Is the footswitch plastic?

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The footswitch is entirely made of a non-sparking zinc alloy and can apparently survive a 5kg mass being dropped from 40cm. They are used by the military and in anti-vandal applications.  It is by far the most expensive part of a Horrothia pedal.

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Explain the gain structure of the Type One.

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The gain structure within the Type One I worked on at length to get it set up just right for the maximum headroom for the BBD delay IC, and so it gives a healthy satisfying output both bypassed and when engaged. When bypassed, the input signal is buffered and split to both outputs. With a 1V pk/pk input signal, you get 1V pk/pk from both outputs, so in a stereo amp setup it is a 6dB boost. When the effect is engaged (in stereo mode) you get a very bump on the L (dry) output (1.1Vp/p) and the R (wet) is around 1.5Vp/p. This ratio between dry and wet is taken straight from measurements I took from my own 1979 Boss CE-1, and A/B'd it at length to get it just right; by ear, and by maths. In mono mode (only L jack plugged in) the summed wet/dry signal modulates between about 0.36V and 1.35V.

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How close is the Type One to the Boss CE-1?

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The max and min delay time of the Type One is trimmed to be exactly that of my 1979 Boss CE-1; so the sway and motion is exactly like that unit.  The LFO waveform is also identical to that in the CE-1 which is quite mathematically beautiful and unlike any other chorus effect that I've examined.  The Type One doesn't have the same preamp as the CE-1; it has a high impedance (1Mohm) input perfect for high impedance sources such as passive guitars.

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The Type One has one knob?  What does it adjust?

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The single knob adjusts the speed of the LFO, the depth is fixed.  If you fix the modulation width (or depth), the ear perceives a faster modulation as a deeper effect, so arguably the depth control isn't required.  IMHO the Boss engineers who designed the SDD-320, Dimension C and CE-1 were geniuses for recognising this.  I'm a believer in the connection between simplicity and beauty, and as a gigging guitarist too many controls often means repeated or unmusical combinations which get in the way when speed in the studio or on stage is needed.