No one can deny the appeal of the early lightning rod pieces. Their place in the history of Harbour Lights, and their relative scarcity, account for their collectibility. But with improved production techniques that now allow for incredible detail, and improved packaging, lightning rods could again be feasible. Would a lightning rod renaissance be of interest to collectors, or should we resign them to HL history? Just thought I'd throw out the question!
I agree that it would be great to see some lightning rods again - if HL can package the palm trees on Cape Florida successfully, I would think that a few rods might be feasible!
Barb PS Does anyone know why there was a problem with the mast on Seven Foot Knoll?
Barb, I don't know the "offical" reason, but I do have my own experiance with Seven Foot Knoll. My back mast was straight when I got the HL. I didn't and still don't have a place to dislay this piece. So I placed it backin it's box after inspecting it the first time and kinda forgot about it. It wasn't until they started talking about the problems with the back mast that I took mine back out of the box to re-inspect it. The rear mast was bent almost 45 degrees. It seems that the plastic bag gets chaught around the mast, if you don't pack it just the right way. I re packed mine with the bag not quite covering the whole mast and it didn't seem to snag like it had before, when I put the two halves of the styrofoam back together. That's just one "Wackos" experience.
I to would like to see the lightning rods return but with regards to packaging the plastic bags being of various quality with regard to flexibility do create a problem.
The new Anchor Bay US Coast Guard boat must qualify as a tricky packaging job. It will be interesting to see if there are any wide spread reports of damage to the mast/antennas. If not, why not lightning rods!
Weasel - Thanks for sharing your experience with the mast on the Seven Foot Knoll. I have noticed on some of the other lights that the plastic bag sometimes gets caught as well. I guess this is a good lesson to be really careful when re-packaging the lights!