Casting quality question?

[Brian]

A small order first is how we do it and I've sorted a good Ballerina for you 

[Nicholas Ball]

depending on the Seller, I personnally would enquire about the order, state what you are interested in ( with cost ) and then politely ask that because of the value, and because you are whey overseas could they send you the best castings they possibly could, with minimal pitting.

Wait for a reply, and if positive then order. If no reply, then be wary!  If  on ordering you are not then happy, send back a note, and  if no joy then name and shame!

casting is a science, and however good the caster, there is always a chance of pitting to a small degree. I use a Mr Surfacer  super fine liquid filler, applied with a small brush, this works very well.

Marks suggestion of a test order is very good

hope this helps     Nicholas

[marko]

I wrote this a while ago using feedback from members:


http://www.intflatfigures.org/index.php?topic=1101.0  which may help with your search as to quality.  If you send me a message with the name of the Vendor I may also be able to supply some more feedback that did not make it into my writeup.


In my experience pretty much every vendor I have dealt with has been easy to deal with on any questions including this one.  Most that I know of would supply a new figure without expecting the old one back.  (I confess though that for the most part casting quality has been excellent with what I have received.  Other than one or two figures from old moulds it has always been first rate.)


The only other general semi-helpful advice is to try a test order of smaller size first.


mark 

[rm]

Just curious, what is the proper course of action when you do not receive a casting that you are happy with?
 
I am guessing this has happened to all of us, but I am now faced with the somewhat daunting project of completely rebuilding my collection of flats.
 
In the past I have been surprised with truly excellent castings but also very poor castings that were not salvageable. Being in the US this presents a problem, as I have the added cost of expensive shipping.
 
One of the first rules I learned, and which I have seen repeated in various tomes, is to always inspect each casting and only accept the best, which is fine for Kulmbach perhaps, but not me here in KY when I am dealing with editors in faraway Deutchland.
 
I recently saw some flats on the Net that I am very interested in, but I know the particular seller tends to use a single representative casting to illustrate what is offered for sale, so no inspection is really possible. Given that I am planning a several hundred dollar order, I decided to politely email (in German no less) to ask that if I purchase, for him to send the very best castings he can produce. This of course leaves a lot to interpretation here!
 
Given that I will be spending nearly $24 per casting, my biggest fear is always the pebbly "orange peel" surface that comes from too much mold release or improperly heated, or dirty tin (I have been told variously that all three things are the cause of this).
 
So, I guess what I am driving at is, if I am not pleased do I complain (nicely)? Do I send them back across the ocean and hope for a better casting, or do I simply eat the loss and toss the castings into the garbage (I have done this with several over the years)?
 
You all have much more experience so I thought I would ask, as I am now in the market in a major way. I don't mind paying a good price and shipping if the casting is top quality.
 
Not trying to start anything at all... just seriously want to gauge opinions because I am literally starting at zero here and working upward, so I might as well get the best pieces I can.
 
RM