I have a Fantasy built from a ARC kit. I have a Eclipse built from a basic kit. I am building a second Eclipse from a basic kit. Here is my findings from a quality standpoint:

Fantasy
* had to reset the stab and wing tubes to get proper alignment with the rudder.
* had to reset the firewall to reduce the down thrust to approx. 1.7 deg
* had to remove the individual elevator servos and change to pull-pull to achieve proper balance
* this was a very light weight fuse. Final weight came in at 10# - 2oz
* very good quality of sheeting and fiberglass work on the fuse

Eclipse #1

* should have reset the firewall to reduce the down thrust to approx. 1.7 deg, now @ 2.5 deg, have some down line issues
* the fuse was very heavy at 33 oz, too much weight in the tail
* with pull pull elevator and using the wing tube location on the fues, had to add 4oz on nose weight to achieve balance
* changed to CF landing gear and wing tube, Final weight came in at 10# - 3oz
* very good quality of sheeting and fiberglass work on the fuse
* has a bit of roll couple with rudder

Eclipse #2
* hand picked light weight fuse at 29 oz (total weight fuse, canopy and chin cowl)
* very good quality on fuse and sheeting
* changed the right thrust and down thrust to match my Smaragd
* changed the stab and wing locations to match the vertical off set between engine, wing and stab to match my Smaragd
* will continue to use CF landing gear and wing tube
* projected final weight 9# - 14oz

My conclusions with these kits is as follows:
* at $499, the basic kit is a good value for the money
* you can not use stock settings and achieve the quality of flight performance demanded in Masters and FAI
* with some relatively minor changes in set-up, the Eclipse will be a great plane (it already fly well, just bringing it up to the flight characteristics on a Smaragd)

Just my thoughts
Steve