SMT Galactic Shuttle

I got an email confirming my order for the shuttle.

Don't panic. Remember, SMT is a cottage industry. They aren't like MR or AMT or lots of other places. They probably deal with all the correspondence themselves so just drop them a line and ask if your order was recieved.

Be cool. I'm sure they'll appreciate it. No need to freak.

-Gordon
 
Originally posted by spcglider@aol.com@Apr 22 2005, 12:43 PM
I got an email confirming my order for the shuttle.

Don't panic.  Remember, SMT is a cottage industry. They aren't like MR or AMT or lots of other places.  They probably deal with all the correspondence themselves so just drop them a line and ask if your order was recieved.

Be cool. I'm sure they'll appreciate it.  No need to freak.

-Gordon
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NICE.
 
all I can say is for those that have ordered, Good Luck. When Soeone constantly tells you for over 90 days it will ship this week, well I just do not have the patients to play his games. As far as I am concerned, good riddens.
 
I have to agree with SinkTube Jedi, I've ordered kits from SMT in the past and the wait time is terrible. I don't care how cool or great a kit they make I will NEVER order from them again.
As a owner of a resin model company myself, I can truely say I would go out of buisness with the crap they pull. :angry I guess some people just like the abuse.
 
Originally posted by saintg@Apr 25 2005, 04:05 AM
I have to agree with SinkTube Jedi,  I've ordered kits from SMT in the past and the wait time is terrible.  I don't care how cool or great a kit they make I will NEVER order from them again. 
  As a owner of a resin model company myself, I can truely say I would go out of buisness with the crap they pull. :angry  I guess some people just like the abuse.
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Well, if YOUR resin company was offering a 2 ft long replica of the Galactica shuttle, perhaps I would have ordered from you?


But really, we all know this hobby can be touch-and-go with fulfillment. It s a risk we take every time we whip out the credit card or the money order.

And I know you're offering up the review of their service because you don't want other folks to get burned, but be careful... taken out of context your comment might read like an angry competitor just trying to slam the other guy. But truly, I appreciate the concern.


-Gordon
 
This concern comes up frequently on many, many boards. It is a valid warning. Although I have never heard anyone say they never got thier kit. The worst was that it took some fellow nearly a year and a half to get his kit.

Thier casting is pretty good by the way.
 
Gordon, I am speaking from expierence. I've ordered SMT's kits in the past and it has been nothing but a nightmare. I am not knocking their products just their service.
I do not offer the same types of kits as SMT so how do you see it as "slamming" the other guy?? :D
George
P.S. if you want to see MY kits I'll be at Wonderfest. :D
 
Originally posted by saintg@May 18 2005, 01:40 AM
Gordon,  I am speaking from expierence.  I've ordered SMT's kits in the past and it has been nothing but a nightmare.  I am not knocking their products just their service. 
  I do not offer the same types of kits as SMT so how do you see it as "slamming" the other guy?? :D
George
P.S. if you want to see MY kits I'll be at Wonderfest. :D
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I'm admitting my ignorance here just to make a point... I don't know what type of kits you offer, so to the uninitiated, a general statement like "As a owner of a resin model company myself, I can truely say I would go out of buisness with the crap they pull" would seem a dubious remark. But that's just an argument about syntax... and I'm not going to purposely try to cheese you off about it since we don't know each other that well.

Our hobbies are reliant on dealing in good faith with alot of people. And once again, I truly do appreciate the fact that you want to help me avoid getting screwed as this is a segment of the builder's hobby that I rarely trade in. I focus mostly on hand-props.

You've had a bad experience with SMT and I don't blame you for bringing that to the attention of others who would be dealing with them. Was it a one-time affair? Or multiple transactions? The reason I ask is because it is fairly common to be "soured" by a "lemon" transaction. If you buy a Chevy truck and that particular truck happens to be a lemon, you are pre-disposed to assume that ALL Chevy trucks are the same.

All the same, I am paying close attention to this. Your warnings have not fallen on deaf ears.

I contacted SMT and asked outright if they were on-schedule with production for release as stated and they said a resounding "YES". To quote: " We DON'T want to be late with this one.
I've had too much of that this past year."

So it seems that they are paying attention to what's being said about their service and are working to correct it.


-Gordon
 
Bloody hell. Anyone have a phone number for Colin at SMT? I sent him payment in March, and it's been sitting in his mailbox since April 1st according to tracking - "Item received by delivery office. Item on hold as per receiver instruction."

Whatever that means. I suspect what it means is that I won't be receiving a shuttle at the end of June.
 
I've been dealing with Colin for the past couple of years. The longest I had to wait was a year for the drop ship. I've ordered the shuttle and don't expect to see it until early 2006. He had posted an apology of sorts in the news section about shipping delays, and states that this year will be much better. You know what? It's not better......just the same. If you order just expect a 6 month to a year wait. I suspect he has a lot of irons in the fire. and I'm a loyal smt supporter. I'm getting tired of it. There's always swpropmaker.....
 
"There's always swpropmaker....." I'm having a hard time understanding this... Is this a dig on me? If its not please disreguard. If it is please take the time to explain.

Steve
swpropmaker






quote=roguemodeler,Jun 3 2005, 04:24 AM]
I've been dealing with Colin for the past couple of years. The longest I had to wait was a year for the drop ship. I've ordered the shuttle and don't expect to see it until early 2006. He had posted an apology of sorts in the news section about shipping delays, and states that this year will be much better. You know what? It's not better......just the same. If you order just expect a 6 month to a year wait. I suspect he has a lot of irons in the fire. and I'm a loyal smt supporter. I'm getting tired of it. There's always swpropmaker.....
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I'm not sure Steve. I think it was a swipe at you. I think he was referencing your duty time in IRAQ. If so, there is NO comparison. Colin is a civilian who has no knack for schedules and keeping them. Maybe if Colin had the excuse of being 5000 miles away in a war zone some people might understand but the simple fact is, Steve came back and hit the molds right away. Colin would have tons of reasons why he can't get to it right away.
SMT is a joke. There casting quality has a lot to be desired. There patterns, some of them, look nice but hey, lets be honest. You can have the best pattern in the world and still have crap castings. It's all in the molding and casting techniques. De-air the RTV and pressure casting is just part of it. Stable mold boxes, venting for resin flow, quality resin and temp are also a major factor.
SMT are hacks but better hacks then most. The fact they require operational cash in the form of up front payments disturbs me. If the patterns were done and the molds were cut I could see taking payments since it would be a short wait for the kits to ship (in the real world that is) but to have payments so far in advance smells of lack of funding and operational cash for the project. This is a buyer beware scenario. They are in Canada. That makes it hard on most to go after them. Just hope they come through and IF they do come through on time, it will only be the first time so don't expect people to roll over apologizing. They need to beat a real long and bad track record...

Now quit comparing apples to oranges when it comes to other kit makers like Steve. He is filling ALL his orders. He is a soldier and answered his countrys call. And he made sure all knew what was going on. To take a swipe at him is taking one at all service men and woman. Colin is a flake. Steve is not.

My two cents.


Mark
 
I've dealt with SMT a bunch of times. MOST of the time I've had no problem with delivery. The only time I did wait longer then I should have was when SMT was having their labor crisis. They went through a stretch where some of their employees were stealing just about every kit they produced... SMT bit the bullet - took a serious financial and PR hit, and as far as I know made good on every kit they owed. Since then I haven't heard much griping about blown deliveries... There probaly are some - I just said I don't know about them. I pre-ordered a shuttle as well - I fully expect it to be an awesome casting job and delivered in a reasonable time. Like someone above said SMT is a cottage industry and doesn't have an army of workers pumping these out Like MR or other companies. remember it was a pre-order and wasn't expected to be at least June so you can't start counting until now not last march when you sent th epayment in ;)

Jedi Dade
 
Well,

After all I have read, I am hoping that SSM will carry this kit in their store.

Probably the only way I would order one otherwise I may never see one but I can
dream, can't I? :p
 
I'm hearing that SMT will eventually come through for their clients. This doesn't address my primary problem:

I sent my payment at the end of March. It's been sitting in Colin's mailbox since April 1st, apparently "at the instruction of the receiver". I need to contact him.

Someone must have his phone number - please PM me if you do. Thanks.
 
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