Hello All, Plastic is best drawn out over a strong hive of bees. 60,00 plus. Either with a strong honey flow or by constant feeding. Main reason for the bad rap given plastic foundation: Beekeepers put a 2lb package on plastic foundation in April and the weather is too cold for good wax drawing. They blame the plastic for slow progress. Beekeepers put a three frame nuc with 17 frames of plastic and blame the plastic if progress seems slow. Bees only expand the nest as the need arises. DO you see a nest in the wild in which the bees have built a bunch of empty comb for the future honey flow? Also a quart of syrup every couple weeks will NOT get plastic drawn. Be prepared to feed plenty syrup to get plastic drawn if your intention is to draw plastic with syrup. Good luck 49 ers! I am confident enough plastic will work for you I would skip the trials and put into production but the first step down from large cell might still need to be done in wax and the final downsize done in plastic. I have not tried small cell so am not speaking from experence and only saying what others have said. Sincerely, Bob Harrison .