Just took these out while sorting out my collection. L-R:
• Retro de Luxe 778 25: One of the few metal bodied double knocks and the mechanism is deservedly different, having a very smooth deployment and light subsequent clicks. There’s a matching BP for it but it is not a priority for me. I believe I chanced on this on eBay before I even knew what it was.
• Retro 778 v1 in Pink, Aqua, Blue, Navy. These were listed with the de Luxe in the 87-88 catalog. They sport the ‘<< retro’ marking and use the ‘standard’ Kotobuki type mechanism. I like that Staedtler opted for molded axial grooves for the grip instead of rubber. The first 3 ‘brighter colours’ have Staedtler Japan price stickers on them.
• Retro 778 v2 in black. While still sporting the ‘<< retro’ markings, the clip has changed to a curved design and the grip has sadly lost its grooves. The nose cone is slightly longer too.
• Retro 778 v3 in burgundy and blue. Same form as v2 but now with boring-er markings.
A quick comparison of the internals. Strangely, I could not fully take apart the v2. Didn’t want to force the issue. Note the loss of the cleaning pin from v2 onwards.
Yes, it turned out to be quite hard to find. I have only seen it on auction ONCE over the last 5-6 years, and it was a complete BP & MP set. Starting bid around 350?
This is new to me! Do you have a date for when this was made? The clear plastic tip looks a bit flimsy but I like that it’s not the ‘usual furniture’ with Kotobuki clones. I wonder if ‘PUG’ is the model name or some corporation’s branding for gifting?
For ‘full disassembly’ from the top half, you usually pull the mechanism down with increasing pressure to detach the ‘plug piece’ that holds the eraser and button cover. In my v2, you can see the white ‘plug piece’… the problem I had was that the mechanism was somehow stuck to the lower half.
Unfortunately I don’t know when it was made. If I remember correctly I have bought it about 15 years ago.
At first I also thought it was a promotional pencil, but the fact that the manufacturer and model name are printed on it made me doubt it.
I made a mistake – I wanted to say that I can only disassemble the pencil as far as the red one above, i. e. I can’t pull the mechanism out of the upper part. But I’ll have another look at it.
The v1 retro is the only Staedtler that I have any interest in. I found one in the copy room at a place I was working at in the early-mid 90’s. I carried that pencil around for years. My only complaint is the grip which would leave grooves in my fingers after writing with them for a long time.
Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I had to come and ask…. has anyone ever seen a white version 1? I got my first retro 778 when 8 was 8 in ‘88. In my mid 20s I cam across some NOS of V1 and V2 so I grabbed them. So I’ve always LOVED this pencil. I have never seen it in any colour other than blue black and red.
found this on eBay and wonder if it is legitimate, also noticed it sold quickly so …?
They were never made in white. Can’t find a single piece of info on a white run. That means its either phoney (great knockoff I’d buy more), Prototype, or regional release. I don’t know which but we’ll see if it shows up. The same seller is the only person I know to have a nonexistent colour of pencil …. twice.
It is also missing the printing on the side. The rest of it looks pretty good. There are no pictures of the other side of where the clip attaches. I would expect to see “JAPAN” and a number. That part is textured. The pictures are not good enough to tell on this point. Please post pictures when it arrives.
So here is my collection of V1 and V2 778 <<retro pencils by Staedlter. Where the silk screening should be there is no markings and never has been. It’s not painted, it’s simply white form plastic. It has an authentic Staedlter clip and everything matches a V1. By the clip on the ridge is 8 JAPAN as expected … so with my history with these specific pencils I can authenticate it is a white 778 retro… which NO ONE seems to know squat about …
The way I figure there are 3 scenarios when I bought it:
It’s fake. Painted or otherwise modified through painting. It’s not. It’s a legitimate mould for injected plastic. The JAPAN marks are identical and it sports authentic hardware. The guts are a 778 retro.
Prototype
Single customer run for corporate use? promotional item? regional special?
Other than that, this shouldn’t exist by if you go by it’s complete invisibility on the Internet.
Guessing it’s extremely rare to come by?
