Thanks Orv, my Epi case arrived today, and so did the guitar! The case actually is nicer than the one that was picked in the ad. It's actually a TKL. Guitar fits perfect. While it may be Korean, it feels pretty good. There is one small spot on the body you could call a flaw, a very slight shallow area, over sanding over sanding or something, but compared to the Epi's I've played, this is like a cusom shop instrument!
I set the action down low, and there is only two spots where a fret is a bit high. Neck very straight, finish nice, the tuners feel good, the control cavity is shielded, PUs sound good, no noise. How do Epiphone stay in business?
My collection will be growing with the MIJ Tokai next.
Ishibashi were fantastic to deal with. Guitar left Japan on Monday, sat in customes for two days in the USA, then to me the next day. I did have to pay about 9% COD (total guitar and shipping) for customs duty fee. Still, it cost me less than an Epi 'Bird, and is a better instrument!
Thanks to everyone here for helping me out!