The technology, IMO, can not create a fine enough detail, for one - the window casings and muntons always look way too thick in width and depth (because they are). Those thicker moldings, in my eyes, effectively scale a big structure down in size, make it look less imposing. I'd rather use cast alternatives or printed features to make that detail finer and if I'm going to go to that length to replace windows in a kit, I might as well save the money and make it myself.
Furthermore, the limits of the technology inform and compromise the design of laser cut structures. Look at kits that have interlaced edges. In HO that design works okay, but in N it's not precise enough and the result looks just like two sloppy puzzle pieces fit together.
Or, more to the point, look at AMB's Alton Elevator -
Some may think I'm nitpicking, but... the vertical corner lap mold on the elevator - a) from what I've seen a molded corner is rare, so the 90-degree cut capacity of the tech forces that design as the prevailing option (despite being the least popular design) but b) the corner mold on the model is tree thickness and, again, scales the building down. I imagine the molding's so thick because the siding sheet is too, but a thinner molding is what's called for and that's easier to create with styrene. Again, I could buy the kit and taper the interiors of the siding joints so they fit closer and add a new, thinner piece of molding, but that's considerable alteration at $34.95 when I can make a whole building in styrene on my own for $10.
Compare the features of the model photo above and the prototype below, look at the corner moldings and the window parts (on the prototype, look at the window at the end of the corrugated add-on). See how they affect the scale of the structure?
I'm not picking on AMB, but on the tech as a whole. When the tech matures and can meet the more precise needs of smaller scales, it will be a boon to the industry. At this point, I feel it has a fair amount of room for improvement or the manufacturers are not using it to its fullest capacity.
