first Classics (WAS Apollo DN systems)

The DN discussion left me thinking about how classic computer collecting was presented to the outside world. One of the things that stood out rapidly was that I would not recommend an Apollo as a first foray into the classic world (I know that in this circumstance it isn't a first foray, just thinking in general). So, I started thinking about what would be a good starter system. So far, I've come up with Sun-3 or Sun-4 (good availability of information, easy software accesablilty (NetBSD works well, Solaris/SunOS isn't bad if you can find it, although Sun licensing is the strictest of all the options here, with no transfers allowed). Open hardware, easy-availability of parts and upgrades. Headers come with, SunOS 4 comes with cc. Silicon Graphics IRISes of the ARCS era. Goodly amount of information (sgistuff.g-lenerz.de and futuretech are put out/aided/etc by listmembers yay!!) Software is harder to come by, NetBSD isn't very well supported on these beasts and IRIX is pricy (but the license transfers with the machine). Compilers available for 5.3, headers for 6.2 and 6.5. Parts are available readily for many classic IRISes, less so for the biggish-iron (ultramicros? what would you call those...) machines or newer machines. High cool factor. I ruled out IBM (non-PCs) because of software and some unusual hardware choices, DEC due to hard-to-find hardware parts on VAX and the highly confusing mess with Alpha (play the "will my machine run VMS or Tru64" game - step right up, watch the pea...) Apollo because of hard-to-find S/W and limited information on the net. HP 9000 could be a contender, too. - good NetBSD support, (currently) free HP-UX, good online documentation, well-built machines. You'll note this is pretty much limited to UNIX workstations, because of my space limitations and my assumption that UNIX will make for a easier transition. Any other ideas?