Just a word about changes in plastic model making. I've been away from this form of modeling for some time and just recently.. well, in the past two years, have jumped back into this hobby. I started with BlueJacket kits, which have a wood hull and cast brittania fittings and some brass fittings. Very accurate and made for a nice model. It wasn't until I purchased a Technoart kit that included resin hull and fittings and cast bronze and brass fittings and several sheets of PE for fine scale fittings that really pushed up the mark for scale quality, and of course the price point took a huge jump. That Technoart kit was close to $1,000 U.S. Then I moved back in to plastic kits and discovered that a new cottage market has been created to enhance the scale of any plastic kit. Called an Upscale kit, one could now produce a true museum quality model by adding an additional Upscale kit and, at a substantial cost. As I was to discover, the Trumpeter kit of the U.S.S. Arizona was not bad in scale accuracy and even included a few sheets of PE and at a hefty cost of around $218 U.S. depending on where you bought the kit, plus shipping. But, to really do the kit justice, one needed to purchase one of the fine Upscale kits. I chose, based on research and reviews, to purchase the MK-1 Upscale kit out of Korea. I paid "more" than the basic Arizona kit, at a price of around $250 U.S. I just received that kit and frankly, I was a bit shocked at how little I got for my money. The kit essentially includes 3 finely printed, laser cut wood decks and 5 sheets of PE. True, the parts are fantastic and highly accurate and will yield several hundred 3D brass parts, which are going to make the model look wonderful. Who am I to complain, but quality comes at a price I suppose. And, why, I ask, don't the main kit manufacturers just include the upscale kits?? Cost is probably the answer. And so, a new industry is born that has probably spun out of the microchip semiconductor industry... of which I was a part of for 23 yrs during my working years. Just thought you folks might find my blab interesting. Well here is a pic of the Upscale kit for you to ponder. Dennis