UPS...the ready source for some reassemble required subs

[Thorbrandr]

I ordered this Marlin from Bob as soon as it became available.

Bob was kind enough to do some special packaging for this, beyond his recommendations.

However this came in with the bow in pieces and the stern broken off. Took some time on structural repairs, then a complete refinish. fortunately the WTC and functional pieces are all good to go.

[RCSubGuy]

That sucks... I'm sorry to hear it showed up damaged like that.

I'm contemplating requiring all shipping to go via LTL trucking service. More expensive and slower, but it will help mitigate things like this from happening. There is just no good solution aside from in-person pickup.

[Das Boot]

I ordered this Marlin from Bob as soon as it became available.

Bob was kind enough to do some special packaging for this, beyond his recommendations.

However this came in with the bow in pieces and the stern broken off. Took some time on structural repairs, then a complete refinish. fortunately the WTC and functional pieces are all good to go.

Was the box damaged? I may be jinxing myself, but I have ordered and received, (and sent), over the decades, thousands and thousands of dollars worth of ham radio equipment, intricate and very fragile radios, heavy amplifiers, etc, that have never been damaged in transit. I’ve also sent Bob and Dave Merriman submarines and items that have not been damaged. I wonder if it’s a particular hub that’s causing these problems? I know Bob has received more than his share of items that have been damaged. Makes me think that the UPS hub he’s near is run by a bunch of ex football players.

[Thorbrandr]

Was the box damaged? I may be jinxing myself, but I have ordered and received, (and sent), over the decades, thousands and thousands of dollars worth of ham radio equipment, intricate and very fragile radios, heavy amplifiers, etc, that have never been damaged in transit. I’ve also sent Bob and Dave Merriman submarines and items that have not been damaged. I wonder if it’s a particular hub that’s causing these problems? I know Bob has received more than his share of items that have been damaged. Makes me think that the UPS hub he’s near is run by a bunch of ex football players.

Nope, no damage. I asked Bob to ship in one of the heavy plastic Pelican like cases, and he custom cut the foam for the sub. The case was still in the cardboard. Looked great. But UPS had evidently slammed it around, breaking the joints in the hull. Fortunately Bob had shipped the WTC separately, and it came in fine. The Pelican case for my 212 has worked very well for taking that boat out, and I believe the case for the Marlin will as well. For shipping however, I think heavy cases are more in order - they are harder to throw around. I am probably going to get a wood working friend to help with a wood case with wheels for my R class.

Fortunately this was all repairable, and the wife liked the repaint much better (she used to maintain boats for summer work, and was put off by the original heavy weathering). I have reinforced the hull joints as well. My daughter got some lessons in weathering while I worked on this as well.

While the repairs have been frustrating now on two RTR subs, being able to start with a RTR (even with UPS reassembly required) allowed me to get started. This one is all together, and waiting for the spring thaw here in the north.