So, I got my hands on the Make: Electronics Components Pack 1. In my best Vader voice - "Impressive."

First off, the case - hands down, this is one of the nicest storage containers I've ever seen. I've asked MakerSHED to consider selling these individually - they're that nice. (If you agree, add your voice to mine and email MakerSHED and ask them to put them up for sale.)

The pack comes with an inventory sheet, complete with labels for the individual bins and what you'll find inside them. As you can see, this thing is packed - over 350 pieces. I really do NOT want to add up the cost of all the items I purchased that are found in this kit - for $99.00, I'm sure it'll make me cry a bit. Big man-sized tears. If you are serious about following through the book and performing the experiments for Chapters 1 and 2, you'll save a bundle by buying this pre-loaded components pack.

The bottom portion of the case holds many of the larger items - spools of wire, breadboard, AC adapter, and more. The kit even comes with pre-trimmed patch wire - with heavy 22 or 20 gauge end tips exposed. I wish I'd had these when I started! You also get a whole bunch of patch cables (with gator clips on end) - way more than I purchased initially. It looks like the team at MakerSHED really put some thought into what to include that would make the reader's experiences better.

The top portion of the case contains all the smaller bits and pieces -resistors, potentiometers, capacitors, and more. There's even an X-acto knife for trimming away the walls of the spare relay - YES, they included a spare relay just as Chapter 2, Experiment 7 requires!

You've got fuses, batteries, battery holders, those crazy-difficult-hard-to-find 6027 programmable unijunction transistors, and a whole slew of LEDs.

(And for those who pre-ordered, they've thrown in some extras that you'll enjoy... )

The first thing I thought of when I inventoried my kit was how easy this is going to be for me, as a parent, to introduce my son to electronics one day... (if he's interested). Then I realized that, if I were a teacher, this would be something to recommend to those students (and their parents) who show an interest in electronics. Finally, I realized how easy MakerSHED has made it to organize classes around this material - we've got the book and now the components kits - I have a feeling we'll be hearing about "Make: Electronics" classes popping up soon.

If you've ordered the kit, let us know your own thoughts on the pack. And when I get my hands on Pack 2, I'll be sure to let you know my initial thoughts as well...