I agree with MinnFlyer. What some people use to call a plane poor means nothing to others. I read someone here on RCU who said if a kit had bad hardware he thought the whole plane was "crap." Personally, I replace nearly all of the ARF hardware, especially the little white clevices that break when you open them too far. I prefer locking clevices, 4-40 rods and pull-pull. I also put a lot more emphasis on how a plane flies.

I normally review 3D planes and twins for RC Report. I normally have a short section on building, then get to the good stuff, what it can do in the air. I figure if you can't stick an ARF 3D plane together, they are pretty much out of your flying class anyway. I would assume that people reading a review of a 3D plane might want to know how it does certain maneuvers.

For twins, I feel you have to throw in the cost of the kit. There aren't many ARF twins out there. Take the Twin Stick at $115. The only thing cheaper is the TwinStar and it's a trainer with no roll rate and small fuel tanks. Sure the Twin Stick kit has some faults, but at that price I can add $50 and still not be up to other kits that aren't nearly as much fun to fly. It has a narrow, weak gear and it builds nose heavy. I spoke to the manufacturer and you can fly the plane with a pair of .32s, some plain bearing .40s or 46s. I put 2 OS .46AXs on mine and it comes out way nose heavy. I know I can fix that, I just move 2 servos to the rear. Should I have to do this? Maybe not, but look at it from the manufacturer's standpoint. Suppose someone wants to try a first twin and he has 2 OS .40LAs. Really light engines. If the plane is set for 2 heavier .46s, this guy with no experience is going to end up tail heavy. Maybe he adds enough lead and maybe he doesn't. The CG looks pretty good, just a little far back. Maybe he makes it and maybe he doesn't. I'd probably build it to be safe, too. Overall, the Twin Stick is a great flying plane. Fast roll rate, tight squares, good flat spins, lands nicely, flies like a Stick. So you have to buy a stronger gear. It still comes out cheaper.

Back to reviewing kits. As the man said, one man's trash is another man's treasure. I'm sure all reviewers try to be objective, but we all have our own viewpoints and biases (I hate little white clevices that break), but I don't know of anyone who purposely gives a false review.