The Heart Wants, What The Heart Wants. Makes No Sense.

[Addertooth]

I have wanted a Red Moiré Skyline for months. I ran a "Want to Buy" listing on this forum, which got over 270 reads but not a single nibble.

Every time I saw one on Ebay, either the Celluloid was cracked, or it went for some princely sum.

Finally, the stars and the moon lined up. It arrived today. I have a couple spectacular Skyline nibs; the pen will

probably get a transplanted nib. If feels a bit strange to get a pen which someone else has already done some

restoral work. I normally like the fun of doing a full restore, but beggars can't be choosers.

 

I have pens that are far more exotic, but this pen has drawn my desire far beyond it's rarity. It is almost humorous how much I wanted this pen.

 

 

Edited November 19, 2019 by Addertooth

[tamiya]

Glad you found your Grail lucky I wasn't chasing same

 

Didn't get time to look into the few that might've been at our recent downunder pen show, curious what's the attraction with a Skyline?

 

Right now I'd more familiar with the gas guzzling widowmaker Skylines by Japanese automaker Datsun/Prince/Nissan.

[Addertooth]

The Red Moire color on the Skylines are a hard color to find. I just like the red celluloid a lot. This one has one of the Early manufacture visualated (clear ink window) sections, which lets you know when you are low in ink. It is the standard size, with more Demi length versions being recently seen. At the moment, there is only 1 red moire left on Ebay. It is at $155 and has a cracked cap barrel.

 

I actually started to piece one together one part at a time, but could not find a cap barrel in good shape. It currently has a 1/10th 14k gold cap on it. Red and Gold do look nice together, but I wanted an all Red Moiré pen.

 

Edited November 19, 2019 by Addertooth

[inkstainedruth]

I understand entirely, Addertooth. There are pens that I lusted after the minute I saw them. I'll admit that a Skyline isn't one of them (I just don't like the look of the caps), but that Red Moiré is pretty, so I can certainly why you're so enamored of it, and wanted one that badly.

One of the pens I *really* wanted as a Plum Parker 51. Didn't want it because it was rare -- just because it was purple, and I really liked my first 51 a whole lot. Bid on a Demi sized one with a gold-filled cap on eBay and dropped out when it got to the low $70 US, and then watched the last five minutes. Went for $102 and change. Next one that came up, a month or two later, was a user grade one with a Lustraloy cap I got nervous and upped my maximum a couple times over the course of the week, but figured I wouldn't get it either, since I wasn't going to be home when the auction ended. Apparently, I was *really* good at bluffing that week, because I NEVER got outbid, and didn't hit my intermediate maximum bid, even with shipping. Go figure....

Congratulations on the acquisition.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Addertooth]

Ruth,

Bidding is definitely an art. Even after all of these years I have not mastered its nuances. It is certainly a good feeling to say "I won it with that bid?

Just as often, I stand back and am surprised by how some pens sell for. I do my due diligence and research most of the pens I bid on rather carefully.

Even so, when I see a pen go for a spectacular amount, I wonder if I missed some minute characteristic which merits the high price.

 

As for Skyline pens, they fit my hand exceptionally well. I must not be alone, as they were the top sellers in the USA in the mid 1940s. Some of them have

some really nicely constrained flex nibs. The ends of the nibs tend to be rounded/radiused in a way which reduces any "snags" on horizontal movements with pressure.

This is a really nice characteristic for doing flex nib writing. They tend to write on the "wettish" side, without being Waterman number 2 nib wet. As for the

exaggerated cap design, I am drawn to bold looking pens, I really like the Coronet series as well. Here is a picture of some Coronets which are currently

in the process of a restore. Because of some of the repairs are complex, they will likey not be fully restored for months.

 

Edited November 19, 2019 by Addertooth

[tamiya]

1999... wow I first joined fleaBay 20 years ago!

 

Scared to think how much $$ I could have saved if I didn't discover buying doodads thru the interwebs.

[Addertooth]

Tamiya,

Sadly, I had exhausted all other potential sources. The only two samples, which were actually for sale, was eBay. One of the two had a badly cracked cap.

[tamiya]

I sure admire your tenacity!!

 

No hope of getting spareparts remade with 3D printing?

 

Ill never get that disciplined. My buying habit is more Everything Also I Want.

[Addertooth]

If the part is solid colored, and they improve the physical strength of 3d parts, perhaps in the future. In the case of most complex colored celluloid, 3d printing cannot visually recreate the appearance.

[tamiya]

No it's actually not that hard to do a marbley tortoiseshell look with FDM which extrudes filament. The filament can be swapped between colours manually or you can get the filament maker to sell you some premixed "rainbow" I buy factory surplus filament for my mucking about and most of those cheap reels are in various mixed shades.

 

One can also add some tinting during the printing, just wield a Sharpie every layer as required.

 

 

PLA or ABS is pretty strong, more than enough for a pen cap or body.

 

Popped onto Thingiverse earlier tonite & some of the boffins there have even drawnup entire pens (minus nib & feed )

 

Also saw some clip on pocket clips for Kaweco Sport and Pilot Kakuno... hmmm... nah don't think that'll last in use.

 

 

Or farm the printing out to Shapeways, they'll print in anything from hard plastic to soft rubber and even sintered metal. Guess you'll need to get it painted by an airbrush artist.

[Addertooth]

In the case of pearlescent colors, the color becomes more difficult with 3d printing. Look at other online pictures of the Red Moiré pattern online, and you will understand my reticence on replicating it via 3d printing.

Strength remains to be a challenge with 3d printing. With SOME 3d printers you get better results, but rarely the strength of parts which are cast of the same material as the filament. The challenge remains to be the quality of bond between layers in the 3d printing. Certainly heated beds help, but not a total fix. A post-bake of the parts help, but are not a total fix. The glass and carbon fiber core filament gets good radial strength, but at the expense of not being applicable to pearlescent parts.... Don't get me wrong, 3d printing has many good things which can be said about it. For prototyping they are hard to beat. For making PLA forms for investment casting, they can be quite good as well. For having a part which another part (such as a section), presses in with a high amount of force, splitting can be the outcome.. with the split typically happening where the layers of the 3d print lack enough cohesion.

[tamiya]

Hows the original made? Is it turned from a solid billet of Red Moire material? Each unit would be unique?

 

The other problem with programming in the colour, every unit will be identical pattern

 

 

Theres various ways & means to get it done I guess, just depends how much resources One wants to throw at it. But if youve gotta pay commercial labour rates, the real thing is probably still cheaper.

 

Plus everything is only original, once!

[Addertooth]

My understanding was alternating layers of Pearl Red and black. Due to the taper towards the tail, I suspect that the tube of material was formed into the body shape. The Cap is probably the most undistorted example of how it was made.

 

[Misfit]

Very pretty pen. Congratulations.

[Addertooth]

Thank You Misfit. The pearlescent effect is quite hard to photograph. The shimmering changes depending upon light and the angle you view it at; this is hard to capture in a still photograph.

[Addertooth]

I bump this thread because another Red Moire has show up on eBay, after a 4+ month drought. It is standard sized Skyline.

I consider this the most desirable color of the Skylines, and their availability, as a whole (and restored) pen is uncommon.

Keywords for searth "Red Skyline", happy hunting.

 

This is not my pen, and I am not associated with this item. Just trying to help the people here out. I know how long I struggled to find one in good shape.

Edited March 20, 2020 by Addertooth