Hi Matt,
I noticed that you are a member of the Canberra Astronomical Society.
I'll be there on Thursday for the AGM so if your going we can have a chat and I may be able to answer some questions for you.
I have owned mine since May and overall I find it a great telescope and I cannot fault it, I find the optics are brilliant when comparing to my Celestron C8 "orange tube" but in all fairness there is a 30 year difference in the optics so that is a bit like chalk and cheese.
cheers
