Has anyone had experience in obtaining replacement parts for AFV Club kits? There is no information on the AFV kits that direct you to a source for customer complaints or replacement parts. Any assistance in obtaining a USA source would be greatly apprieciated. semper fi, mike
After doing some considerable digging I have found the USA source for AFV kit distribution. This information may be of some help for those of you who encounter any problems with AFV kits now or in the future. "Merit International, 911 Canada Court Building B, City of Industry, CA 91748, phone: 626-912-2212 customer service, e-mail: www.merit-intl.com My fonecon with the customer rep was pleasent and cordial. I provided them with all the required information regarding the kit and part needed. It was explained to me that customer service needs must be submitted via e-mail which I did. It will take from 4-6wks for delivery of the part as it must come from Taiwan. I will be notified via e-mail when the part is recieved by Merit Intl. So now we sit and wait! I will update this thread when I get status from Merit Intl. Oh!! they said if I did not hear from them in 4-6wks I should contact them. Thats very reassuring. Semper fi, mike
Keep those fingers crossed Mike, hopefully you will get your parts soon.
I should also note that Merit Intl recommended that I should have gone to the retailer I purchased the kit from for a replacement part. That would be ok accept like many hobbiests I purchased the kit long ago and I have no idea where I purchased it. So, it probably is a smart thing to place your reciept in the kit if you have no plans to build it soon. Just a safety precaution. I think everything will go ok but we’ll see. Semper fi, mike
GOOD NEWS!! I recieved the parts for my AFV kit 35013 today. That is about one month to the day I requested help in obtaining replacement parts. Again for those of you who ever have need for assistance on AFV kits, Merit International LLC is the US distributor for their kits. Phone 626-912-2212 e-mail: veronica@merit-intl.com
I’m happy too say that they have a very pleased customer here. Semper fi, mike
Which kit is that Mike, inquiring minds want to know. [:)]
Eric. I guess I should have been a little more explicit on the kit! It’s the British Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. The rubber band tracks are very fragile and tight when installed on the chassie consequently one of the tracks snapped and there was no way to fix it. Believe me I tryed. Other then the tracks it’s a pretty nice kit. Just something too throw into my British tank collection. Semper Fi, mike
Thanks for posting this. It’s useful to know, and it’s great that you though of your fellow modelers while dealing with this customer service headache. Semper fi indeed.
M.
Wow, I used to deliver pizzas to that building a year or so ago! [:0] Too bad I didn’t know they were there. Still, I only live five minutes driving time away from them! [:D]
Bump
I just ran into an AFV parts replacement issue on an
AFV Gato class submarine 1942 Kit # SE73510
I got a Guppy IB upper hull instead of the Gato 1942 hull.
Distressing because I wanted to try and get a kit that had Limber holes closer to the Mare island built boats. This one seemed the closest.
The AFV web site is useless. Fortunately the Contact info in the posts above from 2004 is still correct. Phone # too.
I suspect I will be waiting for a month or so to get a replacement. I’m sure I will find something else to do in my stash.
Nino