notsram

Haha, I really should update my profile! Currently, I'm 'only' building the Airfix re-issue of the Bentley Blower. Not an easy model and it's taking me some time, especially as it's the first time I've touched a plastic kit since I was a kid! I am subbed to the DB7 though, which I think is starting to ship this week. Really looking forward to that! I missed out on the original Eaglemoss run, and always regretted it, although by all accounts it wasn't particuarly good. Hopefully the Agora model will be better 🙂

That really does look fantastic! I didn't bother with any weathering for my R2, but in hindsight, I wish I had 🙂

Haha, I watch World of Wayne too 😛 Phil, if you drop Agora a line about upgrading your badge, that'll probably do the trick. I had to nudge them to get my Pro badge (and now I think about it, is the Elite tag two complete builds? If so, I should have that as I've finished both the Shelby Snake and Jaguar). Totally agree about customer service. That's part of the reason I went off Deagostini/Modelspace/Fanhome. Admittedly, it's several years since I've needed to contact them, but theirs was awful. Agora may not be perfect, but they do at least reply to emails - usually very quickly 🙂 I hope you guys get your R2s finished soon. It does have a few flaws, but It really is a cool model, especially when it's trundling around your floor in patrol mode beeping at things. Scared the hell out of my cat the first time I fired it up!

I received an email yesterday saying 25/10. I assume that's the shipping date, at least for the UK.

I did the original R2 build, so not sure if any of the components have been changed, but I didn't find the sticky strips much use either. I just used cellotape! I absolutely loved the build It was a bit fiddly in places, but a lot of fun. It was my first partwork since the Ultimate Real Robots thing back in the 90s (Yeah, I'm old) which I gave up on half way through. My R2 works perfectly, although it won't run on carpet, only smooth floor. And I've since lost the charging cable so need to source another. Fortunately, the batteries last ages!

I'd not seen the ET model. Have to say it does look good. I'd be all over C3P0 like a shot if that came out. Would look awesome next to R2-D2!

I've bought a few Agora models now. Yes. their delivery isn't as good as it was, but it's still an order of magnitude better than Deagostini etc...

Things may have changed, as my last order was a couple of years ago (although I couldn't resist signing up for the DB5!), but I seem to remember being emailed my discount code after the final pack for my order had shipped.

@ThomasJWGiven the numerous issues and faults with this model, I think the complaints are justified when you take into account how much it costs. Personally, I've still not started building it and won't be doing so until/unless there are reports of it working as advertised. If not, I'll be returning it for a refund.

I almost hope the DB5 doesn't show up on here. I swore I wouldn't buy anything else from Agora until the Leopard tank mess is sorted out, but the Bond DB5 is the one model above all others (apart from perhaps the original Batmobile) that I really REALLY want to build, and I know I'll struggle to resist it.

@Apathic I get what you mean about the constant disassembly... One of the reasons I cut my losses and gave up with the Deagostini tank was I'd pulled it apart so many times to check connections and reinstall replacement parts that it was practically falling apart and some of the electronics were getting damaged. The turret in particular was ridiculously loose. It sort of rotated, but was prone to fall off as the screws were so loose. Not good news on your camera. That's a major selling point for me too. Or the sound board. And does the battery really only last five minutes? That's ridiculous. Hopefully your issues are just one-offs and you'll get replacements, but if not, perhaps someone from Agora could clarify what our options are?

Amazingly, given the current Royal Mail situation in the UK, mine arrived this morning! Unfortunately, it's going to be a few weeks before I can start the build, but I'll be keeping an eye on this forum. Hopefully, we'll now see some reports of correctly working models.

Royal Mail can't catch up. The mail backlog is ridiculous and getting worse with every strike day. I was sent a birthday card last month from a friend living just under 20 miles away. It took ten days to arrive. It's my nephews birthday on the 16th. I sent his card (first class) on the first and I got a text from my brother this morning to say it had just arrived. Far from gaining support, all they're doing is making people search for alternatives. I'll be using Moonpig for cards etc. next year and I'm already actively avoiding buying anything that is delivered by Royal Mail.

That's encouraging! Anyone else had this email? I've still had no communication about this.

I agree that this wait is now becoming farcial. I've had no communiction whatsoever, apart from an email from Agora more than two months ago asking me to refrain from making 'speculative posts' on the forum. The same email also assured me that 'We have many perfectly working Leopard models'. Funny how not a single owner of a 'perfectly working' model has posted on these forums yet. Speculation? Or fact? I think the only thing worth speculating over here is how long it will take Agorasam to delete this.

Must admit, the luggage rack confused me too. After I'd made it, I couldn't find any instructions at all about what to do with the thing. Seems kinds of pointless...

Were I to respond to your holier-than-thou comments, I'm certain this would simply result in another deletion. So I'm not going to bother. Agora, thanks for finally posting an update on this.

Agorasam, why do you persist in deleting every post I make? One user asks for an update and you politely answer their post. I ask the same question and my comment gets deleted. This really is a poor way to treat a paying customer. If you don't want my money, please say so. I'll happily take my custom elsewhere.

I haven't started building this model yet, but I've yet to hear of a single person who has a fully-functional tank. Agora, it's been weeks since the release of pack 12 and apart from a very basic troubleshooting guide, we've had no real communication on the many faults with this very expensive model. Could we have some sort of clarification as to what you're doing to rectify these issues, please?

I have to agree with you there. It put a big smile on my face as soon as I realised that the model battery goes inside the car battery! Awesome piece of design.

It's very loose, but nothing that a couple of drops of superglue won't fix. I just wanted to check it wasn't supposed to rotate. Thanks!

There do seem to be a heck of a lot of problems with this model... @AgoraSam has posted a troubleshooting guide for some of the issues raised so far. May be of help. link here

I'm up to pack five of this - really enjoying it so far. The detail is amazing! But... I have a question with assembling the right front wheel (stages 38-40). When I put the wheel centre into the jig, the outer of the wheel centre is rotatable. Is this correct? I'm sure the outer of the wheel centre on the first wheel I built was fixed and didn't rotate. It's going to be nigh on impossible to get all the spokes to sit in the teeth of the wheel rim if the centre is moving every time I thread a spoke through.

Having only started this build a few days ago, I saw these comments and thought 'how hard can it be'? Having just finished pack 4, the answer is VERY! 😛 As you guys rightly say, patience is a virtue... and I have to agree the finished wheel is well worth all the time (the spokes took me longer than the rest of packs 1-4) and effort.

Deagostini/Modelspace/Fanhome did R2D2 a few years back. I built one. really good model and a fun build. The one in the pic has been weathered. The stock model is a lot cleaner than that!