Hello,

nope, it was ULTRA dry - was a very old particle board stored into a dry place

Is that a Camaro in the driveway Steps?

I drilled quite a few vent holes at the top, the whole inside of smoker is damp and the condensation is even more prevalent on the product - very noticeable especially when I try and smoke cheese and as you said, the smoking result is quite poor.

You problems is primarily the wood.
Firstly you don't obviously care about your health or food quality. Or you wouldn't of used such a toxic wood.
That wood is weetbix and will always draw moisture.
Although proper venting is an issue here it is also far from your greatest concern.
There are woods suitable for being the case of the smoker. Two are cedar, and oak.
These have to be properly cured first, one is to charcoal the inside by burning, another is two run a number of hot smokes first through the system so the carbon soot and oils can seal
Just like a wok.
However I suggest you give away your attempt with wood. Don't be a cheapskate and build out of metal or ultimately buy a s/s model.
Any other solution is a joke.

it's not particle board - when I bought it I specifically asked for something with NO chemicals / glues ...whatsoever as I was aware of the issues. It's like a hard pressed wood - I don't exactly know the name of it - several people told me that there are no nasty's in this one. Anyway - I don't mind giving up on it, I just want to know if the proper smokers like Bradley ( sorry for the name mix-up ) have this condensation issue as well or not.

Like the thinking.
We used to smoke in old 45 gal drums.. pile dust in the bottom.. few holes thru top section for rods to hang fish, and damp hessian sack over the top...and leave over night.
Then there was the old mans one made out of and old up right cloths dryer.. basically same method.
And a friends.. and old 4 draw filing cabinet with a plywood door and small lpg burner in the bottom
Smokers.. well larger scale are very tolerant of design.. but the moment one starts to use a burner u also need a tray of water ....going up.. burner.. chip container, water tray... racks.  If dont cant control temps and a safety thing.. catches fat drips stops them catching fire around the burner and messing up the chip smoulder
From there it is just a matter of getting small enough burner flame for cold smoke,  exit flow rate just enough to release enough heat for cold smoking.

And making it big enough....u will find that say u come home with a good feed fish  fill the top 2 or 3 racks and think "what a waste of space..." and start to fill up with chicken drum sticks, sausages.. what ever is around....
Then progess to maybe a pork belly, or roast beef....
So do not skimp on size...
 Old school Rule of thumb be it a garden , tropical fish tank what ever.. decide what u need (at that point in time) and increase by at least 1/3

I do think (just my own personal thought) an important part of design is height greater than base dimensions.. eg 45 gal drum, filing cabinet etc.

Lots of good materials can construct in..  recycled tongue and groove flooring...un treated ply... construction/ boxing timber...

What about an old oven cut down and altered to suit?regulary cold smoke in mine with no condensation issues.The flue has an adjustable dampner in it to adjust air flow and a gas ring to hot smoke,cook. oh and keep ya chips dry (hotwater cupboard etc) less moisture and resin in the UFO.

This dude has a setup that would suit you

I use large manuka chips from Bunnings - the sealed 1Kg bags ( 12 bucks a bag ) - I thought they are good.... I keep them inside the house in a plastic box to keep them dry.