Hi fullcapwearer.....my guess is the factory they`re using may not be too experienced with making Fullcaps--you`d never know what goes on ``behind the scenes`` or are they using multiple factories, so the consistency of the orders isn`t there?.....who knows--- pure conjecture on my part. Certainly though, the duration of your ` wait ` is totally off the wall--no way would I wait that long,especially at that price too. I certainly think you should give John a chance to supply you a nice new system....... I won`t clog-up the thread with any more pics., but if you`d like me to mail you pics of the template I made for that system, just let me know [I posted them on a thread a while back in any case ] The knots on this system are really well-done and invisible.... I can only speak from my own experience, and dark hair is notoriously difficult to `hide` the knots on, but I`ve always been very pleased with my Toplace systems in that respect. From the pic you posted last night, it looked like the hair was too dense on the flaps at the very least --can`t see the knots obviously..... I think you`ll be far happier with a Toplace system anyway..what have you to lose ? I normally just order 4-inch hair length, and bodywave ..... you might like a slightly higher density than what I wear, but at least the pics give a ball-park image ---- if you think mine might be a little too light for what you`d like or your age , you can simply ask John to ` tweak` the order ----the factory will have my specs. on file --wouldn`t be a big deal to ` adjust` them to your liking....cheers for now.