1970s was a great time for Hobby electronics enthusiasts. They could simply wonder into the Radio Shack and pick up a great Science Fair Kit and possibly a handful of the SN76477s for shits and giggles. Those times are long gone however the manuals and pictures of these kits can be viewed at http://my.core.com/~sparktron/pbox.html
One thing I find very interesting is the Point to Point and Surface mount techniques for the kits. I’ve been considering making all my circuits surface mount like that. They would be just fo’ show with some LEDs behind them.