That's not a recent thing. I've had that replica here for years. I built it during the first lockdown (it only took a day anyway)
I've got their PDP-8 too. Really great kits.
I think the designer was working on a PDP-10 too. But got sidetracked.
I've got their PDP-8 too. Really great kits.
I think the designer was working on a PDP-10 too. But got sidetracked.
Glad to hear the kit is great, helps me make up my mind!
And the frontpanel is truly a work of art. The multilayer printing on the plexiglas in particular, but also the surround.
I soldered it all in a few hours but I'm very experienced. Even if you're new to soldering it'll be fine as long as you follow the instructions and take it slow. Double-check every switch type (there's several different types!) and position before you solder it. Make sure all the LEDs fully hit the board so they point the same way, the switches are aligned etc.
It's really an amazing kit. You can feel the love that went into it.
If there's anything I'd change I'd make it 1:1 scale. And the switches don't really feel like the real thing. I've played with a real PDP-11 and the switches really have that "someone paid 100 grand for this back in the day" feel to them. That satisfying affirmative thump. Which is very hard to replicate with off the shelf components of course.