It's all very much in the eye of the beholder. One modellers opinion about a company can be based on just his experience or just on what he's heard other people say and written. I recently bought a kit from a well known manufacturer which has the reputation of being the "puppies privates" in the modelling community (and no. I'm not saying which one) certainly the price reflects their standing. I found that while the overall kit was OK, some of the fittings were poor and the fit of some was abysmal. It's very much the Curates Egg when it come to low production run kits.
Unless you're working with a plastic kit from a major producer; Revell, Merit, Trumpeter, etc. Kits should classed as "semi kits" because of the amount of work required to "fettle" them.
