Talking about flaws, the best way to deal with them is totally ignore them and never admit there was a problem.
This is the experience I had with Märklin several years ago.

I've also noticed at the top just left from the doorway (prototype) there is a recess for a stepladder on the roof.

Mike you may can enlighten me on this point and thank you for your input and knowledge about Swiss trains

John

You still don't get it... I never asked for Maerklin to change any of the older Ae 6/6 models. I am perfectly satisfied with the appearance of the green and red models. The issue is only apparent on locomotives painted in the new Cargo livery. All that I was suggesting was a simple fix by covering up the red "stripe" on the top of the main housing by extending the blue painted section to include the corresponding section of the top of the housing. A simple solution that would eliminate this very visible red stripe that is totally unprototypical.

Your suggestion that it would take much longer to make the appropriate change might refer to painting the lip of the main shell to match the roof colour as per the exact prototype. Extending the blue paint would be a quick fix that would be tolerable and less visibly irritating to most modellers.

It should not be the responsibility to the end customer to do the final quality control and have to kitbash a brand new model to correct a visible flaw in the appearance. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to deliver a model that bears no glaring flaws vis-a-vis the prototype that it is supposed to represent.

Regards

Mike C

Every (potential) customer has the right to decide what is acceptable for him and what is not.
That's liberty.

Learn to say "it's fully acceptable for me" instead of "it's fully acceptable".
That's tolerance.

It's bad if one decides what is acceptable for all.
That's totalitarianism.

This is a free forum where people with different opinions can participate (unlike the HAG forum where some cannot participate).
Not all webmasters are as tolerant as Juhan, the bestest webmaster of the bestest international MRR forum.

Thanks Tom...

Well said Tom. Fully agree.

dave

Stefan, I guess everyone has their breaking point. No need to feel ashamed at administering your own forum in the way you see fit. I'd say you most likely have had your 'buttons' pushed many times past your breaking point. The fact that it is only now that you have taken permanent action is most likely testament to your tolerance.

Sorry for the OT post.

Sorry, Stefan, I didn't want to critize the HAG forum.

Someone got locked recently after writing 610 posts. I think that's enough time to learn the rules ...

I am grateful to Mike and others for pointing out these errors.

The constant bickering that all posts of this type create, however, is not welcome at all!

In my opinion, if we limit ourselves to reporting the errors, innacuracies, etc, without passing judgement on how good or bad Marklin is, it might create a better atmosphere. After all, every manufacturer makes mistakes, compromises, marketing decisions, etc, which affect the finished product. Sometimes it looks like some of us are hyper-critical of Marklin but are willing to pardon similar short-comings in other models.

By all means, let us point out the errors. We can suggest alternative models, and even suggest DIY fixes. In view of the sensitivities of some Marklin enthusiasts, is it too much to ask to try and limit ourselves to that?

Edited by user 20 July 2010 19:27:29(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

I would like to thank those who have defended my right to post reviews and comments about certain newly announced or newly released models.
Ideally, if we had better access to information, such concerns could be addressed with the manufacturer much earlier in the production cycle, where minor changes could be made before release. Unfortunately, in many cases, we only learn about such flaws either shortly before or upon release of a new item, making it very difficult to have the flaw rectified. There are certain people, mostly in Germany, who do have much greater access and have the "ears" of the right people. I cannot state that these people do not point out such flaws and provide the required feedback so that the best possible product is manufactured, but as we continue to see product having these minor flaws, the contribution of these people does come into question.
In the music industry, there have been a number of DJs since the 1970s who have received almost every new dance (disco) release from the major labels (USA). These DJs were considered "tastemakers" and the labels relied on them to report their feedback and their charts, which were tabulated to compile the best known Top 100 Dance chart. Over time, instead of continuing to provide essential critical information, these DJs became a bunch of "yes" men who ended up basically endorsing whatever they were asked to by the labels to ensure that that DJ remained on the list and would receive more new records. After many years, the chart had lost much of it's credibility. I have been on selected mailing lists over time, but have always tried to maintain my integrity.
There have been some comments here about "testers". I do know that most production runs do have advance models that are released before the main run leave the factory. In the case of at least one of the so-called "Swiss Collection Re 460s", I did buy one of the 39608 "ChemOil" loks on eBay months before the model was officially announced. I presume that these items are made available to certain "insiders" in advance of the main production. These insiders likely have to agree not to resell the items and the serial numbers can be traced to each insider. I do not know if the product is "given" to these people or whether they are simply given the option to order the items in advance.
It would be interesting if one of those individuals would share more information about how that program works and what the "insiders" do in terms of feedback and contributing to improving the final production for the rest of us modellers.

Regards

Mike C

Lutz,
I sure don't get it why you must feel as if you were personally insulted or attacked when all we wanted to do is discuss the flaw of a particular Marklin model.

Yes, we get that you don't think there is any flaw in any Marklin model - since we never see that you post anything remotely close to pointing an error in any Marklins,
whereas you've done plenty of service for ESU, Fleischmann, Roco, Mehano, or other brands though most were barely ever mentioned in this forum.

For you, it seems (so far) that all Marklin models are all masterpieces.
Sorry, if the rest of us don't agree with your faith and belief - and we actually want to discuss about the flaws that in your mind don't exist.

What you need to learn to respect is that not every Marklin customers have the same preference or taste like you.

So I really fail to see what you are trying to achieve here or why you paint a huge target mark on Mike C.

Do you want to try and convince everyone that "your way" is the "right away" so that we don't have to endure further bickering?

As I said before,
if all Marklin customers are all Lutz-type, I'm sure they are really happy.

Ultimately, this is the real world, maybe even incomprehensible alternate reality for you where Marklin is slowly losing its market from year to year.

PS: I like to know how you know that all 999 Erstfield customers are perfectly satisfied with their model?

Bump.

What - no comment on this Lutz?
Come on, give us your honest opinion to this....

Methinks it's time to lock this topic.