My search to expand my lamp amd lantern collection lead me to a couple of Chinese Peteomax clones recently. As I have repect and fondness for all lamps, I glady tiok up the challenge to get them in as good a shape as I could. Firstly the OR-MA 500CP with the attractive horse emblem had been fettled by the previuos owner. Although it was fitted with a Butterfly globe, it was a runner. Having a brass fount means it will last for many more years. The 350CP Stenly cleaned up very nicely, and a new cleaning needle was all that was reguired. Nothing fancy here, even the original STENLY marked globe looks like there was no graphic design involved. The Anchor, although steel and not brass, was well made and the Chrome finish held up well. After giving it a service, I noticed the flame 'hunting' or oscillating. I found the tip of coiling brass or copper wire around the cleaning rod on the forum. This resulted in proper and even fuel heating, thanks. A Good and even burn was achieved aftet that. Lastly I got the Aeroplane. I was excited about the graphic on the fount, but that was it. The chrome had peeled of like paper, and the steel underneath, although not rusted is very unatractive. I might still spend some time on it, but for now it goes to the back shelf. In summary, I enjoy these Chinese fellows. They are quite easy to fettle. As Petromax clonea from the same era you can interchage most parts, especially the functional ones between them.
Hi there fellow Chinese lamp fan! I also have a soft spot for these Chinese P'Max clones and I currently have 2x Anchor 500cp, 1x Anchor 350cp and a Light Brand 350cp. I plan to collect more as and when I find them. Solar brand lamps look nice and although Butterfly isn't meant to be that great I'd like one of those too. A friend of mine is working in Canada and has an AshFlash for me in very good condition but without the globe unfortunately. It's difficult to know what you could do with your Aeroplane lantern. You could spray it silver perhaps... you can get fake chrome effect sprays that don't look too bad. Otherwise, you could use a different colour altogether but the raw steel will need protecting long term. What's the plating like on the rest of it?
Hi Colin Good luck on finding more of them. I have thought of spraying the Aeroplane font red. The frame rest/collar also lost sime of its chrome but it is not so bad. Since I don't have any red in my collection of 16 lamps yet, and think some colour would be fun.
I was going to suggest red! Red and chrome would work well. I sprayed two of my Bialaddin's red and they look great!
Hi @JohanOptimus, In this respect, we are almost alike. I've no specific preferences for any lanterns of any country of origin. Some are more favourably designed or built in certain aspects as compared to others. Personal tastes aside and without any biases, my opinion is that as long as they are free from obvious signs of defects or poor construction and could function(light up) well, they are already worthy in their own right. Your Or-Ma, Stenly and Anchor appeared to be quite well-made. From the looks of them alone, I would guess that they are comparable or close to the quality of the original Petromax from Germany. I'm not so sure about the Aeroplane though(besides taking any accounts on the peeled chrome). @ColinG , Let me guess...I bet red is your favourite colour?
Good Day Kero I haven't checked in recently, apologies for the late reply. The fount is definately steel, but the one I have had no rust.
