Search the Community

I have, I think, just completed my baby collection of pens etc. with a Retro 1951 rollerball. Apart from a Kaweco Sport EDC (kept in a Kaweco tin), I have six ‘standard’ fountain pens and six ‘other’ writing instruments, of which 2 are FP demonstrators and one is a semi-retired Sheaffer Prelude FP (gift). The ‘standard’ side The ‘non standard’ side The second group includes a Sheaffer ballpoint, a ‘Kerry’ mechanical pencil and the rollerball. Here is the rollerball on its own: The ‘Tornado by Retro 1951’ “Albert [Einstein]” in all its glory. My Tornado came from Cult Pens UK and so was very well packaged, arriving in a sealed dedicated cardboard box-cum-stand, with instruction booklet. I even got a promotional Retro key ring thrown in, along with the trademark Cult Pens sweets! The pen is all-metal construction and so fairly heavy. The action to extend and retract the rollerball itself is smooth and consistent, if somewhat heavier than my Sheaffer Prelude ballpoint. In the hand, it is slightly top-heavy: not an issue for me, but it could be a problem for someone with small hands. It is tapered to enable comfortable holding, but this is not as well achieved as, once again, the Sheaffer, which is always a pleasure to hold. By contrast, with the Retro 51, after a period of intensive writing (to test it) I found my hand becoming rather fatigued. This is not a major issue for me, as I bought it mainly for use on envelopes and in situations where a normal fountain pen might end up smudging - or worse. Extended writing is not really on the agenda - that’s what my fountain pens are for! The supplied OEM (Schmidt) rollerball is surprisingly good. I’m strictly an F or EF sort of person with fountain pen nibs, but this M rollerball was lovely. Smooth, no skipping* - even with Clairefontaine paper - and no feathering or bleed through to speak of, even on cheap and nasty paper. I was pleasantly surprised that the ink, once dry, tolerated being wiped with water-soaked tissue paper - there was some greyish smearing but the writing remained perfectly legible. Overleaf, on the same piece of paper, there was quite a lot of bleed through from the wetting, but that is not surprising. So, not ‘waterproof’, but certainly ‘water-resistant’ enough for use on envelopes, unless they are going to the Tropics! From my perspective, this rollerball makes a nice decorative and very practical addition to my modest collection. * I write with an angle of about 30 degrees, using very little pressure. Mostly cursive script, but not textbook perfect (i.e. never lifting the pen). It would seem, from a few experiments, that many variations on these conditions do produce significant skipping on some smooth papers, so Caveat Emptor.

Hello everyone! I'm brand new to the world of fountain pens, and have a couple beginner's questions regarding my new Retro 51 Tornado. It came with a medium nib, which writes nicely, but I'd like to purchase a nib that allows me to vary my line stroke and write more calligraphically and personally. Before I look into flexible or italic nibs, however, I was wondering if my pen can even take replacement nibs; the nib doesn't seem to come apart from the nib assembly/ feed, so even if I knew the correct size to buy I'm not sure if my pen could take it. Do I have to purchase an entire new nib assembly (in which case, where should I look to buy them?) or does the nib disconnect in a way I'm unaware of? Thank you all, Alec

I recently purchased a Retro 51 Deluxe Stealth Tornado Rollerball (the all-black one), which I'm enjoying. The refill says "Retro 51" on it, but is this actually made by Schmidt? My favorite roller refill is the Schmidt 8127 Long Capless Rollerball Refill in medium, blue, but that won't fit in this pen. Is there a substantially similar Schmidt that will fit the Volcano? Thanks, Gary

Retro 51 Limited Edition Tornado Popper Surfin’ Rollerball Pen Surfin' is the only life. The only way for me. Now surf, surf with me.” -“Surfin” - The Beach Boys Acrylic barrel printed with classic board stripes Accented with antique silver trim Numbered Edition of 1,261 pieces Packaged in a matching gift tube Length: 5" Available at https://www.airlineintl.com/product/retro-51-limited-edition-tornado-popper-surfin-rollerball-pen we are only official distributor that has these unopened in stock.

We are happy to announce Retro 51's latest Limited Edition Tornado Popper 'JINGLE BELLS'! Limited to 850 pieces. Retail: $35 Call toll free 855-565-1818 or email orders@airlineintl.com to get yours before they run out! You can also order through our website.

We still have available a great selection of the latest Retro 51 Tornado Poppers! Dinosauria - Retail $35 Bouquet - Retail $35 Surfin - Retail $49 Breakaway (Soccer) - Retail $37 Be sure to check our our website for more!!