Everyone is missing the point. Frank has made a business decision to offer simplified cast resin models to those who want models not available in plastic but who lack the skill or time to deal with traditional resin kits. It's not an either/or situation - the alternative is not a high end resin kit, it's not offering one at all.

It's kind of an elitist attitude, don't you think, to suggest that resin kit manufacturers tailor all their offerings exclusively to those of us with the skills to assemble anything Westerfield, Sunshine or Speedwitch ever produced. We're a very tiny part of the hobby market, so anything which might inspire modelers in the "next level down" to join our ranks should be encouraged. The modeler who assembles four IC chisel-sided hoppers from Frank in the time it takes me to do one of Sunshine's might well decide to tackle a more complex resin kit next time. That enlarges the market for all o f us, which should be a good thing.

Tom Madden.