Checking in with an update and a follow-up question.
I have since changed guilds and the current one has a few players engaged in a 1.9 thread, which I have been invited to participate in. I have 8/9 blueprints and am awaiting the results on three arcs which should level soon, two on the 1.9 thread and one with a new friend who doesn't mind me tagging along as she self-levels with a couple of friends. So I will hopefully have a complete set soon.
So now I am thinking about how to get the goods. I am still in EMA, so trading up is not an option. I have heard about players who sell Arc "kits", which I gather is on a goods for FP's basis. I expect that I will be able to find such a player with my new contacts. But I am wondering what I should expect in terms of cost for such a kit, and the mechanics of swapping goods for FP's, potentially across guilds.
Up-thread I also mentioned a better guild on a new world. I am currently engaged in an Arc creation thread there (Not a 1.9, but a different construct), and hopefully will soon also be in the position to go looking for a broker. I'm still in Iron Age on that world, so the possibility of establishing an Arc is pretty exciting!