A great alternative is the World Models T34. It sells for around $130 here. While assembling the wing, if you remove the dihedral, put an OS50sx; oh boy, this is one heck of a plane; extremely sturdy. It is very popular at my club. I think it is a great starter plane for pattern. Our local pattern buff, Eric Henderson (he writes in the AMA magazine) highly modified a T34, extended ailerons, elevator and rudder; he stuck a YS-63 in there.

I have flown the Zen 32; it is too small to fly comfortablly in any windy condition. It is a great model to dump in the car to go for a quick flight but does not really give any satisfaction of a pattern like model.

By the way, my local hobby shop is Creek Hobbies (mentioned earlier) and the Quest 90 is a great model. It flys best with an OS91 or equivalent (I am not mentioning any 4 strokes here). The Quest 90 sells for around $225-$249.

I think you are in Bedfordshire. Pity; I am flying to Dublin end of this month for 4 days and then travelling to London and staying in Southampton for 3 days; my daughter's graduation; she is studying at Southampton Univ.