I'm still addicted to the old Maglites
- Thread starter Guitar Guy
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Guitar Guy
Enlightened
Maybe you should sell me a red 2C 😁 , except I'd probably have to sell my house to afford it, right?
Do you have any Vari Beams?
IMA SOL MAN
Flashlight Enthusiast
What is this? Go Fish?
I have more than one from several rare colors. Most are still brand new. However, the Red 2C is an exception. I got it from a friend who found this extremely rare one on a flea market. Best of all it is still in nearly new condition. I couldn't believe my eyes when he showed me this Maglite. I still hope to find a Red 3C but they are as rare as the 2C so it will probably never happen.
Unfortunately I don't own a Vari Beam yet. Vari Beam lights I think were never available in Europe. A C-size Vari Beam would definitely be a great addition to my collection.
Red Mag2C's and 3C's are extremely rare so I perfectly understand why Guitar Guy is asking to sell him a red 2C. Unfortunately I only have one, so I can't sell it. If I had two I would be glad to exchange one for a Vari Beam 2C.
Guitar Guy
Enlightened
I have a nice 3D Vari Beam, but no C models yet. Would love to run onto a 2C Vari Beam.😛
letschat7
Flashlight Enthusiast
I need 2AA, 4/5C, and 6/7D Vari-Beams to round out my collection. Don't think the odds are in my favor of finding a 7D, but I did stumble across a 7C so fingers crossed.
Guitar Guy
Enlightened
Do you mean you found a 7C Vari Beam, or a regular black one? I've never known of 7 cell Vari Beams. That would be a really rare find.
Yup, Vari-Beam. The whole primary cell Mag-Lite lineup was available as Vari-Beams in the early '80s, but clearly they sold a lot more 2-3D models than anything else.
Guitar Guy
Enlightened
Wow, sweet. You should get some pics of those for all of us Mag lovers.
terryoregon
Newly Enlightened
terryoregon
Newly Enlightened
A 7D Vari-Beam showed up on eBay a while back (May 2020). Sold for $2K. There was speculation at the time, that this was a custom build inside the Maglite factory (by an employee), as there doesn't seem to be any verifiable evidence that theses were ever sold to the public. Attached screen captures of the sale.
The following was written by Jason from the Maglite blog website, who was following this sale at the time.
"Hey, I've been following this one since it showed up a couple days ago. Yes, I do believe it's genuine but I think it's a one off made for an early Mag employee. These were definitely not sold for retail sale. Even though 7Ds were made in other colors I am fairly sure they were only done that way for a handful of Mag employees. I have only heard of 1 blue 7D, 2 red 7Ds and a gold 7D. I actually have a 4C blue light that's personalized for the same person, Don Meller. It's also the only one I've ever seen. The personalization definitely came at a later date because it's laser etched and I don't think that technology came about until the late 80s or at least that's when Mag started. This light and mine both came from very near Mag's headquarters so it must be an employee or someone with a very close relationship to Mag."
The following was written by Jason from the Maglite blog website, who was following this sale at the time.
"Hey, I've been following this one since it showed up a couple days ago. Yes, I do believe it's genuine but I think it's a one off made for an early Mag employee. These were definitely not sold for retail sale. Even though 7Ds were made in other colors I am fairly sure they were only done that way for a handful of Mag employees. I have only heard of 1 blue 7D, 2 red 7Ds and a gold 7D. I actually have a 4C blue light that's personalized for the same person, Don Meller. It's also the only one I've ever seen. The personalization definitely came at a later date because it's laser etched and I don't think that technology came about until the late 80s or at least that's when Mag started. This light and mine both came from very near Mag's headquarters so it must be an employee or someone with a very close relationship to Mag."
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That brings up something I'm curious about. I've seen a lot of lights someone describes as a prototype or a custom because they've never seen another one, but then it turns out they were sold retail and it's just been 40 years and most of the lights and their advertising has been thrown out. Is there a Vari-Beam catalog out there from 1980 or whatever that excludes 7D models?
The 3C came in the Vari-Beam logo box, the 7C was in a standard Mag box. I don't know if early Varis shipped in Mag boxes or if it got switched around at the dealer.
Guitar Guy
Enlightened
Wow, that's a mighty fine collection. Thanks for the pics!
What's the story on the one that's all silver?
I think I see both grip styles on the 2Ds.
What's the story on the one that's all silver?
I think I see both grip styles on the 2Ds.
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letschat7
Flashlight Enthusiast
It is a combo breaker.
Silver one is a marked Vari-Beam. It's the correct age and serial number range, so either someone got bezels mixed up in the past or they did in fact sell Vari-Beams that weren't all blue. I know the story is non-blue lights were dealer constructs but there are a hell of a lot of them out there.
And yup, the 3D and 2D lights are in both knurling types.
I've kinda given up on the old Mags at this point. But I do want to get my Magcharger working again. Selling the old Maglites I don't use should get me a new charging cradle and a battery. I wish they still had the old Nicad batteries though, the newer NIMH ones don't last.
letschat7
Flashlight Enthusiast
Oh that is good to know. Chances are you could build a new NiCad battery pack though.
