Rapido Trains - New GP20

[Philip H]

Mine showed up today - one pushed in end and an associated handrail out of place.  Doesn't look like transit damage.  Fixible.  Not the best outcome for such a nice tank car but rankly to the worst.

[SD452XR]

I opened the twelve cars I ordered and found issues with every car.  These ranged from the dome, drain and various end platforms sitting unattached in the jewel case to broken end platforms, railings, placards and brakewheels.  I feel that six of the twelve cars can be salvaged with a little bit of work (gluing on the domes, drains and end platforms).  The other six are simply broken beyond repair.  I have a refund request sent for the six broken cars, and I hope it goes without incident.  I feel bad about having to return these cars, but for what you pay, Rapido needs to deliver what they advertise.  In the case of the cars I received, I feel they did not.  Thank you.

Jeff

They really need to work on their quality control.

[Mark5]

Mine arrived today, thankfully without damage.  I didn't care for the wheels so I swapped in ESM wheels.

I picked up the two I bought from MBK today - luckily no damage.

These are delicate models - you definitely don't want your five year old handling these! 

Similar to Bryan, I felt the wheels are disappointing and I will be swapping them out for some better ones.

[kscessandriver]

The two I ordered from NScaleSupply came in today, and they arrived undamaged. They look great, but I can't run them yet, layout isn't in an operable state.

[ljudice]

If N-scalers would just buy more, they'd get the better packaging team to ship them.   

[spookshow]

I got one from Hogtrainz and it was a disaster. One of the internal weights was glued in place incorrectly, making it impossible for the corresponding end cap to attach to the shell (and so, it was just sitting there detached from everything). Also, the wavy pipes along the bottom/sides are pretty sad looking. Are these things assembled by machines? If so, they're not very good machines.

-Mark

[BCR 570]

I had a positive conversation with Rapido Trains yesterday.  They are aware of the issues and are looking forward to receiving my models back so they can address them.  There is an email address on their website which can be used to obtain a warranty authorization for sending the models back.

Tim

[peteski]

Now I'm curious.
In the past I have watched few of Rapido's very informative (and entertaining, I might add) videos of their Chinese manufacturing facilities, showing products being made (from design to packaging and shipping).  I was under the impression that the factory is exclusively Rapido's (not some model manufacturing factory which caters to multiple companies).  If that's in fact the case, I would have thought that Rapido has tight control of the manufacturing process, from the design stages, to final packaging.  Seeing all the problems described here, it seems that a problem has developed in either assembly or packaging.   Hopefully Rapido's head office will quickly figure out what the problem is , and find a fast resolution. But I expect that there will be some money lost, which could have been used for further product development.   

[mu26aeh]

I checked cars we had in stock at LHS I work at.  3 had loose weights inside, 1 end knocked loose, and 2 that had the bottom outlet loose in box.  14 cars in stock total

[Bendtracker1]

I recently picked up three of these from Lombard.
Originally had no intention of getting any since I have enough tank cars, but was persuaded to do so after seeing a video that a modeler posted on another forum.
Although he stated it was a review, it was actually more of a personal rant aimed at Rapido.

He bought 12 of the PROCOR versions.  The ones that looked to be faded and patched.
His first words were " These are gray! I thought they were supposed to be black?"
He went on to complained about the color and patches as well.

But he gave a lot of praise of all the details: handrails, walkways and couplers, etc

Then he placed them on the track and three of four that he showed had a real drag issues and one wouldn't roll further than a few inches.
It didn't appear that there was any visual damage.

He also complained about the little brake details and complained about having talked to his LHS and they suggested he trim them off with a knife?
He never mentioned or realized that they could be removed as someone did when they replaced the wheelsets.

One of the trip pins would catch on a wood crossing, which set him off on another diatribe.  Later in the thread, he asked how does one go about adjusting the couplers?

But he was fixated on the paint job mainly, that being gray and not black and went on to complain that Rapido never mentioned that these were to represent an older faded car and how he'd never seen ANY of these cars that were gray!
I looked around and I too did not see any mention of a weathered version, but what I saw in the flyer was an older model that went back to PROCOR and got relabeled.

So, after watching this video and joining in the with thread on that forum, I came to conclusion that this guy was definitely a newbie and had absolutely no idea what he was reviewing (or ranting about) other than it was not perfect.  He would not take suggestions to try and fix them and started bashing Rapido for the low QC.

Anyway I decided to pick up the three from Lombard.
They arrived well packed and two of the three were in perfect condition and rolled as one would expect.
The third looked ok, but it had the same drag issues.  The first thing I looked at were the brake moldings, none of which were anywhere near the wheels, actually one was completely missing.
Upon a quick inspection, one tank end was slightly pushed in, which was putting a small amount of downward pressure on the truck causing it to drag.
I fiddled with the end, got it inserted back into place.  Then I did the same thing with the handrail on that end and fixed them both with a spot of CA glue.
The walkway, on the other end was slightly bent down in the middle causing the trip pin to rub the railhead.  I got it bent back upward and it was good.

Now all three run as to be expected.

I get that there are issues with these cars, some more severe than others.
I got lucky I guess.

This seems to be a trend with a lot of products these days, it's like all they want to do is to rush them to market?
At the price, they should be better, but at the same time, with a little fiddling and work they can be fixed.
The cars that arrived in pieces with broken parts, that on the other hand would be a hard pill to swallow.

[BCR 570]

Now I'm curious.
In the past I have watched few of Rapido's very informative (and entertaining, I might add) videos of their Chinese manufacturing facilities, showing products being made (from design to packaging and shipping).  I was under the impression that the factory is exclusively Rapido's (not some model manufacturing factory which caters to multiple companies).  If that's in fact the case, I would have thought that Rapido has tight control of the manufacturing process, from the design stages, to final packaging.  Seeing all the problems described here, it seems that a problem has developed in either assembly or packaging.   Hopefully Rapido's head office will quickly figure out what the problem is , and find a fast resolution. But I expect that there will be some money lost, which could have been used for further product development.

These issues are definitely related to assembly and packaging at the factory, and not so much shipping damage.  From working with other companies I know that they have had to keep a close eye on the production process in China to ensure the desired level of quality control.  I recall one evening receiving a call from Cory at Atlas to consult on a project.  I asked him what time it was back east and he replied that he was actually on the shop floor in China observing production.  This is not intended as a criticism of the Chinese, but from various experiences with other model production I am not sure if they have grasped the level of fidelity and quality which we the customers are expecting, or perhaps the difference between producing scale models and the much larger toy industry.

The problem right now is that it has not been feasible for employees from our model railway companies to go back to China for this purpose.  While travel there is now possible, all entrants to the country have to undergo a 21 day quarantine in a hotel of the government's choosing at the traveller's expense.  So our companies are having to do this from North America and hoping for the best.  Another manufacturer's project I have been assisting with has been through three or more years of samples, corrections and more samples to get things right, and the process can be very challenging and frustrating for those companies trying to bring us our model trains.


Tim

[oakcreekco]

Personally, I'm tired of the excuses manufacturers use about quality issues from built in China engines and rolling stock.

IMO, they wanted extra profit, and assumed that they can control quality levels from half way around the world. Really??

It's hard enough controlling QC on products under your own roof, but even harder when that roof is half way around the globe.

As a consumer, I'm fed up with all the banging drums and preproduction hoopla for the soon to come latest and greatest rolling stock or loco.

I've  been burned too many times in the past, so it's impossible for me to get excited anymore about new products from several manufacturers.

Just how it is with me and my wallet.

[bnsfdash8]

I got my 2 today, 1 CP Rail and 1 "modern" PROX, from Top Hobby. They both arrived intact but the CP one has a loose weight so I'm surprised it survived the trip through the mail.

[bbussey]

I only have one NCTX, and got lucky that it is undamaged. The car is free-rolling with ESM wheels installed, without removing the brake shoe detail. I have a second car coming, UTLX Procor, hopefully my luck will hold.

[ai5629]

I opened the twelve cars I ordered and found issues with every car.  These ranged from the dome, drain and various end platforms sitting unattached in the jewel case to broken end platforms, railings, placards and brakewheels.  I feel that six of the twelve cars can be salvaged with a little bit of work (gluing on the domes, drains and end platforms).  The other six are simply broken beyond repair.  I have a refund request sent for the six broken cars, and I hope it goes without incident.  I feel bad about having to return these cars, but for what you pay, Rapido needs to deliver what they advertise.  In the case of the cars I received, I feel they did not.  Thank you.

Jeff

I turns out that since I purchased six packs, I could either request individual replacement cars or return the entire six pack.  I opted to return both six packs / twelve tank cars I purchased.  I have no faith that replacement cars will be any better than the broken ones I received.  I sent the cars back last week and my refund has been issued.  I am grateful the retailer honored my return, and I feel sorry that they lost a lucrative sale due to a poorly executed product by Rapido.  Thank you.

Jeff