Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Awesome Pen Mods - Hero 616 Vacumatic

A while back, I ran across a modification by Flounder from the Fountain Pen Network. Over the course of several attempts, he had managed to outfit an inexpensive Hero 616 fountain pen with a vacumatic filling mechanism, much like the vacumatic Parker 51. In fact, because the Hero 616 is a bit of a "tribute" (read: clone) to the Parker 51, the finished product of the modification looks even more like the Parker 51. Flounder, then, generously, chose to give away this creation in a "pay it forward," through the Fountain Pen Network. The video below is of the filling of the finished, third version of his Hero 616 vacumatic.


I highly recommend you check out Flounder's blog, here, especially his post on the third version of the vacumatic 616, complete with great pictures! He has mentioned on the Fountain Pen Network that he has another, special, pen modification project in progress, so be sure to watch his blog for future updates. If it is anything like his Hero 616 mod, it is certain to be impressive.

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2 comments:

  1. I've got three "Jumbo" 616s, and they're the best Chinese pens I own (an accolade they achieve largely by actually writing, unlike my Jinhao X450, or Baoer 517s).

    Despite the low bar set by their compatriots, they compare pretty well with other pens, in my experience. They hold a fair bit of ink, and write smoothly and reliably with a fine-ish line. I bought a set of three, one is now my daughter's, one stays at work, and one is in my desk at home.

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  2. I have had the same positive experience with most of my Hero pens (I am a bit of a Hero fanatic/collector). Your same experience with the Hero 616 were mirrored in my own 616, 329s, and 330s. Among these pens, there is also often an "old" version and a "new" version, and I have found that the old versions are more consistently quality pens. (Though sometimes this old/new distinction can change things drastically...the old version of the Hero 001 360 is a four-sided, 360 degree nib. The new version is completely different and just has a hooded nib (from what I have heard).

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