Quoted from stpcore:If I were to try to make a Standard resemble and LE and I sent the armor out for powder I'm probably around $400 or more after shipping both ways. Another $250-$300 for the glass. So now I'm at $700 and I still don't have the extra LED lighting for the ramps, headphone jack, 3-D printed / laser etched plastics etc.
You're totally right, it doesn't make sense to do it yourself, I'm suggesting that I personally would love it if companies would just offer upgrades ala carte and stop making different versions of the games. Maybe they've all run the math and it doesn't make them as much money, or maybe they're actually leaving money on the table by bifurcating the upgrades into packages, I dunno, I'm just generally ranting about how the LE landscape seems to be getting dumber.
This isn't a shot at JJP to be clear, Batman66 was the dumbest of them all, and Heighway's LE offerings are in my opinion silly. Just let people buy beacons or light up ramps or etched back panels, and definitely powder coated armor. From the factory, no extra shipping, just pay them for upgrades.
Spooky is basically doing that with TNA, and it's the model I like best.