What???? Don't tell FSM, FOS, Bar Mills, Blair Line and all the builders of Craftsman wood kits in HO and N they have it all wrong and should only do cast resin kits.
rich
Look closely at the wood grain. Laser cut wood kits are popular for two major reasons: Much lower capital cost than injection molding and many people love working with wood. The wood grain is not close to scale in HO. It's principle intrinsic advantage is in staining (and the only reason I work with it even in O scale).
The point isn't that resin is superior...frankly, I don't like working with resin. Rather, the advantages of using the real material isn't as great as in larger scales. This is just like people going to great lengths to get real water on their layout even though it isn't scale.
Look around the hobby. You see styrene 1:20.3 models and wooden 1:160.
If wood is so superior, why do companies like Cimarron Works make resin kits? The molds for resin kits are expensive and require quality masters. It sure seems to me that high end rolling stock has mostly shifted towards either resin or styrene (San Juan, Grandt)...while structures have shifted to laser cut. I have little doubt that a major component of this is the massive cost and time FSM would have to invest to produce a massive lumber mill in resin or styrene is a component in why they haven't offered such a kit.