It's Done

   It took a month to get done, but I can finally reveal "what's in the box":

   I ordered this on E-Bay in December, and it arrived well before Christmas. However, I couldn't start work on it until the 26th, since it was my gift from my wife.
   I also must thank her for her patience, since I took over the island in our kitchen for the build (I don't have much space in my "man room").

   I did encounter more than a few 'issues' along the way, not the least of which was finishing the guitar. It was supposed to have come with a flame maple veneer top. It was a maple veneer, but it sure as hell wasn't flame top.
   After trying to dye/stain it (I was going for a "sunburst" effect) unsuccessfully, I decided simply to "paint it black"

   Which was a lot of fun itself. I also had problems fitting the neck (which I resolved), and installing the electronics (which I partially resolved, although I may have to have our in-houe tech guru fix some minor problems).
   But I got finished, and here's the end result, along with my 45 year old flat-top.

   I will admit I'm a little more than a lot rusty, since I haven't played a whole bunch in 30 years or more, but I've been back at it for a couple of months now. I'll also admit there's no chance I'll ever be even 1/50th as good as guys like Page, Clapton, Van Halen or Slash, but hey! All one can do is try.
   The question now is: Would I ever build another kit guitar? No. After making the purchase of the kit, all the ancillary stuff I needed to go with it, the trials and tribulations building it and the time it took, it's not a project I'm willing to try again. In fact, my total cost is running almost the same as buying a factory built Les Paul copy would have been.
   Still, it's done, and sounds pretty darn good too!

Rock On