I don't think so. Back when ARF's first got started, there were a lot of threads about how ARF's were built, including some by some knowledgable people at Great Planes. Everybody was really curious how they could build and sell ARF's for the same price (or a little more) than the same airplane in a kit. It turned out that in some cases, when a company like GP sold the same model as both an ARF and a kit, they were not exactly the same. Unfortunately, everybody in the know seemed to be pretty close-lipped for competitive reasons.

The impression I got was that ARF's are not much like kits. When you design a kit, you really have to think about an average person with average skills and average tools. For example, you can't assume that they have any kinds of jigs to keep things straight, so you create kits that are self-straightening (little tabs on the ribs for example). Kits have to be over-engineered to an extent to make up for sloppy building. When you get into factory building planes, everything is different. If you're building 200 models, it makes sense to build a special jig to hold parts in alignment. You can assume a certain skill level and tools.
Ironically, I have yet to own an ARF either. I'm just really sensitive, having three kids, to threads about how the "younger generation" has less character than some previous generations, just because they would rather use their time on earth doing something different from you or me. Talk about how young people who have different interests are therefore "lazy", "the instant gratification generation", "no pride in their work", "liars" or "impatient" drives me nuts. (I'm not saying anybody here used those words, but the sense of the argument is always that the reason someone doesn't build a kit is a character flaw, not a choice to be respected.)