Hello again Duke,

I see now, so the 95/96 stuff you mentioned with the MDF outer ply

were never covered with this assortment of satin flame Anniversary wraps

I am looking closely at the spurs on this kit

compared with those shown on the catalog page you posted

They are a similar style but not identical they might have been replaced at some point

I would be curious as to your theory also as is teverson-sr

I have done some further reading and learned also

that the wraps on these kits are only glued at the seams something that pans out with what I see here.

The problem of the wrap material splitting apart as in my case, seems to be fairly common to these kits also.

Not much love out there for these drums

I think they are still a hundred bucks worth of fun for sure

Pretty much as you said.

Eucalyptus is a genus of around 700 trees, rather than a single species. I spent a couple of years trying to exact information as to what species was used, even getting hold of the purchasing officer from Premier at the time.

Between that and my experience in the timber industry here in Oz, as well as visual inspection I have come to the conclusion it is most likely Spotted Gum, a very hard and naturally oily timber - hence there may have been issues with the glue sticking to it that holds the wrap on

All a theory of course.

Thanks Duke

I wonder why they decided on a wood that was so problematic like that

Could never find a reason why they sourced a timber from Australia for their kits, perhaps there was a supply problem with the Meranti at the time that forced the change.

Its actually a popular timber for kits here, Tama has also made limited run Starclassics out of it