Russ, just got done reading the blog and I can't believe the shape those cars were in. It looks like somebody took a hammer to them before they were even shipped! I feel bad that you have to put up with stuff like that, is there any way Mattel will make it right and replace those or is it one of those "they were fine when they left the factory" things?
-- Edited by tom_servo on Thursday 9th of April 2009 11:20:35 PM
That was a odd case, normally we dont get em that bad, usually just package damage. I think this one took a forklift shot. Or maybe a forklift run over.
Sorry to say if we tried filing a damage report each time with Mattel it just would take too long and too much hassle to do, so we just deal with it.
Some years ago, Classic Model Works sold their "mold mistakes" to model railroaders. I was able to paint them up as old clunkers and spotted them in the junkyard and as abandoned cars in the fields on my layout.
I've done the same with some Johnny Lightnings. I wasn't about to spend $5.00 to customize a car as a wreck (like the "Projects in Progress" JL series or the JADA "For Sale" series, but for a dollar or two, they are fun to do.
Maybe this would be a fun thing for little visitors to your storefront. Give them a smashed up reject and sit them down with a smock and some non toxic acrylic "weathering colors" and let them create a work of junkyard artistry while Daddy shops for diecast.