The photo below shows two hardly run variations of Evening Star. The one in front is a 1979 manufactured Hornby N209 Evening Star. The one at the rear was produced by Minitrix in or after February 1987 - the month after partnership with Hornby had ceased. Date information is obtained from the Technical Data Sheet which is tucked away in the box with every model. They are labelled with the month and year that the sheet was printed ready for the next production run. Many of these sheets have never been found or opened.

Pat Hammond's excellent "Story of Rovex Volume 3" reports that 15,000 Black 9F models were sold as Hornby Minitrix from 1975 to 1987.  The Evening Star, which was introduced by Hornby in 1975 sold another 4,000.   Minitrix also listed both models in their German Catalogues and presumably sold many more of both models - the black 51-2058-00 and the Evening Star as 51-2041-00.

Initially, both models were sold in the polystyrene and card boxes. The green Evening Star model was later sold in perspex boxes - but I have only ever seen Hornby Minitrix 9Fs in polystyrene and card.  Evening Star in its later correct Br Green livery, I have only ever seen in Minitrix Perspex boxes.  There may have been a period before 1987 when other combinations of colour and boxes existed.