abufletcher

I agree with the points made by both Paul and John. There are indeed a number of ARFs now available that are a good deal more scale than some of the perennially popular "scale" kits we regularly see built here. And there are some truly hideous ARFs too. There is no logically clean line between ARFs and "builds" along the axis of scale. And is a "scale-builder" to be held in higher regard than a "scale flyer?" I hope not. I admire both.

Besides, even most kit-builders today rely on a range of "pre-build" products which in the past might have been done by the builder by hand. Case in point being WB machine guns and wheels. I love'em and would hate to have to do without them or scratch-build them each and every time. How about pre-printed lozenge fabric for that DVII or $400+ dollar Robart gear for that "scratch built" Spitfire? Of the full cockpit kit people buy for their F-16s. Or that custom aircraft-specific metal spinner which in the past might have been scratch-built of balsa? Or the highly details set of Cub landing gear that modelers uncomfortable with metal work can happily bolt onto the kit-built cubs? Some kits do a lot more of the work for the modeler than other kits. Does this make them ARFish? There's just no end to this.

BTW, I have posted questions about my Kyosho Me109 ARF on this forum. Primarily because this is where I know people and those people have the knowledge to answer the kinds of questions I asked (about the operation and modification of mechanical retracts). To stay healthy a forum needs to be line an normal community. You the people and topics at the center, but you also have the people and things on the edge of the community and all of them play a necessary part.