I have not used their Kits but have used forcast blanks.
As far as i'm concerned you picked a winner.
I have built a couple rods from forcast blanks in 4 and 5 pc. They cast good and make a nice looking rod with that dark blue blank.

As for the spine: assemble the pieces for straightness and dont worry about the spine.

[This message has been edited by Smernsky (edited 17 January 2005).]