Ogre, you seem to have the impression I wanted a particular answer when I started the thread but that's not the case. You raise a valid point about OTS versus bespoke ordering, but this applies whether the gear is bought here or overseas and probably warrants a thread of its own. Have you ever purchased any machinery with your own money on that basis? What would, say, an ipad look like if ordered to an MOD spec? A bit like a chest freezer I suspect!