AA MiniMag Collection - Part 4

[souptree]

I remember when I first started to seriously collect these, I would look at turbodog's, will's and sizzle's collections and just drool uncontrollably. I still do that from time to time when I catch a pic of a weinrot.

I am curious -- who are the newer MiniMag collectors these days? I'm sure there are some lurkers to this thread who haven't come forward and are quietly building their collections. Please introduce yourselves!! You do not need 200 Maglites to post in this thread!!!!!!

:twothumbs

 

[Black Rose]

Not sure I qualify as a collector, as I currently only have 3 Minimags and they all have been modified (and are used on occasion).

I have a blue one and two black ones; they've all been modified with Nite Ize LEDs and one has the Nite Ize IQ switch.
I kept the parts so I can restore them back to original.

I also have a 2AA MagLED Minimag, which is going to be modified with a SSC P4 soon.

Not a lot of choice on these locally....even the normal run of colours is hard to come by.

 

[Flipside]

Please introduce yourselves!!

For me, one of the greatest things to share with a child is a common interest. How awesome it is to connect at *that* level... Instead of surfing the net for all the garbage out there, we check out CPF to see what's up.

Yes, we're guilty as accused: we look at 'flashlight porn.'

If you don't have kids, or haven't expreienced something like this - well, I don't expect you to understand. It's not easy to put into words, but the feeling when my 12 year old son brings his friends in to see 'the collection' - well, it brings a tear to my eyes...

 

[turbodog]

Amazing. If you don't mind me asking, how many of these did you order from them?

Turbodog, what is that part # tell you / is this an "official" new color?

Some observations in no particular order.

1. mag doesn't maintain a list of released colors, especially the harder ones, so there's no way to *really* know.

2. the part # is listed above in prior posts. it doesn't match the format of mag's #s so far, but mag may have a new scheme or this one simply may not adhere to it. again..... no way to really know.

3. even if it's a mismatched jade or whatever, it does look a good it different than anything I have.

4. i like it, and it has a spot in my collection.

 

[will]

Amazing. If you don't mind me asking, how many of these did you order from them?

Turbodog, what is that part # tell you / is this an "official" new color?

Like Turbodog - some observations..

Mag seems to keep a part number for it's standard colors, and some of the runs for special colors or new colors.

The package some of the lights are in can be mismatched, or labeled 'assorted'

within any particular color- there can be variations - some lighter, some darker, some with a different color hue.

then there are the companies that have Mag do special runs. Action Lights now has the darker color orange, Wall*Mart has some variations of purple.

The anodized color is a dye that is applied to the processed aluminum. add a little red to blue and you have a different color blue ( or even purple ) If the setting tank is not hot enough, the color will be somewhat lighter.

 

[sizzlechest]

Very interesting indeed.

While we are on the subject of color variations, the old school gold color (ebay seller natlsports from a while back) and the modern gold color are quite different. The old school is a muted gold color and the newer are a bright / yellow gold. They show quite different next to each other, again a nice addition to any collection.

I'll post pictures at some point.....

Happy hunting folks!

 

[souptree]

I got my order yesterday (I lagged picking it up at the post office) and I am beside myself with joy. What arrived was a gold mine in a box to my eye.

Here are my observations:

• The color "Teal" is closer to the action-lights Kelly Green Soli than it is to Jade. It's not an exact match to either Kelly Green or Jade. It is a distinct color of it's own, no question. I really hope we find Kelly Green AAs someday. I used the Solis for my photos because the AAs have already been shown in the thread and I really wanted to show the color next to the Kelly Green. Jade -> Teal -> Kelly form a nice gradient.

• Robin's Egg Blue is a totally unique color that is not even close to any Soli in my collection. Since it was the only one they had, I am calling it unique on CPF until I see another. As far as I am concerned this is as big a score as the Teal, if not more so. Phil, can you tell us where the name "Robin's Egg Blue" came from? Did you give the color that name or did it come so-named from Mag?

• Robin's Egg Blue is not a true match, but is somewhat close to a pair of used AAs I bought on ebay a while back. They have always been oddball lights in my collection.

• Neither Teal nor Robin's Egg Blue are the blue-green color I remember from the 80s and have been searching for with much eagerness. But Robin's Egg Blue is the closest I have gotten yet. I tried to do a comparison shot of the blue Solis, but the blues never seem to come close in my photos. If I can't take a photo that comes at all close, I'm not posting one. I will try again later or over the weekend maybe. In any event, you can see the Robin's Egg Blue Soli in the last photo, although the color isn't right. It's more turquoise than shows in the pic and substantially lighter than standard Mag blue.

• The review/pic I am most eager for is sizzlechest's comparison with the original 'GreenLED' light. Is this new 'Teal' color == GreenLED? It sure looks close, especially in that pic jeritall posted.

• I ordered a gold Soli. It came in a box unlike any I have ever seen before. I should really post a pic of my collection of Maglite boxes at some point. I have been surprised at how many different ones are out there. This was a new addition.

• Lime Green & Copper are both EXACT matches for what I already had. Copper is NOT on the website, but I do advise you to contact Phil at yourlightsource.com if you need a Copper AA or Soli. I have seen a lot of people looking for these copper ones over the last year and who knows when you will see them again.

• Both Robin's Egg Blue and Gold Solis came with an odd battery of a brand I've never heard of before. Anyone ever heard of a Werker Industrial Alkaline before? Those batteries are marked Made in the USA!

 

[liteguy10]

souptree first the werker battery is manufactured by rayovac at there factory in the midwest they are rayovac's industrial line i'm told. I have been using them over a year now and have found that they hold up well and are us mfg. I try and keep my money at home when I can.
The robins egg blue was the name used by mag if you look at the pkg near the bar code and see a black sku used it always means that it is a nonstandard color as all overruns of special order colors by big buyers are packaged in the generic black carding to save money would be my guess. The sku's for both the teal and the robins egg blue were ordered thru a master dist. who is no longer in business, and came with the black sku on the case box. I have engaged mag sales in a discussion about the lime green color only to be told by them since it was a diffulct color to make because if the rectifier had any ripple in it's output the light would come out with the black looking like zebra stripes against the lime green. I wanted to mortgage everything I owned to get those lights but finally after pestering mag for a month a person in production told me that mr. maglica's policy was that mag makes tools not toys hence all lights not true to the ordered color are recycled, Sorry for the long answer but all this is what i've been told. Thanks Phil

 

[Burgess]

to liteguy10 --


Thank you for that information.


:thumbsup:

:goodjob:
_

 

[will]

To liteguy10

thanks for the information - I wondered how some of the odd colors ended up in the standard market. I know that Wall*Mart and some of the other big chains seem to get off-colors in packages marked assorted, or just mis lableled.

will

 

[souptree]

Thank you, Phil! :thumbsup:

 

[Jeritall]

Collecting Minimags was a lot simpler back when "Roy" posted the first picture of 12 or 13 different colored ones back in '02. Then Turbodog posted Maglite's production lists complete with colors and product codes, which made knowing what colors were needed for a complete collection easy and more manageable. Then variations began to appear. I think the first one was a different shade of bronze, and then "blut rot" and a couple of other variations, usually packaged in gift boxes, from Europe appeared. Over the years Maglite produced a satisfying variety of colors that kept the collectors browsing the aisles of Wally world and the pages of thE bay. Today, I think the "designer color " designations such as "robin egg", "teal", "kelly green" etc., Maglite packaging with color names that don't match the flashlight or are labeled variety", and now the "black sku" are very confusing to the collector, especially someone new to the addiction.

How many different colors and variations are actually out there??? I'd like to try a simple poll to try and find out. Counting only 2AA Mini Maglites with knurled barrels, not the Flags, NASCAR, custom enhanced, or with painted co. logos.

I have 31 which includes camo. How many do you have?

 

[Flipside]

31?

:sick2:

I just added Charcoal tonight...

:tinfoil:

However, even with that addition, I'm not even 1/3 of the way to 31...

:mecry:

But, it's all about the hunt, right!?

 

[greenLED]

...Today, I think the "designer color " designations such as "robin egg", "teal", "kelly green" etc., Maglite packaging with color names that don't match the flashlight or are labeled variety", and now the "black sku" are very confusing to the collector, especially someone new to the addiction.

How many different colors and variations are actually out there??? I'd like to try a simple poll to try and find out. Counting only 2AA Mini Maglites with knurled barrels, not the Flags, NASCAR, custom enhanced, or with painted co. logos.

I have 31 which includes camo. How many do you have?

I think some of those names are just repeats of what we've already tracked down and cataloged. For example, just by scanning the recent posts, it sounds to me like the "greenLED" color thanks: Tim) is the same as "teal".

I just counted 32, BUT, I have 3-4 of repeated colors and 3 different shades of HA. I know for sure I missed out on those colors sold by the German shop.

:thinking: What's this "robin egg" color, Jeritall? (been away for a bit) Oh, nm, it's a Soli color. I don't do Soli's.

 

[greenLED]

While we are on the subject of color variations, the old school gold color (ebay seller natlsports from a while back) and the modern gold color are quite different. The old school is a muted gold color and the newer are a bright / yellow gold.

By "modern" gold you mean the ones being sold by that eBay seller in Hong Kong? That's interesting, all those "new old stock" that came in the square plastic tubes are somewhat "muted" shades. I wonder if they changed the way they color the lights at some point.

 

[turbodog]

Here's my current pics. The pictures in post #1 are at least 2 years old.

 

[Jeritall]

I think some of those names are just repeats of what we've already tracked down and cataloged. For example, just by scanning the recent posts, it sounds to me like the "greenLED" color thanks: Tim) is the same as "teal".

I just counted 32, BUT, I have 3-4 of repeated colors and 3 different shades of HA. I know for sure I missed out on those colors sold by the German shop.

:thinking: What's this "robin egg" color, Jeritall? (been away for a bit) Oh, nm, it's a Soli color. I don't do Soli's.

Pardon my ignorance, but what color is HA, of which you have 3 shades of?

 

[will]

Pardon my ignorance, but what color is HA, of which you have 3 shades of?

HA - Hard Anodize - type III anodize. NOT a standard Maglite color, NOT provided by Maglite, these were done as part of group buys.

 

[greenLED]

HA - Hard Anodize - type III anodize. NOT a standard Maglite color, NOT provided by Maglite, these were done as part of group buys.

Will's right on target. Two are "natural" HA, but one of them seems to have a really thin anodize layer. The shade is a lot lighter than my other natural HA - it almost looks transparent, if that makes any sense. Both of these were from GB's.

The third HA I have was custom made for me by trivergata. I was after an HA-BK minimag after drolling all over VWTim's (which was made by fivemega and has been, for the longest time, the only HA-BK I know of).

The shop trivergata used did not use dies to color HA, however, they had some special way of darkening the HA layer, such that the resulting "natural" HA looks black. I also have a couple of Arc LS parts done like that.

 

[liteguy10]

Although this is not exactly a reply to greenleds post but I just recievied a shipment from mag thru a supplier who ordered for me. at the bottom of this post is a picture of the box label, complete with name lt. Lt. teal and the sku. On my invoice from my supplier it just says teal the sku on the label may be an internal one as all the data bases I can check return no results. While cleaning up the shop this morning I came across an old box that held the teals that I got two years ago and the label appears to be stamped not a white label like these new one's that have a date. What I find frustrating is that when talking to mag on friday I found that no two people at mag tell the same story. If any one who purchased a teal from me would like a copy of the box label for their light please e-mail me and I will reply with a picture as an attachment for the light you bought. Also if there is a formal list of all the colors
mag made could you please tell me where this Lt teal fits in it. Thanks Phil/yourlightsource.com
here it is http://yourlightsource.com/i/u/2100712/i/P1000507.jpg