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Tamiya Customer Service - Yea!!!!!


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Hey All,

 

Just wanted to give a huge shout out to Tamiya Customer Service (Gary Demory at USA Support).  

 

I did a very stupid thing, and lost, probably forever, the main (rear) clear part of the canopy (part H2) for my 1/48 Tamiya P-38F/G.  I cannot explain what happened, other than I used a tweezer to hold up the canopy while I was going to let some liquid mask dry, and when I came back to check on the part 10 minutes later, the part was gone.  Tweezer was just as I left it, but no part.  We checked the dogs, but they were not in the room.  My wife and I scoured every inch of the house (where I'd gone) after I left the model room and returned to it.  I am dumbfounded, and have NO IDEA where the part went, but I'm sure I'll find it 4-5 years down the road.  In any event, I wrote, that day, to Tamiya Customer Service, and told them my story, and that I'd be happy to pay for 2 new clear sprues (I figured 2 just in case I lost ANOTHER one).  I wrote to them mid-Sunday afternoon, and Gary Demory replied on Monday, before noon, and said that the model is too new for them to stock spare sprues, but did I have a part number?  I wrote back, and told him H2, and he said that he happened to have only one extra H2, but that he would send it right out, no charge for the part or shipping.  I got a note today that it's been shipped.  

 

So...whaddya think about that?  Pretty darn cool, if you ask me.  Wahoooooooo for Tamiya Customer Service!!

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Tamiya service anecdote from the 1970s, when MRC in New Jersey imported them.

I built a number of their 1/35 tanks which at that time often (usually?) had battery powered motor in the hull or were also available with a 2 motor steering system to a battery box on tether wires. 
I preferred the in-hull, one-motor non-steerable models without the leash but did have a steerable Jagdtiger that Dad got me.

 

The M36 Jackson and T-34/76 saw heavy use in the backyard, the snow, mudpuddles in the street, et cetera.

They were the tanks least likely, if ever, to shed treads in rough terrain which caused almost all the other types to do so, even the M4A3E8.


(M36 would actually float in deep enough puddles with its exposed lower tracks propelling it)
(after discovering that I worked at adding some water resistance to the hull)
(a few years later got another M36 with motor & a Testors/Italeri M4 with simply rocking articulated bogie arms, put those bogies on the M36, much visual coolness as the parts moved)

(my brother "turbocharged" his M10 by wiring a couple AAA or N cells in parallel with the standard pair of series C cells)


The T-34 had a newer gearbox with nylon gears while most of the previous models had all metal gears.
Eventually a tiny stone got in gearing and caused a gear tooth to break, immobilizing the tank.
I wrote snail mail and asked if there were still any all metal gear boxes.
There weren't.

😑

But they did send a replacement gearbox.
Which was appreciated and used, even with the white nylon gears.

😊

 

I miss those models.

The decades and the misfortunes of moves & giving some to my brother as I got more in to trains, saw them leave my care.

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I have had very good success using the online form here:

1. my m4a3e8 was missing polycaps.  and they took care of me in short order.

2. an example of a "longshot": one of my pets, knocked over my half opened jar of extra thin onto my 1/48 p-51 cockpit floor part, trashing it.  I asked them and they hooked me up with a clean part also in a extremely fast timeframe.

 

Great service.  

 

https://www.tamiyausa.com/contact/

 

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30 minutes ago, 11bee said:

So i apparently lost a tiny but key part of my 32nd scale Mustang.  Does anyone have contact info (email is much preferred) so I can beg the fine folks at Tamiya to help me out?

 

Agreed...I used the 'contact' link to write to.  If you detail what you need, I'm sure they'll get back to you with any questions they may have, and then you can work out the specifics.  Good luck!

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20 hours ago, 11bee said:

Thanks so much guys.   I’ve been turning the basement upside down for the last two hours.   Can’t believe I lost the &@$$@ thing!!  

 

I did the same, looking for my canopy piece. I’m convinced there are model part gremlins that lurk around our work benches and just wait to drive us insane.  I’m absolutely convinced!

Edited by Curt B
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2 hours ago, Curt B said:

 

I did the same, looking for my canopy piece. I’m convinced there are model part gremlins that lurk around our work benches and just wait to drive us insane.  I’m absolutely convinced!

Lol.  I think you might be right. I turned that entire area upside down multiple times.  It’s impossible for that part to go missing.   Somewhere up in the rafters of my house, that gremlin is laughing his / her / it’s butt off 

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11 hours ago, 11bee said:

Lol.  I think you might be right. I turned that entire area upside down multiple times.  It’s impossible for that part to go missing.   Somewhere up in the rafters of my house, that gremlin is laughing his / her / it’s butt off 

 

Indeed!!!

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Customer service! In my mind sucks! A couple of years ago I'd purchased the Tamiya Lancaster kit and several clear parts had bubbles in them, the bubbles was trapped in the rear turret & upper turret glazing, these parts was no good, so contacted Tamiya in the UK who would not send me any such replacements, despite showing them the faulty parts they told me they are willing to sell me the entire clear sprue part for £12 plus post, I finally caved in a sent them £14, got the sprue's in the end but wasn't happy at all.

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20 hours ago, ian lanc said:

Customer service! In my mind sucks! A couple of years ago I'd purchased the Tamiya Lancaster kit and several clear parts had bubbles in them, the bubbles was trapped in the rear turret & upper turret glazing, these parts was no good, so contacted Tamiya in the UK who would not send me any such replacements, despite showing them the faulty parts they told me they are willing to sell me the entire clear sprue part for £12 plus post, I finally caved in a sent them £14, got the sprue's in the end but wasn't happy at all.

 

Do you contact Tamiya direct or the importers (the Hobby Company)?

 

I can't speak for replacement parts but they sent me a sprue from a kit I didn't have so I could build the F-16 variant I want so I was quite impressed, I had to pay but it didn't break the bank.

 

If the parts were faulty you should obviously have got them replaced for free, did they give a reason why you had to pay?

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34 minutes ago, sheppsea said:

 

Do you contact Tamiya direct or the importers (the Hobby Company)?

If the parts were faulty you should obviously have got them replaced for free, did they give a reason why you had to pay?

Yep contacted 'The Hobby Company'

I've no idea why I had to pay seeing as I had proof but did say to take the kit back to the shop which was not possible as I got the kit whilst on holiday and is 150 miles away, they didn't budge in sending me the parts for free, wasn't too pleased I can tell you.

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