Paul,
In all fairness I was talking about a pre joined one from a kit, as was stated.
With reference to your Billings hull, if it is that bad, contact them, I have only had very good dealings with them, and they do replace bad or missing bits with no argument. As do both Graupner (very good) and Robbe. Most UK kit manufacturers are the same if you have a reasonable complaint, or will usually try to help if it isn't. But don't expect free replacements if you have cut a lump out in the wrong place. In that scenario, you would be expected to pay for the replacement parts plus carriage. The vendor cannot be held responsible for your bad handywork. That was why I recommended not to touch the hull, but contact the seller.
I know all about glass hulls being bent from bad storage AND bad manufacture, been there, got the t-shirt, and baseball cap.
When a glass or plastic hull is bought, anyone in their right mind should check it out as soon as received, and if it isn't up to spec, then the vendor should have it inserted.
All I can say, if you don't check it out, then don't complain when it is found to be bent, or deformed under bad storage conditions.
I can honestly say, from the mid 60's, I have seen almost every sort of fault with moulded hulls you could imagine (and put a lot of them right), but it does seem that even nowadays, some people will try to sell shoddy workmanship and expect the buyer to put it right themselves. We have laws now that cover these sorts of things, whereas in the past, it was ALWAYS buyer beware.
BTW, I can't see anywhere in my post where it says do not frame a hull. My reference was to attempting to straighten things out where two parts had been previously joined incorrectly. Straighten the bent hull with framing, the deck bends out of shape, and vice versa.
Bogs