Inventory

The kit comes in the famous oblong cardboard box and is as usual the parts are packed in plastic bags, the etched plates safely tucked away at the bottom of the box and some of the larger components separately packed in corrugated cardboard.

There are two versions: the older one with a dark blue box (no E108) and the more recent on with a black box (E198). The colour of the box hardly seems important but it signals an important difference.

• The older version contains an open frame motor with a relatively crude gearbox.
• The newer one comes with a Mashima can motor with a decent drive mechanism. It also contains a reasonable manual.

Even when wrapped in gift paper the box is instantly recognisable

So if you can, get the one with the black box. As my wife bought it factory new I obviously got the new version.

As I said I did not bother to take photos at the start of the project, so the photos on this page are partly fished from the internet.