Hi Mick
I'm really not convinced it's the best way to go, but Tony has the right of it, I'm a sucker for a 'bargain' which can, of course, turn into anything but. If you want an unavailable kit, you may not have a choice in the matter though.
With regard to the current Patriot, it's one of my favourite locos in its original form, and I had had enough Chowbent Kits through my hands to believe it would form a good model. I think there are in fact 2 main criteria. First, is it a bargain? Second, if it is fairly priced, is it well-built enough to save me time? So it's got to save me money or time, but rarely both. The Patriot falls into the first category. It was a bargain. Kit, milled rods, all wheels, nameplates, Griffin backhead (OK, for a Stanier loco, but that can be used elsewhere), Slater's hornblocks, a few other detailing bits for £260. The chassis had not been started which was a big plus, and I thought (wrongly) that the body and tender had been built well enough for me to tinker with and finish off. I had not bargained for the PO clout, and that rather forced my hand into a complete rebuild. So it will be a better model, but almost certainly more time consuming. I find it a fun challenge and I also think it hones skills with a bit of scratch-building and lateral thinking.
When buying, I always ask for a set of full-size high resolution photos. If they won't provide, I don't buy. You can get a good idea of the builder's standards from these. Is there any excess solder? Is the build square? Are the fittings nicely cleaned up? I'm not too bothered about the valve gear as I shall almost certainly rebuild it from other sources. Same with the brake gear. In fact, it's a bonus if I use anything other than the mainframes and cylinder formers.
The other Patriot (Gladiator lady Godiva) falls into the second category. I think fairly priced at £770. I have rebuilt the chassis (through choice rather than necessity), but the body is really well-built and painted, as is the tender, so I shall only tinker with the body (new backhead, lubricators and a bit of local repainting and renumber) and it has saved me some 100 hours plus work perhaps.
My latest purchase is from a builder known to me. While he does things different to the way I do, his building and painting is nevertheless good. It's a L&Y 2-4-2 tank, RG7, milled rods, already chipped, great for Heyside and after a 3 hour tinker with extra pick ups and a bit of a rewire, it's ready to go....for £350 - both a bargain and a time-saver. I'll grab a pic when it brightens up. All I intend to do is to weather it. It will receive any extra detailing (and there isn't much in the first place) when I build the one I had from you.
Cheers
Richard