Not sure if any of you are familiar with Peter Wingfield of Clearwater Florida. He's one of the best model builders around. He does mainly handbuilt 1:43 scale stuff ranging from $250 to $1000+. I once waited 2.5 years for a 917-10 L&M CanAm car with engine detail and lift off body panels. Similar stories are commonplace. Apparently, one collector had enough and wound up on People's Court with him!

http://www.miniwerks.com/thread.aspx?id=208