SdKfz 251/C- Winter (2 Viewers)

[spartan71]

I received this Saturday, And Was having that high, at the times when we open up this treats. And was Not dissapointed. Overall I love it, I think it was greatly made. The halftrack itself was perfect. The machine gunner( was broken, but easily fixed by superglue.Joints in the hand and shoulder was separated from the main figure)was cool, My supprise was that it came, with one of the Jumpers. Which was great!! Don:t have to buy the extra set, if do not want too (I am buying it)( but with this one the painting of the face was a little sloppy, the face tone was in a part of the white parka,but easily remedied), the camo pants looks great!!. And having the extra Broken track, Is great add on. So Overall, i will say this ranks A 9 out of 10(in imho), I have to deduct half a point for each of the broken figure, and the overpaint in another figure.
So with all of that, there was one thing that was a little discomforting, It was the styrofoam, that holds everything. You can not remove one piece without styrofoam flakes flying off, and in some of the slots there are actual parts of the styrofoam in the slots itself, That came off the slots. I am the type that will look at a piece, and put it back, until all the pieces that I want are there (the extra set, maybe the tank) for a diorama. so if this is a piece that you are hiding from someone, for them not to know. Do not open it in the house, or if that person is there) ( I was vacuuming the styrofoam at 2:00 in the morning ( I couldn't leave it, as you all know that will be a bigger mess). So anyway, Real great item, need a new supplier for the styrofoam.
I will be getting the polish lancers too eventually.

 

[joesgis]

Thanks for the review Spartan71. The Winter 251 is something I hope to acquire soon.....I've just blown my budget recently w/ other buys...but soon I should be able to swing it... I really like CS and Brian's creations; I'm definitely a big fan, but have concerns whenever I hear collectors report broken figures / packaging issues. Sounds like you overcame the problems rather easily - good job! I'll review mine too when I finally can afford it. Congrats on your new addition!

Joe

 

[spartan71]

For the price, it is a must buy. Because it does look great. But, something i have to add is, And it is a question that did pop into my mind. If the price was lets say 50 to 100 dollars more. Would I be happy?. And To tell the truth. No. With all the issues I have said, The ratings would have lost a point or two if it cost as much as a K&C or A Figarti. Mind you The vehicle is great, and would not lose any points. But the Figures And Packaging would have had the deductions in points.
At least for this one(mind you I only have bought from 3 manufacturers), ratings in figures with the other two. K&C would be number one (perfect to near perfect uniforms/camo. the face .), Figarti would have been number two (no broken figures/ over painting), And 3 would have Be CS. But of course with the pictures I have seen with the Polish Lancers it Does look better than everyone else. but again that is just in the pictures.
Anyway just my IMHO.

 

[Hadrian]

I got my 251 with extra jumpers a week ago. I like very much the dynamic poses. BUT I had to glue 3 of the 5 figures (broken arms), and it was not possible to put the jumpers exactly in the way on the official pics (but I changed a bit and now it is fine). The door on the back you can only open in a very, very careful way. Otherwise you have immediately brokenparts in your hand.
I also agree with the difficult packaging. Imo the faces are now painted better than the earlier CS items, which had a look like monsters... so all together I would give 7 of 10 points.
regards Marcus

 

[sceic2]

... Do not open it in the house ... I was vacuuming the styrofoam at 2:00 in the morning... So anyway, Real great item, need a new supplier for the styrofoam.

Yeah that type of styrofoam, I don't know the technical name for it - I call it the styrofoam made of little balls of styrofoam, is really a pain in the you know where. I agree a new supplier is needed. Use the same type that Britains or Figarti uses.

 

[Beaufighter]

I got my 251 with extra jumpers a week ago. I like very much the dynamic poses. BUT I had to glue 3 of the 5 figures (broken arms), and it was not possible to put the jumpers exactly in the way on the official pics (but I changed a bit and now it is fine). The door on the back you can only open in a very, very careful way. Otherwise you have immediately brokenparts in your hand.
I also agree with the difficult packaging. Imo the faces are now painted better than the earlier CS items, which had a look like monsters... so all together I would give 7 of 10 points.
regards Marcus

Cheers Marcus:
Many thanks for the review which I must say is parallel to the one I was going to submit. I too had to glue back arms on multiple figures from the CS00352 Booster Set as well as paint the subsequent damage from movement. Furthermore, two parts from CS00344 Horch were broken off as well as the flimsy windshield aka faux glass plastic sheet-that was an easy repair though. Only three of the doors on the Horch actually will close properly and sit flush-almost as if they were meant to all be in the open position. Normally, I would have at least sent the figure set back but I made the mistake of buying (pre-ordering) them MONTHS ago from an internet dealer that has absolutely no customer service or communication skills. I saved a few bucks and paid dearly for it. That being said, I will pay the proper amount and continue to buy from reputable dealers as the service and reliability is worth that and more. On a positive note, the CS00348 SdKfz 251 was quite nice except for the foam nightmare that someone else pointed out. The figure sculpts are much improved and my eyes tell me that they play & display nicely with my K&C and Figarti sets. I did expect a bit more from CS but I must say that the continued improvement was nice to see. The new damaged Panther sets that I saw in Chicago were pretty cool looking and did demonstrate yet further improvements!
Hang Tough,
Beaufighter

 

[The Collectors Showcase]

Its great to hear all of the feedback, and really necessary.

We really face a unique problem with our figures. It has alot to do with the action. We really have alot of figures with the arms extended in the air in pretty wild positions. I've heard of arms falling off on the Polish Commander as well, so really I haveto conclude that the glue on figures with arms extended out must be stronger or more in the future.

I've sent an e-mail to our manufacturing partner and will place a call tonight about this very important issue. And I suppose I'll be test " pulling " some arms when Im over next.

Anyhow, it don't get fixed till someone calls it out: so good to hear! We want improving product always.

kind regards,

Brian

 

[jbonzo1]

My winter 251 arrived Friday and I must concur with the aforementioned posts concerning the styrofoam! It made quite a mess, but it was well worth it. The figures were intact. It took a few frantic moments to open the doors, but they work perfectly. Speaking of the doors, I'd love to see a figure made for jumping out the door. I am very happy with it. I would rate mine 9.5 out of 10 (nobody's perfect).
BTW, the figures are a bit larger than my K&C Germans.

 

[gk5717]

Also received mine today, figures came intact, no breakage on anything.
Figures may be a tad larger than K&C but really not noticeable.
I eyed this set at OTSN now I,m really happy I got it and the figures are K&C compatable.
Brian if you read this, I know this is your company and believe me this set is as unique as it gets, but please keep the figures and vehicles compatable with K&C. At least for me if you do, you have just added another customer.
One of my all time favorite sets from any company.
Gary

 

[The Collectors Showcase]

Also received mine today, figures came intact, no breakage on anything.
Figures may be a tad larger than K&C but really not noticeable.
I eyed this set at OTSN now I,m really happy I got it and the figures are K&C compatable.
Brian if you read this, I know this is your company and believe me this set is as unique as it gets, but please keep the figures and vehicles compatable with K&C. At least for me if you do, you have just added another customer.
One of my all time favorite sets from any company.
Gary

We will, lets face it Andy has established the scale for WWII, no two ways about it. But we'll be attempting to move the realism far forward for those that have a keen eye to the military miniature.

Thanks for the kudos!

regards,

Brian

 

[noli-poli]

We will, lets face it Andy has established the scale for WWII, no two ways about it. But we'll be attempting to move the realism far forward for those that have a keen eye to the military miniature.

Thanks for the kudos!

regards,

Brian

Will you work on those over-sized hinges on the Hanomag engine compartment? No doubt your products far exceeds the detail and quality compared to other manufacturers (and I have most of your models), but begging off on this one because of those "pesky" hinges on the hood.

N-P

 

[wayne556517]

Ive got 6 vehicles plus 3 lots of jumper sets coming from the US to Western Australia now you blokes have me worried with all these little breakages.Fingers crossed it all gets here with minimal damage,my supplier is a old hand at this so im not to worried will let you all know when they arrive..............

 

[6th Wisconsin]

I had an arm missing too on one of the jumpers, but the dealer at the show was very nice and got me another so I didn't have to bother with glue. I have assembled it. I was able to get all but one jumper just as pictured on the package; had to alter that one a bit. It looks great, and it seems to fit very well with my K&C figures!!!

The doors on the back are a little tough to get even with one another, but I managed.

Now, if I can decide what configuration to order, I will be getting the Panther.

 

[The Collectors Showcase]

We really want to be known for our excellent customer care, its very important to me personally so always keep in mind:

If any customer wishes to return an item for repair/re-paint for whatever reason we are delighted to pay the shipping to our facility, do the required work and swiftly return the product to the customer. Anywhere in the world.

So please be assured that your products are backed completely by the company quality guarantee. Your complete satisfaction is our mission.

Kind regards,

Brian

 

[marco55]

We really want to be known for our excellent customer care, its very important to me personally so always keep in mind:

If any customer wishes to return an item for repair/re-paint for whatever reason we are delighted to pay the shipping to our facility, do the required work and swiftly return the product to the customer. Anywhere in the world.

So please be assured that your products are backed completely by the company quality guarantee. Your complete satisfaction is our mission.

Kind regards,

Brian

You can't beat that.
Mark

 

[spartan71]

Again this is the the first CS piece that I have gotten, And waiting for my winter jumpers. I like it a lot. And has become one of My most favorite pieces.
But, this is the question, Is CS going to make more German figures to go with this set??, I am sure that everyone that has gotten this set. Wishes to have more figures to accompany the sets. So PLEASE HAVE MORE PIECES. BRIAN PLEASE.
You are a Unique company, that you brought out this sets to cater to all WWII Collectors , be it Normandy, desert, or Winter. And for that reason (mind you if you keep adding sets to this existing ones) I Am going to be one of your best customers.
Looking forward to the Polish Lancers Too.

 

[wayne556517]

We really want to be known for our excellent customer care, its very important to me personally so always keep in mind:

If any customer wishes to return an item for repair/re-paint for whatever reason we are delighted to pay the shipping to our facility, do the required work and swiftly return the product to the customer. Anywhere in the world.

So please be assured that your products are backed completely by the company quality guarantee. Your complete satisfaction is our mission.

Kind regards,

Brian

I will remember that Brian thats what i call customer service,well done.

 

[noli-poli]

We really want to be known for our excellent customer care, its very important to me personally so always keep in mind:

If any customer wishes to return an item for repair/re-paint for whatever reason we are delighted to pay the shipping to our facility, do the required work and swiftly return the product to the customer. Anywhere in the world.

So please be assured that your products are backed completely by the company quality guarantee. Your complete satisfaction is our mission.

Kind regards,

Brian

Despite my misgivings on those engine compartment hinges, I got the DAK version and over-all I would say WOW! Qiaulty and detail is consistent with previous releases. HOWEVER...while I was trying to look the other way (on those "pesky" hinges), I noticed that the right engine comparment hood is ajar. It will not close fully. Looks like the hinges are not level. Attached is a picture.

Do I send this back to the dealer or directly to CS? What is the address?

Do I send just the Hanomag or the whole set (kinda tough wrapping the figures in tissue paper)?

How do I get credit for shipping?

How long would it take to receive the "repaired" model?

Thanks

 

[The Collectors Showcase]

Despite my misgivings on those engine compartment hinges, I got the DAK version and over-all I would say WOW! Qiaulty and detail is consistent with previous releases. HOWEVER...while I was trying to look the other way (on those "pesky" hinges), I noticed that the right engine comparment hood is ajar. It will not close fully. Looks like the hinges are not level. Attached is a picture.

Do I send this back to the dealer or directly to CS? What is the address?

Do I send just the Hanomag or the whole set (kinda tough wrapping the figures in tissue paper)?

How do I get credit for shipping?

How long would it take to receive the "repaired" model?

Thanks

We can send a new unit directly to you. Just PM us with your information and we'll get you a return from UPS ( they will come directly to you for pick up ).

regards,

Brian

 

[OzDigger]

I don't know about you guys, but I would prefer that CS stopped using opening hatches.

Oversized hinges and poorly fitted hatches etc are ok on cheap Forces of Valor meant for younger folk.

Are they really necessary on Adult Collectible Military Miniatures?

What do you guys think?