Yes, I agree that you can over do the bling in the beginning, and that can have a negative effect. However, some bling is worth it.

Mine is basically stock except for a dual motor tail, and the CNC head plus shaft and gear. Both of which make the heli more reliable and fly better. Also, the CNC head is much stronger and can take more abuse. Sure, if I break some parts on it, they will cost a lot more than their stock counterparts, but it is also much less likely to break in the first place...

Also, I found that the sticky collective that kept returning with the stock head to be a major road block to learning. The metal head cures that permanently...

Counting the initial heli purchase, I have about $350-$400 in my heli, and it flies much better and is stronger than stock.

Eventually, I will bling it out completely (belt drive tiail, brushless, etc.) but that will be later, and gradually. I will not do this for any other reason than the sheer enjoyment of doing it. I will not, however, run out and do it all now. I will do it slowly as my skills increase, and as I get the itch to work on it some more...

If the opportunity ever presents itself, I will buy a used BCP that perhaps needs some work, and use all of my left-over OEM parts to restore it to good working (stock) condition. That way I can have both