For the past few years that I have been building models, I haven’t encountered a kit that would be perfect, there is always something to be found. Though the accuracy and fit has evolved enormously, modellers always have to deal with some minor gap, misalignment, etc. Sometimes there is nothing really wrong, just that the model is complex and difficult build, with a lot of care, skill and extra references needed to build the kit correctly.

Now, there is nothing new in the above statement. What is new is the way the model companies address these situations and their communication with their customers – us the modellers.

I was more than happy recently to see two model companies use the world of social media in a way that could be put as an example of how things should be done.

In the first case Mirror models, newcomer to the modelling scene offers some good advice to the modellers on the construction of their recent kit – Otter armoured car on their facebook page. Frankly, this is exactly the type of advice that I appreciate. Mirror’s kits are truly multimedia pieces and their construction might get difficult at some places. Simple help such as this goes a long way….

You can read (and find a lot of interesting information) on Mirror model’s facebook page here.

In the other case, Meng models published a letter of apology on their facebook page to the modellers for a mistake with their new kit of French self-propelled howitzer. The mistake noted by one modeller is really one of the kind that needs an expert to actually spot it. Nevertheless, instead of trying to ignore or bury the issue, the company had actively went ahead and acknowledged the mistake.

Meng models facebook page can be found here.

It is interesting that this attitude is being displayed by the companies which are new to the market. Perhaps they understand that it takes more than a high-quality kits to build a reputation.