when did maglight start using the cat head on the solitaire?

i have one in cobalt blue without the logo.
was going to led mod it to 5mm hi cri and 10440 li-ion.
but i have to drill the reflector.
hate to hack up a rare one if there is such a thing as a rare solitaire.or anyone even cares about these.

Nobody cares about the Solitaire, hack away :thumbsup:

Maglite started using the panther on the D and C cells in 1992. Until 1995 they appeared with a TM next to the logo when the trademark was approved. See below for the TM vs. the 1996 and later R bezel. The TM is on the right on the black bezel after the panther and the R is on the right on the blue bezel after the panther.



In 1996 Mag added the panther head logo to its AA and AAA lights as well. So, you'll never see an AA or AAA light with a TM next to the Panther.

The panther was officially chosen because it represents a creature of the night although there are other theories.

Does you Solitaire have the 2 lines of text where it says Mfg by Mag Instrument? As far as being rare, nah, not so much. The Mag Marquis (predecessor to the Solitaire and only produced for 1 month) is about the only AAA single Maglite worth anything. Some Solitaires have a TM after Solitaire instead of the R with the circle and these would have been produced for the first 8 months of Solitaire production but even those have no collector's market. So I would say, hack away! Let's see some pics of that baby though!!

sorta what i figured.
it does have 2 lines with the full ontario california.
i will look again tomorrow for the r or tm.
and shoot a pic or 2.
after seeing collectors with huge collections of all the varieties and colors just wanted to make sure its not a rare type/color before it gets modded.
i also have a brinkman "lawsuit light" in 1aaa that looks like a cut down minimag.pretty blatant copy if you asked me.

Some 2 line solitaires got out with an O in ontario slightly above the rest of the word and an obvious gap between the O and the rest. $ value? Got me, but there aint many like it so that would be a keeper for those who just collect unique Mag's.

That's a panther? It looks more like a goat

firsttothescene said:

That's a panther? It looks more like a goat

Click to expand...

Lol, I agree. Until I really got into Mags about 6 years ago I had no idea what it was either.

btw mine is tm.
and my understanding is the logo is a panther/gazelle hybrid.
deed is done.
5mm ebay hi cri installed powered by a 10440 li-ion.
works nicely.