Just spoke with Mark and informed him that he is no longer the FAA rep for Europe and beyond. See the attached letter.
On August 16th 2004, I shipped Mr. Jackman of Stonewall a multibox order of 10 of most items, figuring that since the last stock he had received from me had been in July of 2003 that he would be out of stock on most items. The tracking numbers on the 5 packages were: EC105535742US; EC105535813US; EC105535787US; EC105535875US; EC105535858US; At a cost of @ $875.00 USD, trackable at usps.com.
I spoke with Mr. Jackman on the 24th of August, and he informed me that the documentation was wrong, and that customs was wanting a tariff of nearly the value of the order. I told him if he could not work it out with customs, to refuse the shipment and we would try a different way.
It took about 3 weeks for the packages to make their way back to me, and for me to check for any lost stock and ready them for shipment. On 16 Sep 2004, I re-sent the order via Federal Express International Economy at a cost of $400 USD - tracking number 8450 8369 9440, trackable at FedEx.com.
I called Mark to see if he had received it, and Mary had informed me that they had been in a car wreck. I called Mark a couple of days later, and he informed me that he would not be able to accept it due to the wreck. I told him to refuse it, and that I would try to get him a small order out in time for SELWG. Due to time in getting the parcels back, I was unable to do this and informed Mary, via phone in response to an E-mail inquiry from Mary as to the status of the order. This conversation took place on the 13th.
Soon after speaking with her, I received the following email from Vip, who has already posted on this thread and forwarded it to Mr. Jackman with the message as follows.
MESSAGE AS SENT
Mark - Got this email after talking to Mary this morning and find it unsettling, Particularly the comments about the figures being cast in pewter and the problems with the horses. All of the packs I have sent to you in the past have had their legs and tails intact. Do you wish to comment on these attached comments
Baxter
From: Vip Klykoom
To: baxter
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 9:10 AM
Subject: Re: Hi
Well, I ordered the entire Dutch, Polish Cavalry, and Japanese ranges - as well as a few odd packs from the other ranges - a while ago (April perhaps?) from Stonewall. Most of the figures had their rifle barrels broken off; their bases were banana shaped (for lack of a better description); the metal was brittle; mould lines (especially in the centre of the figures' faces) were glaringly apparent; some figures were even disproportional unsymmetrical (misaligned faces, etc.). If I do find a figure that displays the aforementioned defects (I've since thrown them in the bin), I'll happily scan an image for you should you need one.
I have included the following quotes from a number of people on the web who has complained about FAA casting qualities over the past 12 months:
"Out of the four people i know who have ordered figures no one has any that are any good...miscast misaligned flashed up.... and from the website it apears they are not alone. it's a pity as they were the best i want some poles and italians myself but anyone who buys them by post wants there bumps feeling... if you cannot inspect the pack first stay away."
"i received these this morning - i had seen the masters some years ago at triples - and thought the greens looked exceptional (designer - paul barnshaw), and at last was able to buy some. i couldn't believe what i recieved ; the moulding/casting of these is atrocious - broken horse legs (in the mould - not the post), banana-shaped bases which are impossible to reshape because of the pewter type metal. Almost every horse was missing its tail - it hadn't come out in the mould, most horses had at least one leg missing.
"Several riders had legs missing, and most had parts of the saddle missing - so that they didn't fit on the horse properly.
"The figures also have come out as very small 20mm figures - about the same as SHQ. They all have tiny feet (which is very unpleasing to the eye) - which i believe is a result of moulding from a master mould into a production mould - the masters i saw were nice solid 20mm figures.
I personally believe FAAUSA need to address these quality problems - i certainly will not buy any more figures from them.
I have been buying 20mm figures for as long as there has been 20mm figures - and these rank as some of the worst castings i have ever seen.
This review is completely objective - maybe put down on paper with slightly a red angry face.
I also have some of there new greeks - a review soon ....
problem packs
Cg123 - 3 horses missing/broken legs>
Cgi23 - 2 horses missing legs, 2 riders missing legs
Cgi25 - 2 horse missing/broken legs
Cgi25 - 2 horses missing/broken legs
Cgi25 - 1 horse broken leg
Cgi25 - 3 horses missing/broken legs
Cgi26 - 2 horse broken/missing legs, 1 rider missing leg
Cgi24 - 2 horses missing/broken legs
Cgi24 - 1 horse missing leg
Cgi24 - 1 horse missing leg
Cgi24 - 2 horses missing legs
note; I received 10 packs of cgi24 (helmets), not 5 with helmets and 5 with side caps - the packs had been labelled incorrectly."
"FAA USA are somwhat unresponsive, and the stuff they send out is not of the best quality of casting anymore..."
"I received an order of FAA W-SS figures and I will not be buying any more - the rifles were stumps - it is a shame, but, c'est le guerre."
"I had the same problem - over half of an order of 100 U.S. marines had large portions of their rifles/bars missing, a friend had some german cavalry - horses and riders with missing legs akimbo.
"A phone call discovered it's because Old Glory are doing their casting and their is no quality control ---------- !!!!"
However, now that you're back I'm sure that things will be (or have they been?) sorted out. Any plans for additions to the ranges? Some more packs (or poses) for the existing ranges would be nice, as well as some new ranges. As always, I have a number of (irrelevent) suggestions that you'll no doubt hate to listen to.
Best wishes, Vip
On Friday October 15th, after I had left to go to the Wargamers Reunion in Memphis, TN - with a small side trip to Tunica, MS, to visit the casinos there - Mark called the shop and spoke to Al of Lord Al's (who answered the phone and informed him that I had already left). Mr. Jackman said he would call back on Monday the 18th or Tuesday the 19th of the following week.
As far as I can see, the only response to this was his removing the FAA link from the listing. I have not as of yet cast any figures in pewter-type metals, only the metal material that Old Glory uses for their figures.
For a horse to arrive at a customer missing legs or tails would mean that it went through the caster's at OG, mine or my assistant's hands, and then Mr. Jackman in England. I find it hard to believe that 3 or 4 different people could miss something like this.
In the next few weeks I will start casting myself, and it will be in a lead-free alloy for health reasons.
In light of these results, I will for the near future (until I can arrange a new distributor) make this offer to all overseas customers: NO FREIGHT CHARGES ON YOUR ORDERS.
I look forward to serving your needs and rebuilding the FAA name overseas. It is important to me to put out a quality product, and OG has always done nothing but the best in doing my casting for me.