Bialaddin/Vapalux Brass Single Piece Hood

There is currently for sale a Bialaddin/Vapalux lamp on a popular website which sports a brass single piece hood.

At first I wrote the hood off as being a Korean Vapalux item, but while they do sell brass single piece hoods the are not the same as those hoods found on the 320 etc. Of course Vapalux Korea seem to have introduced and discontinued a few models in a very short space of time.

Has anyone seen another? I'd love to have one.

 

This is one I bought from a well known auction site, I cleaned the top, it is brass. I enquired on a site, "be back later" and was advised it was very rare. Willis and Bates advised these tops were not a production item, they did offer to sell me the rights to build the lamps.

I have seen pictures of other similar tops.

Ray

 

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

I would love to know why they decided to not to bring it to full production, but I suspect that answer would be 'cost'.

Well, if they are in the wild I will keep looking, otherwise I may be tempted to have one plated.

 

If you intend to use the lamp a brass hood will go from shiny to blackened very quickly.

 

Basecamp were selling these a little while back, not sure if they still are or not

 

I know, I like the oxidised look, I left the hood on my pork pie black when I restored it.

I just have an idea for a project...

 

Thanks, I will have a look.

 

There are a few of them out there and they are genuuine but rare. I think I have one somewhere in the pile. ::Neil::

 

Is that the 'from my cold dead hands' pile or the 'meh' pile.

 

Just a casual offer? 'Oh, yes we made a few of those, BTW do you want to buy the rights to our lamps?'

 

The rights were on open sale on their website to anyone with sufficient cash. I can't remember the exact asking price but £30,000 seems to ring a bell. That was when the owner (Stuart?) was planning to retire and thereby cease production.

As is now history, the production rights and the Vapalux name were bought by that South Korean chappie and production moved there in around 2009...

 

That's very enlightening David. Thank you for taking the time to reply.

I suppose it's better that the lamps remained in production using the original tooling (I believe it went to korea too, yes?) in Korea than suffer the fate of other European brands.

 

I've no idea, but if you ever went to Reservoir Road in Halifax, you'll know the factory was almost Dickensian so I imagine the machinery and tooling was similar and pretty worn-out. Rather than ship it out to South Korea at whatever cost, it may have been preferable to start afresh. Ian will probably know...

 

I'm with Charlton on this one. ::Neil::

 

Heston or Athletic?

 

I havn't done athletic for 30 years or more.