The Ship Model Forum

[b][color=#0000FF]We're still open and printing in gray resin from our own workshop! Good news for nameplate customers: Shapeways has resumed printing real metals.[/color][/b]

[b]Covid 19 shipping delays and tracking disruption continue to affect packages shipped from the Model Monkey workshop in the US to customers in the US and internationally.[/b]

To all customers, please continue to expect delivery delays and tracking disruption. Your patience and understanding are sincerely appreciated!

Tracking system disruption and errors have become common since Covid 19 began affecting shipping in February.  Nearly all of the packages we send internationally since February have been affected.  [b]The good news is that nearly every customer reporting a shipping delay or tracking problem eventually received their models.[/b]

[b][u]Typical tracking problems experienced by customers:[/u][/b]  
- Tracking problems are most often occurring when models are held by customs officials for longer than normal due to Covid 19 protective practices. As packages are held by customs, tracking stops.

- Occasionally, when a customer's models are released by customs officials, the package is erroneously reported as "delivered" that day rather than more accurately reported as "released for delivery" to the local postal service.

- On other occasions, tracking stops entirely when the package departs the US. The customer may receive the package but the tracking system does not recognize the package reached the destination country or that delivery has occurred.

Obviously, these problems are disconcerting for customers. We sincerely appreciate customers' patience during difficult and disruptive shipping and tracking experiences.

[b][u]A special notice for UK Royal Mail customers:[/u][/b]

Please be advised that Royal Mail customers routinely experience unusually expensive import taxes and fees. When your models arrive in the UK, Border Force will calculate and apply import VAT on behalf of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Additionally, Royal Mail will apply an £8 handling fee. You must pay these costs to Royal Mail before your models will be delivered to you. Model Monkey does not pay these costs. You may also be charged an import duty for orders valued over £135. Royal Mail will return packages to Model Monkey if import VAT, import duty and the Royal Mail £8 handling fee are not promptly paid by the customer. If these costs are not acceptable, please DO NOT ORDER.

[url=https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7208/~/help-with-paying-customs-fees]Click here for more information from Royal Mail.[/url]

[url=https://www.royalmail.com/sites/default/files/International-customs-charges-leaflet-Jan-2017.pdf]Click here for Royal Mail Customs FAQs.[/url]

[url=https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/vat-enquiries]Click here for HMRC VAT enquiries, including webchat and telephone (use HS Code 950320)[/url]
​
[url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-143-a-guide-for-international-post-users/notice-143-a-guide-for-international-post-users]​Click here for more information about how HMRC calculates customs charges.[/url]

Please be advised that international shipping from our location by couriers DHL, FedEx or UPS is extremely expensive, normally more than $120 USD to most overseas locations. Nearly all of our customers find those rates unaffordable, which is why we don't offer couriers as a shipping option at checkout. If courier shipping is required, we can arrange shipping though FedEx or UPS for you. Our location is not served by DHL.

[url=https://www.model-monkey.com/]Catalog of over 2000 products for scale modelers (click here).[/url]

[b][color=#008000]Thanks so much![/color]

Here is a link to the USPS website identifying locations world-wide to which the [color=#0000FF]USPS has temporarily suspended service due to Covid 19[/color]:[/b]
https://faq.usps.com/s/article/Mail-Service-Alerts-and-Updates

[b]Model Monkey is presently unable to ship to these locations.[/b]

[quote="ModelMonkey"][quote="maccrage"]Gah! I was just going to order a bronze Saint Paul plate.[/quote]
Sorry to hear you're affected!

Paintable acrylic plastic actually has some advantages over metal:
- inexpensive compared to metal
- can be easily painted with a rattle can of your favorite metallic color and the metallic paint won't tarnish
- can be enlarged as long as 11 inches; metal is limited in size to just under 4 inches (10 cm)

Might be a "blessing in disguise" worth considering.[/quote]
That's a good point. Your '68 Saint Paul parts are beautiful by the way. :thumbs_up_1:

[quote="maccrage"]Gah! I was just going to order a bronze Saint Paul plate.[/quote]
Sorry to hear you're affected!

Paintable acrylic plastic actually has some advantages over metal:
- inexpensive compared to metal
- can be easily painted with a rattle can of your favorite metallic color and the metallic paint won't tarnish
- can be enlarged as long as 11 inches; metal is limited in size to just under 4 inches (10 cm)

Might be a "blessing in disguise" worth considering.

Gah! I was just going to order a bronze Saint Paul plate.

[b]Below is a quote from a message received today from Shapeways explaining the [i]temporary suspension of printing cast metals[/i]. This means that Model Monkey-designed nameplates, which are 3D-printed by Shapeways in various materials including metal, are only available in inexpensive, paintable, acrylic plastic until metal printing resumes.

All other Model Monkey products printed by Model Monkey in our own workshop in gray and black resin remain available.[/b]

"Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, we [Shapeways] are unfortunately still facing significant production delays for all cast metal orders as our facilities have either closed or dramatically decreased capacity. As of June 3, we have temporarily disabled orders in all cast metal materials. This includes all Natural, Polished and Plated materials in Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Brass and Copper."

:big_grin:

[b][color=#008000]Thanks![/color][/b] My wife and kids sure think Model Monkey is essential, along with our mortgage lender.

[b]Some very good news, just-in-the-nick-of-time, we were able to obtain a small volume of IPA. [color=#0000FF]We are presently accepting orders.[/color][/b]

But aren't you essential services (for modelers)? :big_grin:
:wave_1:

[b]I regret to announce that [color=#BF0000]Model Monkey is closed[/color] until further notice due to supply disruption related to COVID 19.[/b] We are not accepting any new orders. Nameplates and models not suitable for gray resin printing are still available from Shapeways. [color=#008000][b][Edit: we're open again, see post below.][/b][/color]

Although we have plenty of gray resin on hand, we have nearly exhausted our on-hand supply of the isopropyl alcohol (IPA) needed to clean models as they come out of the printer. Our printing process consumes 8.6 liters of 91% or higher IPA every 3-4 weeks. As of this writing, suppliers nation-wide are reporting no on-hand IPA supplies or that their IPA stocks have been understandably diverted for manufacture of hand sanitizer and other disinfectants.

We will make every effort to print and ship every outstanding order. If we cannot fill the order within the next few days, a full refund will be issued to the buyer.

As soon as sufficient supplies of IPA for consumers resume, we will re-open.

Please accept my sincere apologies for any disappointment or inconvenience.

And, as always, a huge thank you to all who have made Model Monkey a success otherwise.

Stay safe!

As of this writing, [b][color=#0000FF]Model Monkey is open![/color][/b]

But some delivery services and suppliers are disrupted and some countries and territories are no longer accepting packages shipped from the United States.

[b]Before ordering, please ensure your local postal service accepts packages from the United States.[/b] If your order is accepted for shipment by the US Postal Service, but your local postal service refuses to accept the package and returns your models to us, we will refund the purchase price of the models but [u]not the cost of shipping[/u].

Presently, we have on hand enough production, cleaning and shipping materials to print, clean and ship orders. This may change. As suppliers become increasingly affected and lose the ability to provide us with the resin used to produce models, the isopropyl alcohol required to clean them, and the shipping materials needed to pack them and label them, we will stop accepting orders until conditions improve.

Please subscribe to [url=https://www.model-monkey.com/]Model-Monkey.com[/url] at the bottom of the main webpage to receive further notifications by email.

We regret any disappointment or difficulty this causes during this very challenging time.

We extend our best wishes to all those badly affected by COVID 19.

Stay safe!