The fancier the model with all the tiny flourishes and fiddly bits the more likely the potential for damage due to *fill in the blank*.
Yes, they should be able to package them so they don’t get damaged in shipping. It still happens, regardless of the packaging, to x percentage of models.
If you want to have 100% perfect models with zero damage you have to lower your standards and buy products with a reduced chance of possible defects. Pre-war and Postwar trains were infinitely simpler than most of the display case queens we see today.
I worked around the manufacturing of miniatures and you can expect some percentage of problems. If that’s unacceptable then explore other aspects of the hobby to lower your stress level.
Premium prices demand premium customer service. I would reach out to Lionel again and try to take it up with someone else. Then again that’s counter to the roughly 21 years worth of history of the forum’s average user but that’s just my observation.
Good luck!
Jim
