Waldo, the DCG plugins are not for everybody; that's why Eric sells them separately and why he provides a trial version of each one. In my experience they are worth every cent; not only do the one's I use (and I don't need or use all of them)do the job well but they save me a lot of time - if you are a professional then that means a lot. As you imply, it's possible to do some of the things that the plugins do without them but it would take a heck of a lot longer. On top of that Eric often adds a new feature (such as the 'apply shader to selected items' feature for Shader Ops)without charging existing users AND he is always happy to give help or advice here.