Just curious, is there any real cost to this massive screw up to code 3, besides a lot of ****** off customers? Someone on the other board said that this would cost Code 3 dearly, but I disagree. This was clearly the fault of the factory. I would assume whatever money Code 3 paid to the factory for these pieces would be refunded to them, as it was their (the factories) fault. I assume that code 3 can also charge them for the additional shipping reimbursements as well. Or do you think Code 3 is eating the entire cost?

Insurance would cover the costs. Remeber that Code 3 sold the other DP's for 50 bucks each, so they are making $$ on the DP's. I just think tht thye have ticked off their customers once again and one day it will be one too many

Remember when Code 3 first issued their models? An initial mistake with pump panels on each side, but still a vast improvement over previous models available at the time. Then as the years went by, the models improved. However, from after September of 2001, they spent more time tooting their own horn, than listening to their loyal customer base. Its the fall of Western Civilization ("check your wallet lately?", "Get-er-done", "Mission Accomplished", "Straight Talk Express", "gas at $3.50 a gallon", "Client #9"). Now we have repaint after repaint (I wouln't mind, but they make such a big deal out of some color change, like its a gift from GOD), and absolutely no quality control (excuse me, more like **** poor QC). If they'd even spent an hour looking at ebay, they'd see what units, regions, or even kitbash/conversions receieve the most bids. That is what the people want, not some foolish looking St. Paddy's Day Pumper from a Fire Department that may boycott its own parade. Wake up and smell the diecast.

They deserve to lose money (and their jobs). They were STUPID.

Code 3 by itself will have a tough time getting any money out of a Chinese factory for ANY kind of screw-up. If the parent company, Matrix, gets involved there is a better chance of receiving a refund. Insurance? Forget it! Code 3 will never receive anything close to the actual cost of this disaster, if anything at all. Bonding? I rather doubt any insurace company would bond a Chinese toy manufacturer. Matrix and Code 3 are well and truly screwed on this one.
Matrix is obviously clueless about the collectibles business. It's one thing to poorly package some soft plastic toy but a damaged $200 piece is really non-saleable. So far I'm not impressed with Matrix's marketing or Quality Control skills and in my opinion, really have no business in the collectibles market at this time. From Concept and Design all the way to Customer Service (what's that?), Matrix has shown they can't handle the Collectibles segment of the toy industry.
Having said that, I'll also say that no one does a 1/64 scale model better Code 3. Despite all their problems, they still turn out a nicely put-together product. Ugly, yes! Severely damaged in packing, yes. Regardless, no one right now is doing a better job in 1/64. There have been rumors of a major player entering the 1/72 scale market with fire apparatus models but so far, they're just rumors and prototypes have not been yet seen, at least by myself. The same goes for HO scale models but again, very little on those either. It's tough market out there these days and I,for one, do not see any new players in the near future. Hopefully, I'll be wrong. Again!

Location: SLC, UT.

Well from my perspective the cost will be high. First model sent was a total disaster so they sent a second which was passable now they want me to send the first one back, courier cost $195-45 giving them a 50 cent return on 2 models. The real cost was the credibility of the moderators of a certain forum who got overly upset at the constant hammering Code 3 was taking on their precious forum due to Arnie & Co being unable to answer a simple question

Location: Sydney Australia

Yeah Oz, its a shame that the moderators of this board and a certain other board were not able to better pass on the information to Code 3 directly. They can deny it all they want, but we all know that at least 1 person on this board, and 1 or 2 on the other board, have some contact (direct or indirect) with either Arnie or John. They refused to post their information for collectors to be able to contact them and communicate the problem directly. So be it. In addition, the censorship on the other board is a joke. Larry should be ashamed of himself. Look at the success of myspace, facebook, youtube, and other communication sources. They allow you to post nearly ANYTHING, unless it is illegal. However, good luck trying to post things critical of code 3 or scathing critisms of Code 3 higher ups on his board.

Finally, if this is true, it is the most ridiculous statement to be made:

"Code 3 by itself will have a tough time getting any money out of a Chinese factory for ANY kind of screw-up. If the parent company, Matrix, gets involved there is a better chance of receiving a refund. Insurance? Forget it! Code 3 will never receive anything close to the actual cost of this disaster, if anything at all. Bonding? I rather doubt any insurace company would bond a Chinese toy manufacturer. Matrix and Code 3 are well and truly screwed on this one."

First of all, regardless of where this is, international contract law applies. If Code 3 has a contract with factory XYZ, there has to be some quality metrics involved. That if there is a certain percentage of defects, reduced payments are to be made, or no payment at all.

Second, all the castings and dies belong to code 3. So if factory xyz doesn't produce items properly, they move to factory abc. Code 3 is not limited to any 1 particular factory.

Finally, that comment above (the comment, not the person) lacks common sense - There would be no incentive for any factory to produce quality product free from major defects, if they get full payment anyway. What company, Code 3 or otherwise, would want to risk 10's of thousands of dollars or more on a production run, or multiple production runs, where there was no recourse if every piece was crap? No risk management assessment by a company or individual would say that would be an acceptable risk for the company to bear. It would be financially absurd. Code 3 will have some type of recourse on this piece.

My brother-in-law works for Mattel. I asked him the other day what he knew about Matrix Holdings, Ltd. He told me just think of all the cheap tourist type gift shop items that you see in places like airports, hotels, etc. This is a good portion of their business. He said that they have their own factories in Vietnam and China. He believes that much of the Code 3 stuff may be manufactured in the Vietnam plants.

Location: Baltimore

Can you use the word brother in law without getting legal letters from a diecast company???

Location: London UK