- July 9th, 2015, 7:24 pm#4837319Where to begin... Ah, let's start here...
Vin is a nice guy; has a heart of gold. I just wish that would pour into his business practices. Communication started off good by being told that we would receive a newer version shell at around 3 weeks after payment (I told him we were in no hurry to relieve any stress and hope that it would go smooth). Honestly, this being a hobby, I give the crafters at least double (always have with all kinds of handmade props over the years), and if I don't hear anything after that, I message them. Actually, he messaged me as I was looking for another part that he happened to have, so we settled a price agreement on the part, and I was told the new shells would start pouring the following week; contact was at about the 3-4 week mark after payment.
A few weeks passed by, so I messaged him looking for an update to which I was told he would message me when it ships. A few more weeks passed by and I hadn't heard anything, so I messaged him again. This is where the responses started to become intermittent. I tell my wife the shell’s status, and she messaged him. She was looking for an ETA and was very forward about it. He said he had a roommate moving in and that he would message us in a few days with an update. She told him that this was unacceptable since payment had been made in full, and the original ship date was delayed multiple times by this point. To which he asked her if she was trying to accuse him of bad business practices; at which she had a response referring to the previous information above for updates.
So, just to button up the gap to receiving the shell, I wanted to speak to him on the phone but was ignored with that. At approaching the 10 week mark, I am told that the new shells didn't work out and asked if I would take an older one. We needed something, so I accepting. Received it today. Here's my complaints with the shell (and it's not bad, just unexpected):
There are several light spots in the fiber-glass reinforcement
Fiberglass bleeds through gel coating in multiple locations
Rippling in the gel coat in some locations
Powercell window appears cut large and slightly crooked
There are occasional high spots and slashes in the seating of the shell and mobo
Excess flash that needs to be trimmed
(If any of these appear wrong or overbearing, please correct me)
With that being said, these can all be repaired but will take days out of the build time. I see a lot of apoxy sculpt, bondo body filler, spot putty, dreaded sanding, and re-texturing in our future. We were just not anticipating to do so.
I WILL say this though...for the remainder of the details on the shell, I am impressed. He mounted the shell to the mobo for us to which is way better than the job I did on my first pack, and the centering of the shell to the mobo is flawless. I love the fact that the aluminum n-filter is molded into the shell and that there's tons of drilling dimples (you couldn't possibly mess up the drilling locations with these).
To summarize, I have been a happy purchaser in the past until this transaction. He has a big heart (even asking how my wife was doing when she was having health issues), but this experience left a hole in mine.
"
Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night"-
Edgar Allan Poe-
Grimmy's Pack BuildTrap BuildPKE Meter BuildUniformGizmo Build"Boy, it smells like somebody took a big..."