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  1. Pilot Green Metropolitan Retro Pop 88G F Nib, Inks & Paper Eslite Spectrum Bookstore, Shenzhen After Returning Home Inks, Paper, Pen Three Inks Inside the Pilot Box Pilot Metropolitan Retro Pop 88G in Green Pilot F Nib Pilot <F> Nib Feed
  2. Pilot Green Metropolitan Retro Pop 88G F Nib, Inks & Paper Eslite Spectrum Bookstore, Shenzhen After Returning Home Inks, Paper, Pen Three Inks Inside the Pilot Box Pilot Metropolitan Retro Pop 88G in Green Pilot F Nib Pilot <F> Nib Feed
  3. This mid summer(2015) Pilot pens came with the announcement that the Pilot Metropolitan series would be extended with the Retro Pop series and would be available in November. These models are technically the same as the current Metropolitan but feature vivid colors. The first week of November (2015) the fountain pen webshop La Couronne du Comte in the Netherlands had them in stock and i ordered the one with the turquoise/light blue colour, together with a gold coloured Metropolitan MR. The Retro Pop is priced € 18.50 (equals US $ 20.09 at the time of writing). The Metropolitan MR costs € 19. Both pens come with a cartridge, no converter. Unlike the US, in Europe the Metropolitan are not obtainable with Pilot’s propriety cartridges or converters. In Europe they only fit standard international cartridges/converters. In the Netherlands these pens are just available in Medium nib size. That's okay to me because mostly Japanese M nib size are somehow thinner than European M nib size. Because i wanted inks which matched with the pen colours i also ordered Kaweco cartridges Caramel Brown for the gold Metropolitan MR and Private Reserve’s Naples Blue cartridges for the light blue Retro Pop. It all arrived solidly packed in a small brown box a few days later. As you can see in the first picture the Retro Pop is housed in a flat metal box, while the Metropolitan MR has a larger plastic box. Like mentioned earlier the Metropolitan series in Europe only fit international standard converters, however standard doesn’t always seem to be standard as i’ve already experienced. So that’s why I would like to take a little side step Previously i’ve also ordered two other Metropolitan MR fountain pens. One with the Violet Leopard colour and one in White Tiger. Because i’ve several bottles of ink i need converters too. But which one, which brand? Surfing on the net gave me some ideas and so i acquired three standard converters; a Pelikan standard converter, a Graf von Faber-Castell standard converter and an (ordinary) Faber-Castell standard converter. The Pelikan and Graf von Faber-Castell converter look very much the same and fitted the Metropolitan MR rather well, though some force is needed to slide the converter into Metropolitan MR. However the (ordinary) Faber-Castell converter couldn’t be slid into the Metropolitan MR because it didn’t seem to fit. So if you want to buy a standard converter for the Metropolitan MR or Retro Pop, order the Pelikan standard converter or Graf von Faber-Castell and do not order the (ordinary) Faber-Castell converter. (See the second the picture from left to right: Pelikan, Graf von Faber-Castell and (ordinary) Faber-Castell converters). Well so far for converters, let’s get back to the fountain pens themselves. The Retro Pop is basically the same pen as the Metropolitan. Only differences are the flashy colours. Appearance & design (6.5/10): Certainly not ostentatious, just a simple streamlined appearance and maybe a timeless design. The Metropolitan series are available in some conservative colours like black and grey metal and some less conservative like deep purple, pearl white and copper/gold. Now with the introduction of the Retro Pop more lively colours are available. (See third, fourth and fifth pictures) Construction & Quality (8.5/10): For its price (€ 19) it is certainly well constructed. Cap and barrel are made of brass, section and feed are made of plastic and of course the nib is metal. The clip is sufficiently tight and springy and there are no discernible seams where the clip is connected to the cap. All my four Metropolitans show no manufacturing flaws. The cap is a click-type and fastens with normal force on the barrel. With regular behavior it will stay on the barrel, but it might come loose loose accidently in your trousers or shirt pocket. This however is no flaw of the Pilot Metropolitan, but inherent to click-type system. I’ve had it before that caps of a Sheaffer Targa and a Parker Sonnet came loose in my pockets. Nowadays I don’t wear fountain pens of the click-type in my pockets, only the screw type cap like the Kaweco Ice Sport, which is also small/short enough to fit small shirt pockets. (See sixth and seventh pictures) The plastic section of the Metropolitan is screwed on the metal barrel and what i noticed with all my four Metropolitans is that the plastic threads on the section are somehow shallow. However, when I inspected my Kaweco Ice Sports the plastic threads were comparable shallow. There is a difference in the circumference of the barrel and the grip section, which results in a physically distinct change over. For people with thicker fingers and the way you hold the grip section, this may become annoying in time. For me this wasn’t a problem. Weight & dimensions (7/10): Because it's made of brass it is certainly a bit heavier than fountain pens made of plastic in the same size. But for me this wasn't an issue after writing for longer stretches of time. The pen is of average size and I think it will be suitable for most people. I like to write with an unposted cap, unless the pen has small dimensions like the Kaweco Sport. For me the Metropolitan (made of brass) writes better unposted. If I post the cap this certainly changes the balance of the pen and feels uncomfortable to me while writing. (See eighth and ninth pictures) To have some idea about the measurements, the grey dots in the eighth and ninth pictures are spaced 1cm (approximately 0.4 inch) from each other. From left to right you see Lamy Vista (Safari demonstrator), Parker Sonnet, Metropolitan MR Retro Pop, Kaweco Ice Sport and Platinum Preppy Nib & performance (7/10): In my country the Netherlands the Metropolitan / Retro Pop are only available in Medium. But compared to European (German) Medium nibs this Japanese Medium nib writes a bit thinner. The nib is made of plain steel and has some engraving as you can see on the close up pictures. After a day or two of running-in the with cartridge fitted Retro Pop writes smooth and moderate in terms of wetness. The Metropolitan Violet Leopard, which I have longer and is fitted with a Pelikan converter writes a bit wetter, but of course this also depends on the used ink. Don’t know if this all makes a valid difference. (See the tenth, eleventh and twelfth pictures for how it all looks like) Filling system & Maintenance (7/10): Well i'll be short about it, because i already mentioned that the Metropolitan MR uses standard cartridges or converters and in the introduction have taken a side step about which converters to use. Normally when I get a new fountain pen, i disassemble the feed section and the nib and give it a thorough rinse and flush. Dry it with kitchen tissue and let it air dry for a day. When inking, i mostly use converters already fitted on the pen and dipping the nib in the inkbottle. While filling it up the nib already gets saturated with ink, so after wiping off excessive ink from the nib the pen writes immediately. Now however with the Retro Pop I was so anxious that I didn’t bother to disassemble and clean the nib. I inserted the ink cartridge right away, dipped the pen in water hoping this would enhance the ink flow and tapped and shook the pen gently. Gradually the ink flow started and the colour became saturated. So it takes a bit more time. Cost & Value (9/10): Like said in the introduction the Dutch penshop La Couronne du Comte was one of the first who had the Metropolitan MR Retro Pop in store at the retail price of € 18.50 which at time of writing this review is approximately US $ 20. Reason why i reward the cost & value a 9 out of 10 is that for this price I get a well constructed fountain pen which writes the way I expect from a decent fountain pen. What has also influenced my opinion is the consistency of the product. All four Metropolitans I have are of the same quality and write smoothly. This is not common because with certain Chinese brands if you buy four of the same model, it is not guaranteed that they are all flawless. Conclusion (final score 7,5) When fountain pens in the sub € 25 or sub $ 25 price range are reviewed it is unavoidable that they are compared to the popular LAMY Safaris or Kaweco Sports series. I have three Safaris and three Kaweco Ice Sports but i can say the Pilot Metropolitans surely can cope with them on all relevant aspects. As a matter of a fact i'm a bit surprised that there are far fewer reviews of the Metropolitan in the fountainpennetwork site than there are of the Safaris or Kaweco Sports. The Pilot Metropolitan doesn't deserve that, it's really a nice pen for the price. But maybe now with the merry colours of the Retro Pop that will change. Being November at this moment the Pilot Metropolitan Retro Pop would also make a great Christmas present!





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