Just had a closer look, the back door is a little unusual - it seems to have "Made in Japan" etched on a metal plate. That said, this still just looks like a second batch K1000 with some fabric glued on.

Sad to say, I don't think Trading Standards would be interested or able to do anything. They aren't making any false claims there, I could legally describe my orange ME Super as a "Special Limited Edition" providing I didn't try to claim that it was a genuine Pentax factory version. It's special and it's limited in that I have no intention of making another identical one and it's not a standard example. I'd imagine K1000s with fabric glued to the top plate probably are rare, as most people didn't stick things to their K1000!

K1000 prices in general strike me as ridiculous, certainly BIN ones. I regularly see MXs go for about the same prices, the MX is a much nicer camera to use with an informative viewfinder, self timer, DOF preview and the options to add motor winders, databacks, different focussing screens, etc.

Same here. I could do with a couple of K series 52mm lens caps but I'm not haggling with someone who thinks £12 is a fair price for a lens cap. Try £5 and we might be able to do a deal!

Our local Tesco has them, I quite enjoy using them. The problems only start when you have lightweight items or more than a bag of shopping, but to be fair I don't think they're really designed for that. I tend to use them if I'm buying a pack of sandwiches or a couple of things to top-up the fridge.

I'm waiting for another M 80-200mm zoom. Paid £13 for this one BIN!

Discoverys aren't all aluminium - the inner body is steel with aluminium outer panels bolted to it. The roof is steel which is handy for magnetic aerial mounts.

It's one of the thousands (if not millions) of Hong Kong made K1000s, only difference is that someone stuck a bit of fabric to the top plate.

Be a bit careful about billing something as a special edition. You can safely say "Rare special edition metallic blue Spotmatic" but if you try to claim it's a factory paint job you might potentially end up in hot water. I can say my orange MES is a limited edition (as I have no intention of making another identical one)!

It'd be even better if mine actually worked, unfortunately it seems to have a problem whereby the shutter refuses to cock on the first wind after a few days. The second and subsequent windings-on behave perfectly, so I might try dribbling a bit of lighter fluid in to see whether that frees things up a bit.

I'm really glad that I don't have sunroofs! The door is still wonky but it closes properly, so there's not much I can do.

If I've got it properly muddy I put about £4 in the garage jetwash and blast the underside thoroughly before finishing off with a foam brush and rinse on the visible bits. I don't find much rot as a result.

Had an ME Super a few months back with the same problem, it did eventually fade after I replaced the light seals and attacked the whole camera with a cotton bud dipped in lens cleaning spray. Of course, I then found that the camera underexposes unless you set the ISO to half the speed of the film...

I've been replacing Land Rover door hinges. Now I need to get everything realigned as apparently their approach to panel gaps and tolerances was "make everything adjustable" so while all is properly attached it doesn't line up too well!

I'm not sure whether the Jessops AF TC was much improved over their PK-A fit 2x one, but...

After finding that cropped images from my Pentax-A 200mm f4 were sharper than images taken using the same lens with the 2x TC, I unscrewed the glass bits and turned it into a macro extension tube with auto contacts!

Sad to say I was leaning to that conclusion. Mine awaits a cheap SMC Tak 55mm f1.8 (they must exist - I had a very nice Pentax-F 80-200mm for a tenner last week which is perfect now I've wiped a bit of mould off the back of the front element).

At present the only M42 lenses I own are an SMC Tak 135mm f3.5 and a Super Tak 35mm f3.5, the former being bought as it would fit the ES II while the latter came attached to a rather nice KM. The 35mm would be ok for a film test but persuading the meter to activate in stop-down mode is a bit of a pain, I suspect dirty contacts as it works if you half press the shutter and then click the stop-down switch up and down a few times.

WD-40 and newspaper. That'll get it going!

Talking of fires, I must make more shredded paper briquettes for winter. We've got one of those press thingies that you fill with soaked newspaper, squeeze, then leave the resulting brick to dry out for a few days. Burns surprisingly well, especially if soaked in WD-40...