Notes:
- Please don’t come to this thread to flame MSFS 2024. There are other threads for that. This is just about the unboxing and the Limited Collector’s Edition, itself. Thank you.
- This may be an excruciating amount of photos and over-analysis for some. Sorry. That’s how I roll.
Marketing picture
For reference, here is the marketing picture showing what you get inside:
Outer box
The outside box it shipped in. The box is heavy and large (you can see the dimensions on the box). Multiple things to note, here:
- Interestingly, although I ordered it a day after the LCE was put on sale, my carton # was in the 3000s. Does that mean 3000 people ordered it before I did, or does that mean that Aerosoft jumbled them up and shipped a box to me at random? I’m guessing #2.
- The individual numbering on my Antonov An-225 model did not at all match my carton #, leading me to further believe that there was no particular order in which numbers were given out.
- They said that 5000 copies of this Limited Collector’s Edition were created, yet the box says 5100. My guess is that if those extra 100 do exist, they probably go to various Microsoft, Asobo, Working Title, and other first-party partner employees.
- There’s a sticker over the month in the date code. (Underneath the sticker is a “9”.) Did they mess up the date, or was this ready a month early and something happened? Also interesting (to me, probably not to most people) is that this was made in China and sold by a European distributor, yet the date is in American format, as is the number “5,100” (I warned you up top: excruciating over-analysis).
The inner box, suspended by four foam corners. Interestingly, for the inner box, there were two pieces of tape on top of each other. The bottommost piece of tape was actually cut, indicating that someone had sealed the box, cut it open, and then re-taped it. I wonder if that is true for anyone else, too. (Is this related to the September-to-October date change in the previous picture?)
Inner box
After opening the inner box, you find a layer of thick paper/poster board covering everything else.
The contents inside are enclosed in a plastic bag to keep Mother Nature out.
Collectible retail box
The inner inner box. This is the collectible retail box from the marketing picture, above. It’s ginormous. It’s sturdy, but it’s also cardboard, so it’s not indestructible. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with mine.
Taking the lid off, finally, we get to the goods. That “ANSWER THE CALL” sheet on top is a letter to the fans from Jörg.
Letter to fans
Here is the other side of the piece of paper. I’m going to type it out so that anyone using translation software can read it (I am curious to know if the letter is in German for people receiving it from Aerosoft in the DACH region):
Expand for the text
Top layer
Underneath the letter to the fans, this is what you see. The left side contains a box with the An-225 model, in the middle and bottom are three components that make up the An-225 stand, and the right side is the steelbook, which, oddly enough, is not in the marketing picture.
That was just the first layer of stuff. There’s more underneath.
Middle layer
The next layer down, we have some assembly instructions for the An-225 on the left, and on the right is the sleeve for the collectible lithograph.
Under the lithograph is the keychain (top left), logo pin (bottom left), and various patches (right).
Some patches were on top of each other, so here’s everything I mentioned, spread out. For anyone using translation software, I’ll write out the various patches, starting from the upper-left and moving clockwise:
- Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, with the date: November 19th, 2024
- CARGO HOOK HELICOPTER
- AIR AMBULANCE
- NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AIR RACES
- SEARCH AND RESCUE
- AERIAL FIREFIGHTING WATERBOMBER
Collectible key art lithograph
Front of the collectible lithograph sleeve.
Back of the collectible lithograph sleeve. Unfortunately, if you wanted to save this sleeve for some reason, that white sticker does not come off without a fight.
Inside the sleeve, the lithograph is covered with yet another piece of paper. You can’t say this wasn’t well-packed.
And finally, the lithograph, itself.
An-225 model
Here’s what’s inside the model box. (By the way, if you wanted to buy the An-225 from Herpa, you can. It’s currently €60 as I post this. You won’t get this exact model, though, as the one in the LCE box is bespoke: It has the MSFS logo on the livery and on the stand. I’m also not sure if the retail one includes a stand.)
Here’s Mriya from the top. It’s quite heavy. I looked for the serial number and discovered that it’s not on the aircraft, itself, but instead on the stand.
And Mriya from the bottom. I don’t know what those two holes are, aft of the landing gears. (They are not for the stand. The stand goes around the gears.)
Steelbook
Here’s the steelbook’s cardboard sleeve. Looks the same as the Premium Deluxe Steelbook you can buy, except that this one says “AVIATOR” in silver, instead of “PREMIUM DELUXE” in gold.
And the steelbook next to its sleeve. I have to give one critique, here, and that’s that there’s nothing to indicate that the steelbook is an Aviator Edition steelbook. From here on out, everything looks the same as the steelbook in the Premium Deluxe version.
The interior of the steelbook is plastic, but indeed, the outside is metal.
On the right is a luggage tag. On the left is the other side of the “ANSWER THE CALL” sheet, with another letter from Jörg. Again, I will type it out for anyone using translation software:
Expand for the text
The luggage tag out of its protective holder. As you can see, there is a miniature airplane-style seatbelt attaching it to the lanyard, and it actually works.
Jörg said, “We want you to be able to show our love and appreciation for flight simulation during your travels.” I’m not sure if I will ultimately use the luggage tag on my luggage, though. I’ve had tags damaged and ripped off my bags before, and I have a feeling that if this one gets busted, Aerosoft won’t be replacing it.
The other side of the card in that luggage tag is the code you use to activate the game. Sadly, once you redeem it, Microsoft seems to think that you got this for free, so you get no Microsoft Rewards points for this purchase. (Also, this has been said in other places, but I’ll repeat it for anyone who does not know: The Limited Collector’s Edition will give you the Microsoft Store version of the sim. There is no LCE that gives you the Steam version.)
Bottom layer
At the bottom of the box, we find another box! Despite the two holes on the sides, this box was very hard to pull out. I had to turn the whole thing upside-down in order to get this box out.
That’s the last item in the collectible retail box.
Flight bag
Inside the bottommost box is the flight bag, wrapped in plastic.
It’s a pretty nice flight bag, with more pockets than I know what to do with.
The inside of the main flight bag compartment. I intend to put my paper charts in it. I also have an aviation headset attached to a Flight Sounds SOLO-GA that I could also store in the bag.
The end.
