I have a secret project on the go! I can't remember how it happened (cough, impulse purchase, cough) but I have 3 Bialaddin 305s in various states of grott that need fettling. They all work pretty well but I wasn't sure I wanted to do another back to the original type fettle so I selected one for a special project I've had in mind for a while now. It's not going to be strictly 'by the book' as I've been inspired by some of the Coleman lanterns I rather like. When it's finished I reckon it'll be a right little Bobby Dazzler, and to be honest, I can't see why Willis and Bates never produced a lamp like the one I'm creating in the first place, so, as they never did, I will! I think most of you will probably like it and it won't be 'over-restored' I promise. Photos of the finished item will follow shortly but here is the lantern as it is now. Parts required: New globe A few replacement seals Spray paint* New hood Time and elbow grease *not green!
I've finished fettling the 305 and this is the result. I had a spare red hood and I began wondering what a fully red Bialaddin would look like. Coleman make or made red lanterns and they look great, really bright and inviting so having matched the red as close as I could, this is the result. I also love red and brass together so I decided not to spray the filler cap or the pump assembly and polish the brass support rods and the air buttons. It's certainly not original and some of you may feel it's not in the right thing to do, but I figured 305s are not rare (as far as I know) and I've created a lamp that I will definitely now use, whereas before it ended up staying permanently on the shelf gathering dust. Opinions? I cleaned and re-painted the Bialaddin text on the control knob. It still works very well, but then again, it's a Bialaddin and they are true workhorses! You can still see the model number and manufacturers markings. I managed to get a pretty good shine on the paint. I'm on the look out for a better quality red hood.
It is indeed very red! It's sitting on my sitting room window sill opposite the very chrome Light Brand and together they look like they should be in a Fire Station! This is the first and probably the last 'non-standard' paint job I'm doing. It was something of an experiment.
@ColinG I did a vapalux 320 in satin black and polished up all the brass and aluminium parts. That’s a pretty smart looking combination if you need some ideas.
@ColinG Any lantern painted in the incorrect colours makes me see red! Nah, only joking! It looks great. When my daughters were younger one had a green painted X246 and the other a pink painted X246A which are still in use when camping. Regards Jeremy
Ha ha, a pink 246A actually sounds quite cute! BTW, I honestly thought David Shouksmith might tell me off when he saw what I'd done, but looking at it as I type, I really think it looks genuine... like Bialaddin might have made it, particularly as I managed to match up the red pretty much spot on - more by luck than any planning on my part though!
Really? Why would you even think that? What you do with your lamps, Colin, is entirely your own business and nothing at all to do with me. If I had an opinion (I haven't) I might express it but "tell you off" - not my prerogative at all...
Please accept my sincere apologies David! I was very rude and although I didn't mean to be, I looked at my comment again and shrank as I read it. Being an 'older gentleman', I sometime's fall into the trap of thinking of a 'funny' or tongue in cheek comment and posting it without reading it through first... with predictable results. I've learned a huge amount from this site and want to continue having a good relationship with everyone here.
That looks superb, love the colour. The top looks in pretty good nick to me. I'm fettling some Bialaddins and am trying the different stove paints you can buy. The best so far is the Morso senotherm which only comes in black (or a very dark grey). I've just got some Charnwood green to try, but they also do bronze, pewter and almond and others. I've found the high temperature paints for car exhausts and the like don't stick to the tops very well (which is unfortunate as they come in all sorts of colours). I like lamps which look a bit different - as long as they're getting used it's all good to me.
I bought three different cans of red (don't tell the wife!) before I found one that matched the enamelled hood (when cold) and I'm pretty pleased with the result. It's definitely a user and is sitting on my window sill next to an Anchor 909 doing an impersonation of a fire engine! I have one more messy 305 in desperate need of something but I haven't decided what to do yet. I have a spare red hood so I could make another red one.... it's just that I hate doing the same thing twice.
@ColinG found the lamp, had to knock quite a lot of dust off it first. Hope you don’t mind me sticking these on your thread. Neat tip, some thick thread used for leather stitching wound tightly around the handle protects you’re nicely finished paint job.
@Matthew92 - I was thinking about doing exactly the same thing! I had to do a quick patch-up spray on one of my re-spray jobs to cover an accidental chip on the paint made by the handle falling down when it was not fully dry. Bloody nuisance!
Damn, should have said “And here’s one I made earlier”. It works well Colin and it doesn’t look too bad either.
You just did! Ha ha ha... Right, I'm off to watch some original episodes of The Avengers with Diana Rigg!
