Hands up anyone who’s also had a passing fascination with cool cars growing up as a kid
For me, the late 70s and all of the 80s was a period filled with the coolest examples of sports cars and grand tourers on TV and in the movies. But of course, few people can afford to collect cars, unlike toys and writing instruments.
I’d kind of forgotten my love for cool cars until recently, when THIS particular set of Pilot pen and pencil came into my life. I’ve owned it for several years and was stumped that such a beautiful design had no official name. Or so it seemed.
I think more than one collector on Knockology has given this design their own name for easy reference. I thought ‘Streamline’ was apt because of the strong flowing lines that arched from the clip down to the base that joined sinuously with the main body. It was so ‘car-like’ I often wondered if the anonymous designer at Pilot had been inspired by a real life car. Yes, the body is not ‘real metal’, but it sure had the looks!
A quick visual check in the discussion thread revealed that the Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-R from 1973 indeed sported a c-pillar design that was echoed in the Pilot’s clip and anchor point. I now seriously think the Nissan Skyline was indeed the namesake for the contemporaneous Pilot Young Skyline.
With that, I wondered: how hard would it be to obtain a miniature diecast model of the Skyline 2000 GT-R? As luck would have it, Tomica released a silver version in their Premium range not too long ago, and I picked up a fresh example from my local Toys ‘R’ Us (yes, they are still around here in Asia).
It was really fun to discover this connection between two things I loved and it has reignited my curiosity for iconic car designs from days gone by. I think I will let this power my imagination for a while and see what other pairings might come about. Not every pen or pencil has a namesake in an actual car, but recognizing design parallels, color schemes and other connections will be really fun to explore. Hope you’ll join in the ride with me!
Thank you! It’s a trick of perspective – they are almost the same size. But the construction is quite different. The ballpoint got more love: the grip section is metal and screws into the metallized plastic upper. The MP is metallized plastic throughout, with only the cone in metal. Clutch is metal.
Interesting. I’d had this pair in the past but sold it. I was so dismayed by the discovery of the body being made of molded plastic. Somehow in the photos of the listing I’d bought, I had the feeling it was cast aluminum. I should’ve realized it wasn’t, given the price point.
What I have not understood is why the general rejection of this pencil by several forum users, Pearson calls it an imposter, for example. Because ok, it’s not metal but plastic that imitates aluminum but there are hundreds of plastic pencils that are highly appreciated, I think maybe the material or the finishes are of low quality?
I think the feeling of ‘betrayal’ is quite real, especially for those who acquired it without any reviews from the community. From pictures alone, the look of satin finished aluminum is quite convincing. It is only when you pick it up that you realize the ‘deception’.
Lastly, I think the difference in metal construction and material proportion was probably due to bean counting. For an MP back then, the cost of machining the clutch was probably equivalent to that of casting a grip section for the ballpoint.
And it’s not just the fact that its plastic… but not properly finished. There’s a visible seam, which also worsens the perception. When I bought my set, I hadn’t really noticed it. And if it was cast aluminum, I could’ve forgiven it. But plastic? So much more malleable. Two passes of buffing would’ve taken that out. But all they bothered to end up doing was an even trim of the flash from the plastic casting.
