Hello Mad Scientist,
If the NON Smoke and Sound is avaible to you at a price you can afford they are still fun.One problem being I don't know any place that sells the non S&S board if you need to replace your's if it goes bad,but you can still up-grade to a S&S version although it would be costly for you to do so.It is much better to pay the additional cost at the start,you get a lot better tank and the parts are available for them if ever needed. BIGMIG