I first got a hold of a Marsmicro 770 right around 2019 when I was trying to complete my Marstechno 770 set. It had popped up in my searches like a distraction, confusing me with its almost identical packaging and made me wonder why (at that time) it had seemingly no catalog documentation.
It drove me nuts that I couldn’t accurately place them in a timeline, to know which one came first. I think, the Marsmicro should be linked to the same-name 775 series with the horrible rubber grips. Of course, now we have Knockology and a wealth of information available! It’s hard to imagine the planning at Staedtler that launched the Marstechno in 1992 after the 925 25 was already in production for 3 years, and then continued to evolve the design into the Marsmicro around '98.
I wonder if the success of 925 25 led to the Marsmicro switching from the Marstechno’s grooved metal grip to its fairly aggressive knurling? The thing that threw me off the design at first was the strange flaring of the short segment between the cone and the knurling. Honestly, it felt like ‘2-steps back’ from the clean linearity of the Marstechno!
However, aside from that ‘hump’, it was mechanically identical to its predecessor. The same ISO color coded tips, with tips that retract with a forceful ‘Thump!’ when pushed down on a flat surface. Even the unfortunate use of resin clutches.
Most importantly, the lead degree display with its challenging angled cutout was also intact. This feature would get deleted in the later and cheaper Marsmicro 775, leaving the cutouts useless with no text markings… like a vestigial mechanical appendix of sorts. My guess for its demise: Production was having problems with accurately placing the text markings in perfect alignment to the click-detents…
Lastly, an unexpected variance. I had obtained my 0.9mm from @majkycz_y in perfect condition, but when I opened the package, I was utterly flabbergasted that the plastic body was a much deeper shade of blue compared to the other three that I already had.
It had taken about 5-6 years of searching up to that point and I had collected the 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 with identical blue bodies. What are the chances, eh? Well, I’m not about to go looking for another 0.9 in a lighter blue now… this side quest is done! On to the next objective! Vive la difference!
