Greetings, In case people didn't realise judging by my Username, I am Chinese. For me, there's only only colour for a Lantern, red and here's my iteration, not quite finished as yet. Unfortunately the welding joint of the steel protection ring for the cage came apart. Decided to paint the bottom ring of the tank in gold, I'm still deciding whether to paint the top of the reflector in gold too, maybe the reflector looks better without my meddling. Still not fire it up as I've no wish to burn down the flat. Another one on the way, a Vapalux 305 with a 300 burner unit and hood, it's still a total mess with some parts missing. One question, does anyone know where I can get a set of good quality washer kit for Vapalux 305 (1" Filler Cap), seems those FleaBay kits are cheap as in inferior.
I'm not in any hurry, during Lockdown I've nowhere to go so I'll wait to purchase something of quality than cheap reproductions from ebay.
@K Wong fettlebox IMHO are the best as the cheap ones on ebay swell and disintegrate in a few days in contact with paraffin as this has been my experience with them.
Nice lamp K. Funny You mention Your colour is Red..... I am a lifelong Liverpool supporter and yet Blue is my colour!
@Johnny19 Strange you should mention a different colour, my Surname in Chinese can also mean Yellow but I conform to the Chinese Red Lantern theme.
With my OCD resurfacing yet again, I'd felt the middle metal ring protecting the glass is needed in place and it would look a little better with the tank's bottom ring left bare... I am fettling another model, it seems to be a hybrid of different models, it'll be the same Chinese Red lantern them with the same colours and white reflector. Hopefully I'll many a few more before the wife cut off my expenses.
I do love red lanterns! I resprayed a couple of Bialaddins - a 300x and a 305 and they looked pretty good. I understand that in Britain after the war, colour and aesthetics weren't important but I do think they might have made more of an effort. The standard Willis and Bates green is just so weak and uninteresting... oh well, it's a record of the times I guess.
That's why chocolate brown and cream colours were available on Vapalux lanterns from 4th July 1944. Then burgundy from the late '40s... And when Tommy Atkins was being 'stormed at with shot and shell', I don't suppose the colour of the lantern he was using was uppermost in his mind...
Talking about the war reminded me of my Grammar School days when having a quick fag in the bogs...thinking Tommy would have been more conscious of taking the 'Third Light'.
