I agree with most of the WOW List postings. There is an understandable bias toward recent issues that benefit from newer technology and HL's growing experience. My list would be similar to most.

Truth be told, there are a few HLs that do not, for me at least, hit the bullseye in capturing some aspect of the actual lighthouse. I look at them thinking how could they have been done better or should they be redone now with the benefit of the latest technology and experience? (Uh, oh, the LE vs. GLOW debate).

I have visited Cape May many times and lived real close to the Diamond Head light.
I'll never part with the current LEs, but I can't think WOW when I look at either one. Does anyone else feel this way about a particular light that's important to them?

IMHO, Grosse Point is kind of a dud. The real light is beautiful; the HL, well, homely. Its got a face only an HL enthusiast can love (I've got one, with a lightning rod... the rod is a real plus to the appearance, but doesn't go far enough). I'd love to see a (sorry, Tim) GLOW of this one. But Rich, while Cape May is perhaps not a WOW!, I do like it a lot (I'm a former NJer, too).

-Art

My Cape May "leans". I don't attribute this to a problem with an irregular base because if I jack up one side or the other to make the light tower straight then the house is tilting and vice versa. Do I have a bad piece or is this common for the Cape May?

On the other hand, HL's Sharps Island light has an exaggerated tilt, quite out of character with the real world slight tilt. Many is the time I have sailed within 100 feet of that light. Unique it is, but not as out of kilter as one would judge from the HL interpretation.

Art, I'm not a former NJer. I grew up in Great Kills, Staten Island, which is about 10 miles directly across Raritan Bay from Sandy Hook. RS, my Cape May leans also as do some others. Not to rag on it, but it looks like the earlier GLOW piece it was originally designed to be. If justice were done to this piece, it would have (had) more substance to the base, the tower (which would be cream color), and outlying buildings. Some HLs should have an improved GLOW to get the WOW a famous light deserves. Or a second mold LE. I'd be happy to own two different versions.

I was a little surprised to see the negative "reviews" of Cape May. I grew up in NJ and it is/WAS one of my favorite pieces (although it DOES lean). I haven't been back there in around 15 years so I was unaware that the tower color was somewhat incorrect.

Very interesting comments !

Now my personal "ho-hum" list would include the earlier Oregon lights (Heceta Head, Yaquina Head, Cape Blanco, and Umpqua River). They all have very similiar colors, look similiar and just look "blah" to me. In fact, since Umpqua and Heceta are identical lights, I'm surprised HL decided to do both.

To be fair to HL, they really didn't have a lot to work with. None of those lights (IMHO) come close to the "awe inspiring" grandeur of, for example, the North Carolina lights.

I believe it was Bill H. who, during the Coquille River debate mentioned that those particular lights were drab (or something to that effect). I was indignant at first. How DARE he bad mouth the Oregon lights But he is, in fact correct even if he IS biased towards Maine lights (not that there is a single Maine light that can hold a torch to Tillamook-lol).

Brian

hmmmmm.....seems as though I have the same problem on double postings.

[This message has been edited by PamBrian (edited 11-11-98).]

Cape Elizabeth is a disappointment! I bought this light, depite my misgivings, because of the memories associated with a wonderful vacation spent in South Portland a few years ago. But the lens room on the HL rendition is too small! Any photo shows a large leans room whose diameter is as large as the tower diameter. In HL's version the lens room is proportionately smaller than the tower and looks like so many other lens rooms on other models. It's the large lens room and dramatically curved dome which makes the real lighthouse so dramatic. No kudos for this one!