Glenn... I'd say for beginners its a great start. Most beginners don't know or care much about carving design, tendrils, scrolls, volutes, or relief carving.
Rich and Mods...maybe his feedback was a little abrasive but not a "pile-on". In fairness, past posts, even by respected well-known builders, have been overlooked for really blunt remarks of L&R's chronic lock quality issues or ToW for problems with their Tulle lock mainspring design. Even a recent knock in poor taste on the late Mr. Dangler by one well-known builder was overlooked.