Mark,
That was a very astute reply. You have some really valid points about ARF builders helping the hobby. And they do, just not the niche of the kit builder.

I have seen the changes the modern world has wrought and I have to question whether we will be better off in the long run. Things like digital cameras. By embracing that technology, the user becomes a more involved part of the photo-finishing process. Instead of letting the lab give us the prints, we end up looking at them on the computer printing them ourselves or maybe sending them to a local store for printing. And 30 years from now, instead of finding a box of prints to bring back wonderful memories, we'll only have CDs....... if we're lucky. Will we have the technology to see the photos stored on those in the future?

How about music? Instead of permanent recordings on CD or LP, we have iPods. We have to hand select every song we load. Granted, the selection is broad and getting broader, but I choose not to invest the time in this pursuit.

My point is this. We find the time to invest in the activites we enjoy, whether they save us time or not. Let's enjoy our building opportunities and snap up some quality kits while we can at reasonable prices and keep the manufacturers in business.

Mike