60th birthday gift.
My sis surprised me with a centenary edition 221K which has the crinkle effect finish for my birthday - it has the blue badge. Evidently she purchased it from a lady in Canada and had it shipped to Scotland. This is a lovely gift. The machine had just been serviced and is in reasonable condition. Well I think it is, but not entirely sure since the stench from the case was just awful, stomach turning, so much so that I've not done anything other than give iT a cursory look over. For the past month I've had the machine it's its case in a plastic bag with open containers of ground coffee and baking soda to try reduce the pong. This has only been marginally successful so tonight I bit the bullet and took the case outside to scrub. I've stripped off the black vinyl and cardboard padding to uncover a lovely wooden case with dovetailed joints. I've scrubbed it with bleach to kill the pong. This is partially successful but won't be completed until I take off all the bits and pieces to get every last scrap of vinyl and cardboard off. I should have taken the locks etc off first before I started - wise after the event. I think I'm going to be left with a really sturdy box when I've finished cleaning it up. I'm not sure if I should try to complete the renovation by lining with felt before covering with sticky back vinyl or if I should paint the box to make it quite a unique item. I'm not really looking at re-sale value. I know personally I'd rather buy a machine with a fresh smart case than a foul smelling original tatty condition one. Anyway I think it was really sweet of my sis to buy me such a lovely gift. The machine and accessories are currently wrapped in a stout plastic bag with open bags of baking soda and ground coffee to absorb any lingering stink from the box. This is a good way to remove musty smells so I'm hoping to be able to look over it properly in a few weeks time. I honestly have never smelt such a dreadful pungent musty smell in my life.