Fix it or send it back? MTH Daylight

That's an easy self fix. The hobby shop would probably do the same thing. Otherwise, you risk more damage shipping it back and forth to MTH for a cosmetic repair. If it runs good, sounds good, smokes good..... fix that yourself. IMO of course

If it was me, I'd send it back for a replacement...if you make the smallest mistake with the glue, if needed, it will be out of warranty then..

We are using a water- based contact cement for aircraft fabric work.  I am an old dude, and reluctant to change, but this new stuff is stronger than the old cement, and can be rolled off a surface where it is not wanted.  It is magic, and occasionally I bring the bottle home to glue some train stuff together.  Yesterday it was the soles on my spouse's shoes.

That said, I personally would carefully get some super glue in there, and apply pressure.

I agree with "Laidoffsick".  Remove the hand rail, glue the stipe down sparingly, and then reinstall the hand rail.  Easy fix in my opinion and safer than shipping.

.....

Dennis

I would not tolerate it.  Exchange it for a properly assembled unit - there is no reason to repair a new item even if you could.

That was my initial reaction as it seems I continually have bad luck with most new engines I have purchased the past two years.  It is discouraging.  Just last month I sent two different Lionel diesels back for bad smoke units that failed right out of the box.   Other suggestions to fix this myself are feasible and are being contemplated.  Going to have to sleep on this.  

Personally, I fix stuff like this all the time. I don't even think about returning something for trivial issues like a delaminated glue joint. However, I don't have an LHS in the equation. The nearest one is well over 100 miles away, so I buy everything from Internet dealers, the OGR board, train shows, eBay, etc. If your LHS has a repair facility, they certainly should be willing to fix it for you, and any competent train repair tech will have plenty of experience at fixing something like that so it won't show. It should't have to go back to MTH for the repair. I wouldn't dream of spending 30 bucks on shipping to fix something that minor. 

Cost of the item would help me determine a self fix vs a return.  A freight car or passenger coach...  I'd probably fix.

Dilemma over.   Well, I just had to go take another look at the problem engine and decided to give fixing it a shot.   Turns out it was easy-peasy and took about 15 seconds to do it. 

 The hand rail was imbedded pretty well so I was able to gently move it back and the side panel pretty much snapped back in place.  The hand rail flexed and did not bend so it is straight.   I think the side panels are fastened with double-sided tape or else the glue was still pliable and it stuck well. As an extra precaution I gave it a little extra hold with a tension clamp and will leave it on overnight.

Thanks to all for the comments and advice.   All is right with the world -until the next time!

Good for you. Saved shipping money and waiting..Enjoy it. You owe us a video

I can't even IMAGINE going through the hassle of shipping something back to the manufacturer for something so trivial.  I guess some of us have more time on their hands than I do.

I don't think it is about amount of time on your hands.  99% of us could fix this.  You do amazing kitbashing work with engines -- impressive.  The point is that if something isn't "right" out of the box, as a matter or principle I am inclined to make them deal with it not use my time to fix their mistakes.  Their cost goes up and they are properly incentivized to improve quality.  Moreover, as the original poster noted, if the repair attempt goes awry, you are now SOL with respect to the item.

Different strokes for different folks as they say, and that's fine, but it not a question of time or ability.  More a question that I get annoyed when anything, particularly specialized, expensive merchandise, is shoddily assembled.  

In any event, I am happy it worked out for the original poster and very glad it was an easy fix.  I've been there.  That being said, I would still be questioning (to myself, if I were in his shoes) the purchase because I would be PO'd by the quality lapse (perhaps trained gorillas put the locomotives into boxes because a consultant told them this was more efficient?) and wondering how the heck something like that makes it through any process resembling quality control.  Speculation at best at this point.

Minor defects are very common these days, from any and all the manufacturers.... so you must spend a lot of time shipping back and forth, until you get everything "just right" out of the box.

JB, I'm glad you got it fixed to your satisfaction. Very nice engine by the way.

I am not sure why you are rolling your eyes.  Everyone knows it is difficult to make a living today, and O gauge trains are relatively expensive specialty products.  I have worked hard to have what I have, in terms of my career and outside business interests.  What I've learned from this experience is that the general rule of thumb, particularly with high-end products, is that they should deliver a superior "experience" however that is defined relative to the product otherwise you are getting ripped off.  I certainly don't think that expecting the customer to perform last line quality control qualifies as a superior experience.  Stated differently, I don't spend my hard earned money so I can spend time fixing errors due to other people's incompetence.   Do you?  To take another example, if you buy a four burner stove, it is OK if one of the four burners doesn't ignite and you have to fix it?  Or a new computer that works well only after you perform some software reloads?  What if you stay in a nice hotel and the room and bath are clean but the toilet has not been flushed and has been used.  How does that make you feel?  What is your confidence level with those products and the offering firm after something like that happens?

I don't want to beat up on MTH.  They are a good company and I have many good products from them. And you are correct insofar as defects can occur in any item.  But it should be the rare exception and not the norm -- and most of the products we buy in our house are defect free, from the get-go.  More than one bad experience and I steer clear of the company, including trains.  At the same time I think these firms need to understand (and in Lionel's case, I think Mike Reagan's elevation indicates they do get it) that a loyal customer base purchasing high dollar specialty items doesn't appreciate it when the products come out of the box with problems, however minor.  It undermines confidence in the firm's competence.  And as I said for me at least, more than a few problems like that and I'll steer clear -- I don't spend money for the purpose of annoying / aggravating myself.  Particularly with trains -- we have many more than we need so additional purchases are purely discretionary. 

Consult with your LHS first. Maybe they will offer an on the spot repair. They take the risk of repair goofs) If it is an EASY fix as most suggest it is then fix it yourself. What ever you decide do not second guess yourself.

I am not a very competent model train mechanic but I have "fixed" several small things rather than go through the shipping and waiting hassle.

Either way, good luck to you.

Same situation for me. I learned pretty quickly that shipping costs add up quickly when you return stuff. Best to become comfortable with getting your hands dirty from time to time. There are two kinds of engines in my collection: ones I've worked on and ones I'm gonna work on.