Thanks, but I avoided the Magic Factory route because of several other things I’ve pointed out in another thread. You still have to drill out the shell ejection port, you have to remove a molded on piece of armor from the roof (which is actually harder than removing the hull armor from the Meng kit because of where it’s positioned.) Some may even prefer the workable suspension on the Meng kit for displaying over uneven terrain. I will grant that the Magic Factory kit gives you quite a few extra PE tie downs, but I’ve got enough of those to last for several more builds.
You have to do some work no matter which route you choose. The COA I chose went well so I’m not going to second guess it now.
Of course, anyone backdating it now has many options available. I suggest not using the Academy kit as in the above post.