I was cleaning my curios a while back when I just happen to put two of my four HL 106, North Heads side by side. This particular two-some are lightning rod pieces, flag #147 & #461. There are some subtle paint differences but nothing too different. Closer inspection then revealed a vertical mark down the side of the tower. It kind of looks like a scratch but there is no evidence of paint being removed. My guess is it may have received the "scratch" when it came out of the mold, then it was painted over. On the other hand, could this be some bizarre variation? Does the real North Head have any kind of similar on the tower? Does anyone else have a similar mark on their North Head Light?
Here's a picture of the mark on the side of the tower.





Bob

You have to look at it this way, Bob:

If none of them had scratches, than the scratched one is automatically rare

If all of them had scratches, the non-scratched one is rare.

It's pretty much Win-Win!

Unfortunately, I don't have a North Head to help you figure it out.

Well Bob,

I have:

#196 - California
#642 - Canada
#1757 - Malaysia

No scratch on any of them.

bobo

Bob,

I have #1294, Canadian-made. No crack.

Sandy

I have four North Heads, two with rods and two without. Only this one has the vertical mark.

I know you shouldn't assume anything but I guess it's safe to assume that this particular piece somehow received that mark coming out of the mold and the painter decided to paint right over the mark rather than doing the correct quality control thing. On the other hand, is anyone familiar enough with the actual tower of North Head Light to know if such a mark may have at one time existed on the real thing? If it did and for some reason the artist purposely made this mark on this and perhaps a few other pieces, it would certainly be a very rare variation.

I know, I know, wishful thinking, Bob.

Bob

Bob
Which one has the scratch?
The #147 or the #461?

Bob my tower is smooth. It is #4445.(Almost a number you would have wanted.)

Bob,

Doesn't appear to be a scratch to me, but it does appear to be a flaw in the mold that wasn't sanded away before it was painted.

Sandy

Bob,

I agree with Sandy. Flaw in the mold.

bobo

My North Head(Canadian/Rod) S/N 0935 is smooth and no vertical mark. My North Head(Malaysian/no Rod) S/N 2301 is smooth with no vertical mark but does have a 1" vertical mark about 1/2" below the tower windows. Maybe I got a variation like yours Bob, or, perhaps a lazy guy that never sanded his mold marks like he should have.

My #1294 also has the same "flaw" Rich wrote about, but that same very faint vertical line appears on the front and back of the piece.
Sandy

The HL106 that I have is Canadian w/rod, Flag #801. It does not have the scratch that is shown in Bob's photo but does have a slightly raised ridge on the opposite side that looks like the overcoat material (varnish) is somewhat overlapped and a lttle thicker there!!?? That's one of the things that I like about the older pieces ..... there is a lot of variation and interest. The new pieces are almost too perfect.

Dan

From Dan:

I must agree with Dan 100%. The "flaws" and "discrepancies" of the older pieces makes looking at them fun and interesting. I discover differences all the time. That's just part of the collecting game.

bobo

Daniel, ...Flag# 461 has the vertical mark on it. Flag# 147 looks just fine.

:rolleyes: Bob :rolleyes:

There was no quality control with the Canadian made at the Factory.
Harbour Lights would have to check them and if they spotted an imperfection, they would send it back to the manufacturer. Bill said many a time the Manufacturer would do nothing and send it right back to Harbour Lights. Painting defects was the big issue with the Canadian made. That is why Harbour Lights switched to Malaysia. I would imagine that cast imperfection past thru also.

Molds did not last forever. They were replaced after so many pulls. This may have been a mold defect before it was replaced with an other one. If this is the case maybe a few more of these defects are around.

To me it looks like some impurities were in the batch that did not allow the cold cast resin to pack tightly to form the correct texture. Maybe Resin from the previous pour or dirt fell in. If this were the case, there would be only one.

Harbour Lights would call this a defect and when it was first purchased it could have been sent back to Harbour Lights for a replacement. However, in our Waco world of collecting I think most of our collectors would value it as a variation.
I personally think it is a great find and it is always neat to have something different from the rest of the lighthouses.

Bob;
You may want to check and see if it was from a California mold. If it is the windows on the door will be irregular.
Check the picture on page 35 of the GreenBook
Also check it with your #147

I will have to check my two North Heads later.
One at home and other in storage.

At the first reunion HL had a mold on display, it was not what I had expected, it was made out rubber I think (someone correct me if I am wrong on the material) And at some point during the reunion the mold process was discussed and the number of pieces made from each mold was a rather low number, like 25-30 made from each mold (someone correct me if I am wrong on this too) but anyway if there were an undetected flaw in a mold if would be a small number of pieces.

I did some research and found out how the molds were made.


The sculptors use wax to make the first mold.
After Harbour lights accepts the mold.
Silicone is poured around the wax mold to form the first generation mold.
If the silicone didn’t harden properly details are lost. If it tears a scare is left on any of the following statues.

Next the male molds are made from the first generation molds. A very hard resin is poured into the silicone form and allowed to harden. This is the creation of the second generation mold.
Three of these are made. If any more were made the quality of the mold would be sacrificed. Out of these is chosen the best one that will be the gold master(remember it was the gold master of the Assateague that was broken).
From it comes the third generation silicone molds which are used to make the fourth generation resin molds, which are finally used for the fifth generation molds, know as production molds.

The production molds are flexible. The California and Canadian molds were made of latex. The Malaysian made used silicon. The Production molds are replaced after a minimal amount of pulls.

What happens to the other two secondary generation molds? They are painted and presented to harbour lights to decide if the statue will be approved for release. That is why there is only two Point Vicentes. After looking at the two, Harbour lights did not accept the rendition.


Mark you could be right about the number of pulls.
I know Harbour lights does not use the standard amount of pulls. They use the minimal amount to keep the crispness on the figurine.

Actually it is wax/clay mixture... the wax was added over the years to get the detail that the pieces now have.. The artists have to do their work in cold conditions so that the wax doesn't melt, according to Harry..

I don't believe they get much more than a dozen pulls before they have to be replaced, as I recall..

Bill also has said that when they made them in California, they didn't know how much to pour in the mold and sometimes they were filled to full and therefore some lighthouse are a little fuller (bulging) than others. I have a California made West Quoddy that the house is quite a bit bigger than the house on my Canadian version West Quoddy..

I have seen Coquilles that had similar marks on them to Bob's tower and was told that they attempted some of that to actually make them look old and in need of repair, including the paint job being streaked to attempt the same old effect.