Disappointed!

I bought this machine from Fingerhut, for the price of 69.99. The whole family was excited about having an ice cream machine at home, and the recipes in the book were simple and inexpensive. I especially loved the idea of not having to buy ice and rock salt every time I wanted to have this old fashioned treat. Just the basics, like egg substitute, heavy cream, flavorings, etc....and supposedly you end up with picture perfect soft serve.
But I do agree with the other posters here, because when I used it I had the same experience. I followed the directions from the recipe book for a simple ice cream to a tee-something I rarely do because I cook and bake by feel or taste-even breaking out the measuring cups to make sure I got it right the first time! I let the machine turn for a full 20 minutes, and ended up with something more like a milkshake. The "ice cream" had a very runny texture, and when I tried to put it into a cone it just ran off on the sides. I had kept the canister in my freezer for days, and let the prepared ice cream batter chill in the refrigerator for half a day. So after reading the other reviews here, I don't think it's possible to get actual soft serve ice cream out of this machine.
Once I tried to fill the first cone, it was obvious to me that the canister simply was not making the ingredients cold enough. So I shut it off, thinking that when it quit turning the batter would freeze a little more-and ended up with a huge mess. The ingredients never hardened, but they DID stick to the sides of the canister enough to where when I tried to turn it back on the weak little motor would no longer turn the paddles. I ended up having to just dig it all out with a spatula.
I did put what was left over into a container in the freezer to let it harden-but to be honest if you have to go through all that trouble then you may as well mix these recipes by hand, as the whipping cream it calls for will expand like this with an ordinary mixer.
On top of the impracticality, it also seems to be pretty poorly made. The motor is weak, the paddles are thin, cheap plastic, and the blue cover is very difficult to attach to the motor and machine. I had to be so forceful with it that I felt it could break at any minute. The instructions on assembly aren't very clear, but even after you figure it out on your own it doesn't snap together easily.

Fingerhut does have a return policy, but the shipping is outrageous. By the time I paid for shipping the first time, and again to ship it back-I will have paid almost $30 in shipping charges and have nothing to show for it. So I have decided to just cut my losses and keep this contraption. I will use it to make milkshakes and slushee type drinks, which it seems to be better able and suited for.