I also wonder where and what you've been reading about old Brother machines. My herd has its hackles up lol. Seriously though, I believe the Boutique machines are from the 70s and may have a dreaded plastic gear in them. I don't have one so can't be 100% positive. Haven't seen Tom here or on VSS for a while, he knows this era of Brother machines better than I do. I'm more knowledgeable of the 50s and 60s machines. Eventually I'll get a few 70s and 80s machines so I can get acquainted with them better.
Cari