The Cheboygan Crib piece is another good (or bad) example of the damage done by the foam packing. An inordinate amount of that shipment was damaged by the forceful stuffing of the foam into the trees. I, too, have cringed at the way certain folks handle the pieces - have even been told that picking up a model by the tower is perfectly okay. I've noticed damage of the railing around the towers precisely because of this careless handling. So, it's difficult to know what to do. In the past, I could inspect my own pieces but since most of them have to be shipped to me now, I hate to ask that they be inspected beforehand. The people doing the inspecting can be very careless.