I think it's tough -- if not near impossible -- to assure quality when your corporate headquarters and factory are half a world apart. Maerklin had similar issues about 10 years ago and has since scaled back production in China, favoring instead their production facilities in Germany and Hungary. That's not to say there haven't been some other issues, but overall I think they learned a lesson, especially where die casting is concerned.
It's a shame any way we choose to look at it. For this reason, there are very few exceptions when it comes to my purchase of newer items.
