Philips`s MA is probably the best SOX lantern ever designed, I`m surprised they made the gear shoe version though, as a money saving exercise, its unusual that Philips didn`t realize early on that it was cheaper to fit the gear at the back of lantern, and cover it all with the same bowl in one go!The Mk 1 MA probably was the best Group A GRP SOX lantern ever made - but the gear in bowl model was horrendous.
Why you should be surprised that they ever made the original gear enclosed model I cannot comprehend.,
When the MA lantern was introduced, the majority of sales were for the remote geared models.
The difference between that, and the gear enclosed version, was the increased length of the attractive aluminium end section necessitated by the space requirement for the gear.
Had the GE version been introduced with the gear in the bowl, its lack of aesthetics would have precluded it from achieving satisfactory sales.
Several years later, after capturing the market, they reduced their costs, (but not the price!), and stuck the gear in the bowl of of the MA50 to produce the MA90 GE, and in the bowl of the MA60 to produce the MA50 GE.
When the gear in bowl model was introduced we never bought any, and used the remote geared model instead.