I never said the parts were junk.

I said the design was very dated compared to the newer 30's out now days, (Venture, Raptor, Caliber, Kalt etc.) as Paul asked for a comparison in the first post.

I started flying in the 80's too when there were no gyros and inverted flight was only for the experts and 3D was unheard of.
I learned forward flight on the Xcell 30. It was advertised as being able to fly inverted out of the box and back then, this was state of the art. It was the only machine with enough collective range to load a .32 in both directions.
Then came the Concept, Kalt, Raptor and the rest, proving plastic could be very light, rigid and with a smart design, be able to handle extreme forces of 3D.
Bottom line, what sets these things apart from one another is the design. The Xcell was a flimsy design from the 80's. The head design was it's strong point but the frame, drive, servo tray, and tail design is weak, not necessarily the parts themselves.

Kirk