I saw the first batch that King Kog in Brooklyn had and just saw the new batch that Continuum Cycles in Manhattan has. The newer batch felt lighter and the braze work looked cleaner. The first batch didn't look bad by any means - the new ones just looked nicer. The stickers are on top of the clearcoat which is nice. I have yet to see an Alien or a Kazane frame, really the only other two price sensitive lugged frames out there. The prep work for installing the bb and headset are pretty common and any reputable shop like Continuum can fix those issues for you.