I liked the look of the Hero 856 and bought one. It has a number of classic design elements, like the stepped metal end caps and ball clip, giving it a wonderful vintage look. While waiting on it, I read a translated blog that referred to the Type 28 fountain pen made by Golden Star and others, and still made by Hero. Am I correct that the 856 is the modern Type 28?
So then I had to get the Golden Star to compare and they are virtually the same pen, with different nibs, imprints, and two visibly updated parts. Photo of both below, Hero is the top pen.
The blog gave me the impression that the Type 28 was something of an icon in the Chinese pen world, so I thought it was possible the very knowledgeable people here might have some additional information and perspectives on this pen. I did search FPN and didn’t see ‘Type 28’ but my apologies if this has been discussed before.