I wanted to keep the assembly as close to stock as possible but I did perform some modifications that I thought were necessary.
I will list what I did along with my opinion of the pluses and minuses of the arf.

<ul>[*]I adding additional glue to all of the joints I could reach in the fuse, firewall, and landing gear mount. as I feel that should be done to all of these arf's .[*]I had to glue the alignment pins on the front of the canopy as they were loose after I had to replace one as it vibrated off during engine tests.[*]I had to enlarge the servo openings a bit to fit the Hitec servos where the recommended Spektrum servos dropped right in.[*]I doubled the length of the recommended extensions as you will need the additional length.[*]I re-routed the throttle control rod to improve the geometry to the carb throttle arm.[*]I sealed the bare balsa in the hatch area and the covering edges with poly as the exhaust residue easily gets in between the gap and stains the wood and will seep under the covering .[*]I replaced the aluminum fuel tubes in the stopper with brass tubing.[/list]
That was it for my modifications to the basic arf and recommended components.</p>

Meridian 10cc PLUSES:</p><ul>[*]Very well built[*]Instruction manual is laid out well (provided you get one with all of the pages ! )[*]Landing gear mounts in a rabbit in the fuse as opposed to surface mounting.[*]Landing gear is quite sturdy and the wheel pants are good quality.[*]Firewall is all set-up for mounting the Evo 10cc engine[*]Hinge slots for control surfaces are aligned correctly.[*]Included an engine box and firewall mount for electric conversion.[*]Spinner, engine mounts, fuel tank, velcro, and most hardware you need to complete is included.[/list]
Meridian 10cc MINUSES:</p><ul>[*]Control rod for the throttle should have been either flexible cable or nyrod.[*]The left wing panel control surface openings are a bit different from the right wing panel. About 3/16" further out. Be aware if you are using these points to align the horizontal stab during installation and pick some points on the fuselage to check the alignment before you glue it in.[*]The aluminum fuel tubes in the stopper for the tank are very thin and brittle. I replaced them with brass tubing.[*]The plywood inside of the front wheelpant used for securing it to the strut should have been one piece and heavier as the two pieces inside are small and split easily even after pre-drilling. I suspect this will need repair after a few landings in taller grass.[*]The covering on this one is very wrinkled unlike other Hangar 9 arfs I've seen.[*]Knowing this plane was designed around or for the Evolution 10cc engine I would have liked to see the muffler manifold extension included with the arf as it is needed in order for the muffler body to clear the fuselage once the cowl is installed. They include the well made engine box for installing an electric motor, regardless if you use it or not , so why not include the $4.00 muffler manifold extension for the EVO10cc since the plane is designed around/for it ? With the engine they include the extra header gasket to install it ![*]On the same note why not include a template for the EVO 10cc cowl cut-out. Cowls can be the hardest part to complete for some folks and since this plane was designed for that engine, trace one out, print it and put it in the box ![/list]
Otherwise it went together fine , the engine has performed great during the break-in process and the next step will be the maiden flight. !</p>