better than I dared hope. It does have some torn rubber trapped in the some of the detail parts, which someone above remarked on as a sign of shot moulds. That's not really the case, it's just a fact of life with very complex detail. I use quite tough rubber myself and it stands up to quite a bit of abuse but I'm not sure what's available to GK guys in the US is as good, from what I can tell it has much lower Shore A/D stats than the stuff we get here (which is super-expensive, so that's probably part of the equation). You see the same thing on kits like Mike's big Galactica. Anyway, the important 'tell' is whether there are lots of mould tear-outs in RESIN, i.e. places where the mould has torn earlier, and the problem is now cast in. There are virtually none. Not only is Randy now pressure-casting the parts, he's also got to be replacing moulds pretty frequently.

I'd have zero hesitation recommending these kits to any reasonably experienced GK builder. They're still builder's kits, for sure, but the casting quality is very respectable.

- - - Updated - - -

(Re silicones, we are the arse-end of nowhere - more than likely you have a way bigger range than we do, but you only ever seem to hear of 'Smooth-on stuff, no other makes; just a stab in the dark there.)

 

[mslz22]

Just to elaborate on this a bit, one of the things that people may not realize is that sometimes your will get a hand full of mold bits in the FIRST handful of castings from a fresh mold. The reason is that with something like the Sdestroyer or the galactica is that there is so much detail on the pattern and so many undercuts that when your pour a fresh mold the silicone just gets into all of those little bits. Sometimes the tiny thin bits of silicone that have gotten underneath the details will come up with the first 10 or so castings. I call this the mold "normalizing", meaning it's taking bits from undercuts out with the first castings.

The above is very different than the end of mold castings that will leave more like what looks like a "knot" in a part.

Molds on big heavily detailed parts are highly perishable, I am replacing a mold for the galactica almost every day on one part or another. It can get exhausting.

mike

OK, really hoping I won't set off another ****storm with this, but feel the need to balance the ledger after my negative remarks above. I have recently picked up two kits from Randy - the Spinner and the ISD (yes another one, sort of by accident in this case) and both are ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT. As was his service.

The Spinner is as near as could be to perfect. The ISD is too - almost no bubbles at all. It's night and day versus my first one - FAR better than I dared hope. It does have some torn rubber trapped in the some of the detail parts, which someone above remarked on as a sign of shot moulds. That's not really the case, it's just a fact of life with very complex detail. I use quite tough rubber myself and it stands up to quite a bit of abuse but I'm not sure what's available to GK guys in the US is as good, from what I can tell it has much lower Shore A/D stats than the stuff we get here (which is super-expensive, so that's probably part of the equation). You see the same thing on kits like Mike's big Galactica. Anyway, the important 'tell' is whether there are lots of mould tear-outs in RESIN, i.e. places where the mould has torn earlier, and the problem is now cast in. There are virtually none. Not only is Randy now pressure-casting the parts, he's also got to be replacing moulds pretty frequently.

I'd have zero hesitation recommending these kits to any reasonably experienced GK builder. They're still builder's kits, for sure, but the casting quality is very respectable.

- - - Updated - - -

(Re silicones, we are the arse-end of nowhere - more than likely you have a way bigger range than we do, but you only ever seem to hear of 'Smooth-on stuff, no other makes; just a stab in the dark there.)

 

[propcollector]

If you have a problem just let randy cooper know and he will ship you out a knew part. I never have a problem with that. He has always been really good at replacing bad parts.

 

[Jedi Dade]

Good to know he's paying more attention... Reputation is hard to fix after is been battered. All of my dealings with Randy have been extremely positive.

Jedi Dade

 

[vladimir744]

I bought a ISD kit from Mr. Cooper a month ago, but if I had read this tread before, I certainly wouldn't have! The poor packaging gave me a kitt that came in pieces of which I am attaching photos ... contacted Mr. Cooper was willing to replace only some pieces not all ... really dissatisfied I will never buy anything from him again

 

[Sindariel]

Wow. A dream shattered in pieces.
Won't even imagine what happens when he ships overseas.

 

[propcollector]

Just contact randy and he will take care of it! He is very good about that!

 

[vladimir744]

Just contact randy and he will take care of it! He is very good about that!

have you read my post?

 

[vladimir744]

Wow. A dream shattered in pieces.
Won't even imagine what happens when he ships overseas.

I live in Italy Milan

 

[propcollector]

I live in Italy Milan

So sorry....I would still reach out to him again!! Some parts that are broken can be glued back if the parts are there and some can’t!!!

 

[nikter]

I've bought SD from Randy and it arrived to Russia safe, nothing was broken, but quality of casting was bad in some parts, I've spent few days or more just fixing and rebuilding parts instead of building the model. Actually it was pain and suffering: gasps, different height of parts that have to be same, huge air bubbles and so on, but on the other side it was some kind of a challenge and I've learned many new things and improved my modeler skills.

It was my hardest build, but anyway I would certanly recomend Randy's Star Destroyer - it's just the biggest and the best. I do also have Anigrand and Zvezda with many upgrades, but Randy's model is superior. I would like to buy a Sandcrawler from him and maybe blockade runner too.

 

[nikter]

I bought a ISD kit from Mr. Cooper a month ago, but if I had read this tread before, I certainly wouldn't have! The poor packaging gave me a kitt that came in pieces of which I am attaching photos ... contacted Mr. Cooper was willing to replace only some pieces not all ... really dissatisfied I will never buy anything from him again

Hello! Vladimir, thats sad(
Actually the biggest problem are engines, all other broken parts can be fixed - its not easy, but possible. I would say its better to order 3d printed engines from shapeways, they are much more accurate.

do you speak russian?)

 

[dtssyst]

I have built one RC star destroyer as a commission (with lights) and currently have my build on the bench. My build is slow going as I am not in a rush to get it done.

I can say that the first kit I built was not easy. Like others, it had issues. My personal kit had the same issues and more. I am not upset as I knew what I was getting before receiving the kit. It also allows me to spend a bit more time in areas that I normally would not have. Randy does and will send replacement parts if needed.

I would buy other kits from Randy in a second if I could afford them. The Sandcrawler and Blockade Runner are two kits I would really love to have.

However, I recently ended up getting a 1/24 B-Wing from Korbanth. This ship ranked higher on my list of kits to have. It is a lot bigger than expected! It will go great with my same scale X-Wing, Y-Wing, A-Wing and Tie Fighter.

The B-Wing is not perfectly cast either. But the B-Wing can be built a lot easier in my opinion vs the Star Destroyer. I noticed that the B-Wing was missing parts when doing a mock up assembly. FYI, Korbanth sent the missing parts without hesitation.

Do the kits need to be 100% accurate? That is up to the builder. I personally would love every kit to be 100% accurate but know that it is nearly impossible for that to be true on any kit.

This photo shows the first Cooper Star Destroyer I built (lights off).

 

[vladimir744]

Hello! Vladimir, thats sad(
Actually the biggest problem are engines, all other broken parts can be fixed - its not easy, but possible. I would say its better to order 3d printed engines from shapeways, they are much more accurate.

do you speak russian?)

Hi Nikter, no I don't speak Russian sorry, just Italian and a little bit English ...yes at the end I will bring all I need from Shapeways ...but I'm really disappointed...the kit its not cheep at all, and I expected better packaging

 

[nikter]

Hi Nikter, no I don't speak Russian sorry, just Italian and a little bit English ...yes at the end I will bring all I need from Shapeways ...but I'm really disappointed...the kit its not cheep at all, and I expected better packaging

My mistake, Vladimir is a common russian name)))
Yes, shapeways could help you... I hope you will fix this broken parts and build a great model! Good luck!

 

[vladimir744]

My mistake, Vladimir is a common russian name)))
Yes, shapeways could help you... I hope you will fix this broken parts and build a great model! Good luck!

hope the same think thank you

 

[Cory1969]

My experience with RC was complete BS in every way.
To the point that I can't see how some here keep saying he's great at customer service and fixing parts issues.
That was not my experience at all, whatsoever, so whatever future SW kits I had been eyeballing, that I would have bought, are now a NEVER again.
Parts were pure 3rd rate crap with slot of broken parts cast in resin from the busted up masters and flooding of detail areas or even short shot areas, and an entire missing photoetch set, that was advertised as part of the set, but never included, and then a complete ******** runaround and never offered to reimburse part of the $200 I paid for the missing parts he refused to rectify.
Don't buy his crap.
Terrible customer service.

 

[joberg]

Soooo let's resume:
Kit is for serious builders ready to work at transforming and repairing some major flaws.
Kit is, in essence, a good base to work with and make the necessary adjustments.
Kit has some excellent pieces/details/greeblies, while other pieces/details/greeblies have to be detailed and or replaced from scratch.
Kit seems to be send in not-so-good packaging. Mileage might differ from customers to customers.
Kit is a garage kit; not a industrial grade kit made by known brands. It's still, to my knowledge, a one-man-only operation/business; therefore, customer service/part replacements might not be constant in quality/speed or, sometimes, not at all.

 

[propcollector]

I have bought many kits from Randy and if I have a problem with parts that are bad, missing, broken, he always replaces or tell how fix warping and I have never had a problem with Randy! You have to communicate! As far as the kit for the money it is a great kit! But remember it’s resin and there is work on completing these type of kits! There are other kits out there for more money it all in what you want to pay for it and the size you want Have fun!

 

[Cory1969]

I did communicate. Quite a bit. There was a back and forth through several messages, and in the end he decided to NOT rectify the problem or reimburse the cost of the parts he did not include, and when called out on it with a screen capture of his own ad, stopped communicating altogether, so I'm so glad to hear that some people here have had good enough luck that they can come back with all this great advice that I ALREADY TRIED, with ZERO effect other than denial.
I AM serious modeler who's not afraid to jump in with sleeves rolled up, but I'm also a modeller who understands that CRAP service is CRAP and over $200 for crap that is really loaded with problems and quite inferior to stuff I've picked up for far less or at least equal in price, is total bullsh*t when the person just basically says **** you once they have your money.
And I'm NOT the sole heir to this problem.
Others have had this experience.