Bigtim,
I can remember how much work the Royal kit was and all the carving and sanding I had to do. Being my first warbird I wanted it perfect and actually it came out very nice but heavy. I had a OS 120 4 stroke for power so I had plenty of engine and I had RhomAir retracts. I'm still using the engine in another plane and the retracts are stored someplace in my shop. I was lucky on the SkyShark, I bought my kit from a dealer that was selling them for the orginal price before the price increase. If I could find another Royal FW 190 for a reasonable price I buy it but at the prices they sell for on EBay, I don't see that happening. Some of these guys are crazy when bidding. I saw one guy bid over $90 for a receiver that the dealer was selling for a "buy now" price of $85 on the same page. And I know of guys who have a partner raise the bids hoping it will sell for a very high price. If you watch, you'll see the same guy list the same item again within months and do the same thing until someone stupid bids a inflated price simply because the guy has to have this item.