I was looking at the data sheets and they look close... I have 4 dead ms1051 pills sitting here, and I have 4 used 2sc2879, I was thinking they might make for a decent swap without having to change much (IF ANYTHING AT ALL)
MS1051 http://www2.microsemi.com/datasheets/MS1051 datasheet Rev B.pdf
2sc2879 http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datasheet/toshiba/1468.pdf
MS1051 http://www2.microsemi.com/datasheets/MS1051 datasheet Rev B.pdf
2sc2879 http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datasheet/toshiba/1468.pdf