Personally, I have two planes fully airworthy right now, and both are foam electric ARF's. However, I also have a few balsa ARF's waiting to be built. Contrast that with the nearly thirty kits I have in my hobby room (it looks like a storage warehouse sometimes), and I'd say I'm firmly entrenched in kit building.

I've found that some airplanes are better for me as ARF's, while the rest are best as kits. For example, I wouldn't be willing to spend the time to build a H9 Funtana 90 from a kit, but I was so impressed with the quality of the ARF that I purchased one to try this new 3D fad. I could not have built a comparable plane for $209.

On the other hand, I wouldn't want an ARF of something like the HOB 1/5 scale Extra 300L I'm currently working on. I can't find the level of quality in a .40-size ARF like I want for this particular plane. Also, there are alot of planes I have on hand that are not made as ARF's. This allows me the opportunity to pull something off my shelf and build a model unlike anything else at the field. This is an experience that cannot be replaced by ARF's. The pride in showing a model that you've built from a box full of sticks and sheets is the reason I got into this hobby fourteen years ago.

As long as I'm around, I'll always build kits when I want something to be proud of.

-Wayne