# Rat Fink release quality :-(



## Marty (Oct 20, 1999)

I got the Rat Fink AW cars and opened 4 of them, the 2 Chargers and the 2 Nomads. Two of them had bent front axles. I changed the front guide to the pin side to run them on L&J track. ALL of them bounced their way around the track, when I could make a lap. The pin side of the guide is so small, it bends when you go into a turn! At first I thought the pic-ups needed to be adjusted again (I always do that before putting them on the track). The car would go into the trun and on the exit it would stop, or run slower. While checking the pick ups I noticed the pin severely bent. ALL of them are extremely noisy, the gears sound like worn out bent brass gears.

I'll mess with them some more when I have a little more patience.

Marty
Marysville, OH


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## Hilltop Raceway (Feb 12, 2006)

That's so sad...RM


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## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

And THAT'S WHY AW started using ultra G chassis with the neo button mags, coz if you think these chassis run like Sh*t with the mags, could you imagine how bad they'd run WITHOUT ! (the T-Jets in particular!)
Sorry, IMHO- AW chassis SUCK ! and I'd rather spend my money on NOS Aurora. 
PS- the ONLY thing(IMO) AW is good for, is Body fodder....


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## tjetsgrig (Nov 1, 2009)

That's what you get with automated production. I have no issues with that, they will be coming apart and tweeked anyway. Even the original Tjets and AFX needed tweeking out of the box!! Think of it as honing your tuning skills. I actually look forward to pullin' one outta the box and seeing what "tweeks" it needs........it's all fun in my book!!

JS


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## 22tall (Jul 28, 2002)

To me tweeking means adjusting, polishing, cleaning, oiling ... I will never agree that it means replace defective parts out of the box at my own expense.


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

22tall said:


> To me tweeking means adjusting, polishing, cleaning, oiling ... I will never agree that it means replace defective parts out of the box at my own expense.


Er... "Did You Mean??"..(like what comes up on; "Google's Search Results"..)

"having 2 RE-Design the whole sha-bang.. 2 even "Work" ???? :freak:

Bubba 123 :wave:

bought an AW "Cherry-Bomb" van... new in box.. 6+ months ago chassis grenaded on 1/2 of lap 1....
luckilly it was only the chassis retainer clip not properly snaped down... but parts flew , luckilly the mid gear wasn't hurt w/ found...

"Un-safe @ any price, or speed..".... Ralph Nadder


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## tjetsgrig (Nov 1, 2009)

Gimme one and I'll make it perform twice as good with ALL the original parts!!

JS


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

sounds like a challenge. i will be over Saturday with the crappiest chassis i can find and we will run it three times for an average before you get your mitts on it!


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## dlw (Aug 17, 1999)

22tall said:


> To me tweeking means adjusting, polishing, cleaning, oiling ... I will never agree that it means replace defective parts out of the box at my own expense.


Don't forget tightening and bending. And though it does cost extra, its at least a small cost to get NOS Afx rims and axles.

And to the bending and tightening, give the gear clamp a downwards bend to hold better, and tighten the rivet (on the rear gear) with a few gentle taps with a hammer and punch or careful squeezing in an armature press.

That should take care of most of the gear noise. Some lapping should take solve the rest.


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

.... or .....

get a Tyco.


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## LeeRoy98 (Jul 8, 2005)

One thing we are really good at on this forum is bashing the manufacturers... I wonder why there aren't more of them??

I have a number of the AW cars and have had few problems that minor tweaking has not resolved. And in my experience with every manufacturer's product... there have been some lemons with all of them.

Gary


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## Marty (Oct 20, 1999)

I agree. I was upset that 50% of the cars I opened were damaged and 100% have gear issues. I fully expect to have to fix something, I was just venting.

Marty
Marysville, OH


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## SplitPoster (May 16, 2006)

Marty said:


> I agree. I was upset that 50% of the cars I opened were damaged and 100% have gear issues. I fully expect to have to fix something, I was just venting.
> 
> Marty
> Marysville, OH



You fully expect to have to fix or "adjust" something in every car you bought new? Really? 

What other product in your home, work, or hobby environment would you accept or tolerate that with? 

Bashing manufacturers is one thing. Pointing out a run of real problems (bent axles aren't "adjustments," they are defective parts) is better than keeping quiet about it. Don't think of yourself for a minute. Think of somebody not on this board, young or old time slotter. ANYBODY who may be new to the hobby, or trying out new cars with their old stuff is going to have a bad experience if the cars don't work. Most likely the cars will be returned to the store. Now, that will be good for some of you parts pickers, but not so good for anyone else. The stores won't want to stock them, and potential new customers and hobbyists will go away.

In this day and age quality control is expected. For you AW collectors, dealers, resellers, and folks wanting to prop up the resale value of your collections, defending bad stuff because there is also some good stuff available doesn't make sense.


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

I've said it before, and sadly will probably always have to... It takes as much money and work to manufacture something wrong as it does to make something right. What is sad is AW had made some progress towards better QC with the last releases, and now it appears things have gotten sloppy again. 

I wouldn't consider this so much bashing as it is a friendly warning to other buyers of this release. It sucks when you pay good money for what should be at least as good as your last purchase, only to find it'll take 2-3X as much work just to make it function like it should out of the package. Tweaks are expected... complete rebuilds aren't.


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## videojimmy (Jan 12, 2006)

I have to agree, pointing problems with a product doesn't automatically equate to bashing. 
We all love AW... Doesn't mean we have to be happy with shoddy products. 

As for "why there aren't more manufacturers" that's easy: the age group that supports the hobby is getting older, retiring, moving to fixed incomes, etc.

I doubt that we'll ever have another resurgence in the hobby along the likes we saw 12 years ago or so.


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

What experiances have others had with the Rat Fink release? Did Marty just get a bad batch or is it a widespread production/QA problem?


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## TK Solver (Mar 18, 2004)

I bought two. One ran great right out of the box and the other was binding somewhere and ran slowly. The paint jobs were good.


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## peter50 (Jul 24, 2012)

videojimmy said:


> I have to agree, pointing problems with a product doesn't automatically equate to bashing. We all love AW... Doesn't mean we have to be happy with shoddy products.
> As for "why there aren't more manufacters" that easy, the age grope that supports the hobby is getting older, retiring, moving to fixed incomes, etc.
> I doubt that we'll ever have another resurgence in the hobby along the likes we saw 12 years ago or so.


Yes I agree with your post, same the idea which was running on my mind.

cheap car rentals gold coast


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

peter50 said:


> Yes I agree with your post, same the idea which was running on my mind.


hey Peter50..
welcome 2 us slot heads :wave:
we meet in the "CHAT" area almost nightly..... 
(top of screen in orange in the middle....: Home, Forums, Photo Albums, RC TrackFinder, >>CHAT<<<, My iTrader, ToyPedia.....)

Bubba 123 :wave:
Pete Perry LOL :tongue:


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## Illinislotfan (Mar 8, 2009)

Until this past weekend, I had never owned or run any AW cars. I was at a garage sale, and picked up a Tyco Super Sound set. They also had an assortment of AW cars in cubes, some newer, some older, so I bought a series 8 black with flames Vega, and the TM picked out a Ratfink Baja Bronco. When I got them home, I took the bodies off of both, and oiled them. I also switched the guide flag on the Bronco to pin. I put each on my L&J track, and the Vega ran fine, while the Bronco barely made it around the track. Later in the day, I set up the Tyco track, cleaned it, and tried out both cars. I switched the Bronco back to guide flag. Both cars now ran fine. As I was writing this, I thought maybe I should try the Bronco again on my L&J track. I switched back to guide pin, and it ran just fine. Not sure why it seems fine now, other than it has a few more laps on it than it did before. I’m happy with both.


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## sethndaddy (Dec 4, 2004)

AW new releases at a yard sale already, and in the package.
I don't know what to say, i'm curious, how much where they?


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## tazman052186 (Oct 19, 2005)

sethndaddy said:


> AW new releases at a yard sale already, and in the package.
> I don't know what to say, i'm curious, how much where they?




They are $20 The white ones are $32


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## sethndaddy (Dec 4, 2004)

tazman052186 said:


> They are $20 The white ones are $32


then it wasn't a yard sale, it was public robbery. maybe it was Tom Lowes house?


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

sethndaddy said:


> then it wasn't a yard sale, it was public robbery. maybe it was Tom Lowes house?


This is the funniest quote I have seen on this board!!! LOL!


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## Illinislotfan (Mar 8, 2009)

I paid $13 for one and $15 for the other.


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## RacerDave (Mar 28, 2006)

I just got one from this release so far, a Firebird of course, and it runs fine. I don't buy as many of the AW cars as I used to because the prices on them have been going up quite a bit. When they were cheaper I didn't mind the occasional problems because I enjoyed the challenge of getting them to run right. Dave.


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