"Manny" from DM offered the following response to concerns recently expressed by collectors...

    Danbury Mint quality issues

    I wanted to take a moment to respond to some recent posts regarding the quality of Danbury Mint die-cast replicas.

    First, let me apologize for the recent spate of QC problems -- specifically blistered/bubbled paint or "paint rash" that some of you have unfortunately been experiencing on certain replicas (e.g., '69 Bobcat GTO, '59 Cadillac Convertible, LE '56 Packard Convertible). Sorry for not posting sooner, but we wanted to make sure we had all our information correct and had taken appropriate action before publicly responding to the situation.

    We appreciate all feedback from our customers -- praise when we meet or surpass your expectations, and constructive criticism when we don't. You folks are passionate collectors, and can always be counted on to give an unvarnished opinion on our products. And, just so you know, we try our hardest to always give you the best product on the market. We understand the recent frustration in receiving multiple models with imperfections. Believe me, we would rather have you receive a perfect model the first time!

    Regarding the paint issue, we became aware of it a little while ago from our own QC inspectors and complaints lodged with Customer Service, as well as from comments on die-cast forums. From the moment the problem became evident, we have been hard at work identifying and fixing it, and the factory has taken numerous remedial actions to prevent it from occurring in the future. This was a particularly challenging problem to track down -- please trust me when I say that we have spared no time or expense in correcting this situation.

    Without getting too technical, the paint problems stemmed from a combination of a defective temperature sensor on one of the die-cast presses (resulting in faulty castings that were injected at too low a temperature) and excess moisture in the compressed air lines in the spray booths. Both issues have been corrected at the factory and will be closely monitored to make sure they don't occur in the future. While a few problem replicas may still slip through the cracks, going forward we should be shipping product that meets our stringent requirements.

    I can tell you unequivocally that this paint problem was not the result of any budget cutbacks or reduction in support for our die-cast business. We have been producing models in this factory for 20+ years; it is not a new, untested factory that we tried to simply save a few bucks at the expense of quality. We remain committed to continuing to produce the highest-detail, highest-quality, 1:24 scale replicas available, just as we have been doing for years.

    For the folks who have received recent DM replicas with QC issues, please know that your complaints have been heard, and accept our apologies for us not meeting not only our own high standards, but, more importantly, yours. For the folks who haven't been affected by the recent QC issues, and who continue to support our company with your purchases and your positive comments -- thank you. We appreciate it.

    Our job now is to move everybody from the former group into the latter!

Editor's note: BRAVO MANNY!