Repair or return?

Very hard decision.  Are they BTO and not in stock anywhere? You risk doing more damage in shipping and then not having any recourse but to return as they may not have sufficient parts if damaged in shipping.  If worth risk, I’d return as the mfg will never know there are issues and never fix unless the consumer votes with their wallet. I’m sure others will dissent, especially apologists on how a certain mfg can do no wrong and we tinkerers need to be able to fix $2000 products ourselves and assume wrong colors, broken parts, spelling mistakes, inconsistent lettering location, etc. are just an expected part of this hobby.

I hear ya, but ...

Most of us over the last 125 years, having been taught so well by this hobby we all know and love to use our hands and heads for most of what we do, are tinkerers.  So we fix things.  It's just part of the hobby and, taking even bad things in stride, we just do it.

Non-tinkerers send them back, and all too frequently get all bent out of shape about it.

Q1: Do tinkerers frequently counteract the manufacturers' quality control processes by accepting these bad things and fixing them ourselves?  Yes, unfortunately.

Q2: Does this drive many non-tinkerers nuts?  Yes, definitely.

Which is right?  Which is best for the hobby?

Which are you?

Mike

BTW -- It matters not how expensive the item is.

If it was me I would send Lionel Service a email with your pictures and ask if they would send the railings to you.

If those parts are plastic and your glueing to plastic to plastic I would use Micro Mark Professional Plastic Welder...any metal on metal or metal on plastic I would use thin mix super glue and then hit the bonded parts with super glue accelerator.

@Mark Storer 101917 posted:

If those parts are plastic and your glueing to plastic to plastic I would use Micro Mark Professional Plastic Welder...any metal on metal or metal on plastic I would use thin mix super glue and then hit the bonded parts with super glue accelerator.

Thank you Mark that is good to know. Opted to fix it myself. Lots of thin plastic detail on these cars, I hate to put them in the mail again. Plastic on plastic in this instance- I’ll have to pick up some Micro Mark plastic weld. I tried the testors plastic weld this afternoon, initial impression was not great.. was holding, barely. I’ll have to see how it feels in the morning

@Mark Storer 101917 posted:

If those parts are plastic and your glueing to plastic to plastic I would use Micro Mark Professional Plastic Welder...any metal on metal or metal on plastic I would use thin mix super glue and then hit the bonded parts with super glue accelerator.

Another option is to use a UV glue like Bondic.  The pro is that it allows infinite open time for aligning parts, since it doesn't bond until it's hit with the UV light.  It also doesn't stick to your fingers like CA.  The con is that the repair may be more visible than using thin CA glue.

That said, IMO the best option would be for Lionel to just send replacement parts.

I agree with trying a solvent glue ("welder"), but if the parts are Delrin rather than styrene or ABS, none of our standard hobby glues will hold very well.  Delrin is typically a shiny black flexible plastic, often used on thin details such as handrails.  It is more durable than the other plastics but very hard to repair.

Bob

Give Trainworld a call. I had an issue with some RMT ore cars recently and they exchanged them no questions asked.

For a brand new set, I wouldn't want to be fixing stuff right out of the box.

Just my $.02

@RSJB18 posted:

Give Trainworld a call. I had an issue with some RMT ore cars recently and they exchanged them no questions asked.

For a brand new set, I wouldn't want to be fixing stuff right out of the box.

Just my $.02

I’m going to give them a call tomorrow- as Bob mentioned, I tested one spot with a real trace amount of plastic cement and let it cure overnight- I don’t think these parts are the type of plastic that can be adhered to.. Said car clicks like crazy going around the track too, coming from the back roller. Friday evening build I suppose 😄

@F19Pacific posted:

I purchased all 3 sets of the Halloween Wood sided passenger cars from trainworld.com. They’re great, but the railing on the back of the observation car arrived in pieces.. a styrofoam block was forced in there at the factory as they do.. I figure it’s not the last time I’ll have a to make a repair on such a fragile little feature, so I should probably learn to repair these myself. I did some research in here already and it sounds like testors plastic cement is the way to go. Any application tips or tricks to make sure it looks as factory as possible? I have a fairly steady hand.. Or should I just return and request a replacement? $500 for 2 passenger cars is steep but things happen. Thanks in advance

Envision yourself as having completed the repair as best you can with the amount of time and skill you have available right now. What did you give up and not do with the time and effort you spent on the repair? How do you feel about accomplishing the repair? If you feel good about the experience don't miss this opportunity.

Hi you can use baking soda soda and super glue sold at Lowes, this will work and hard as soon as you put baking soda on super glue get hard immediately !

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=glue...ch%3Fv%3DZ9qqEbPxx0k

video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9qqEbPxx0k#ddg-play

Alan

All great information guys I appreciate it. Unfortunately upon further inspection, I’ll be requesting trainworld swaps these for another set. The rear roller is clicking like crazy, and my wife pointed out today the other pack C car has some scuffs on the top that appears it was dropped or mishandled while the paint was still wet. Too much to look past now. I hate returning items, I’m typically too stubborn to go through the hassle. But these just don’t seem right compared to the quality of pack A and B. I represent a dozen or so sporting goods brands and lapses in QC are not taken lightly, they probably need to know. Thanks to all the knowledge in here now, I am confident I can figure out how to repair my own inevitable mishaps I appreciate that.

@RSJB18 posted:

Give Trainworld a call. I had an issue with some RMT ore cars recently and they exchanged them no questions asked.

For a brand new set, I wouldn't want to be fixing stuff right out of the box.

Just my $.02

That's the way to go if the item is still available.  If it's a choice between fixing vs. not having the item, it gets tricky.

I should have done that with my RMT ore cars a year ago.  Unfortunately, my cars had the lousy trucks, and any replacements would have had the same problem, so it would have had to be a refund.  So instead I've been listening to empty promises from RMT for a year regarding getting replacement trucks.  Still waiting...