I don't have a pony in this race, but the way I feel about it after reading the thread is this:
REL needs to focus all his attention on paying back people who want to be paid back as quickly as possible.
He needs a blog where he offers full transparency: everything he has been doing to make amends, every casting he makes, every time he touches the airbrush, EVERYTHING. It won't pay people back, but it'll show good faith.
He should ignore the people spewing hate and focus on making reparations, because I know from experience that listening to the hatred and vitriol absolutely kills your spirit and makes it difficult to live up to what you said you would do.
He should continue to keep in touch with people who are still in his corner.
Five years after the post, not to mention all the time before that, is a long time to still be trying to make amends. I'd certainly be frustrated. Hell, I was ready to pull the plug on DeAgostini after only one year past when they promised to send Pack 15 (which, thankfully, arrived last month). So yeah, anyone who's upset has every right to be! But I also know that pressing the attack and trying to get your pound of flesh produces ZERO results and only succeeds in, as I said, killing the spirit of the person making an effort to pay people back. Thus, you're not just hurting REL if you're doing this: you're hurt every single member of the forum who is trying to get either a refund or their kit back. You're definitely justified in how you feel, but expressing it like that does nobody any good.