Moonman 80 ( Parker 45 Clone )

[old4570]

Been looking high and low for a reasonably priced Parker 45 .. ( What a challenge )

People want top dollar and then some , even for pens I would throw in the rubbish bin .

So what to do ?

 

Apparently , the Moonman 80 is almost an exact copy / replica / clone of the Parker 45 to the point that parts are interchangeable .

So yeah , I had to order a Moonman 80 . Still looking for a Parker 45 that falls within my budget .

But I am not holding out much hope . ( There is one in the post I got of Ebay , but I am some what unsure of its true condition )

I don't want to pay a ridiculous amount of money for junk .

Probably better off buying NOS parts and assembling a pen (?) There is one ebay seller , wonder if he would put all the parts together and not postage gouge me ?

 

Then there apparently also was the Hero 800 (?)

Is the Moonman 80 ? a resurrected Hero 800 ? or an entirely new animal ?

[Jerome Tarshis]

I've never handled a Hero 800. Some years ago I did look at pictures of them and thought about buying one. As I remember, the 800 and 800A were somewhat like a Parker 75, not a 45. This may not seem to be an important difference to everyone; the 75 did bear resemblances to the 45.

 

eta: Sorry, I was wrong; I was thinking of the Hero 200 series, which were somewhat like Parker 75s. As everyone else seems to know, the Hero 800 was in fact like the Parker 45.

Edited June 28, 2018 by Jerome Tarshis

[old4570]

There was also the Hero / 156 - 158 ..

 

I was able to track down a Hero 800 , it does how ever cost more than the Moonman 80 ..

Me thinks the Moonman is the closest replica / clone / copy ..

 

I did read that the Hero 800 was a bit of a budget copy ( not nearly as good as a Parker 45 ) , but that the Hero 156 - 158 were actually better than a Parker 45

 

I did see a Hero 156 (?) I think it was the 156 , about $90 USD

[sciumbasci]

I asked around here for a Hero 800 and got told it's discontinued.

 

I would assume the Moonman is a different pen, in regards of quality as well: beside making the other models, Junlai (or was it Jingdai?) Stationery, which is Moonman, also makes the new Hero 100 and the WS 601 and 618

[old4570]

Any Hero 800's would be NOS as would the 156 / 158 .. So there will be no more .

If you have an itch ?

[Mech-for-i]

Clone its not, but an unofficial official variant sort of ....

 

The history of the Parker 45 in China and all its thus decedents / variants is one of which much tied in with the then 1980's Parker business. A part of Parker / Chinese fountain pen history well known among Chinese and Parker fountain pen history enthusiast but likely not the general hobbyist.

 

Basically the story goes that Parker , then seeing the country open up ( after the Nixon visit ), and seeing business as such in the 70's / 80's was wanting to establish market penetration into Asia in particular China, arrange for collaboration with Hero to have them market for Parker and also to have Hero do manufacturing OEM for Parker. But after Parker's own re location / shuffling of management and corporate core to UK, the deal went off with Parker having not yet pay anything for work already rendered. In turn Parker simply gave away all the machinery / work drawing / tech exchange ( yes Parker was getting something from Hero too ) and then some regarding the Parker 45 and some other models; and allow Hero to do whatever they like with it ( with gentlemen agreement ). And thus born Hero 800 which is basically Hero own variant of the Parker 45 ( there are some difference between the two ). After that there were many Hero 800 developed variant from Hero and other names, which do continue in production well into the early Y2K. And the Moonman 80 is simply put, a re launch / new production of the old Hero 800 in a more Parker 45 fashion ( body in acrylic resin vs 800's body in metal ). You can check my post on the show and tell thread regarding the Moonman 80, Parker 45, and Hero 800's compatibility but making it short ... the pen parts pretty much interchange between them all.

[Mech-for-i]

There was also the Hero / 156 - 158 ..

 

I was able to track down a Hero 800 , it does how ever cost more than the Moonman 80 ..

Me thinks the Moonman is the closest replica / clone / copy ..

 

I did read that the Hero 800 was a bit of a budget copy ( not nearly as good as a Parker 45 ) , but that the Hero 156 - 158 were actually better than a Parker 45

 

I did see a Hero 156 (?) I think it was the 156 , about $90 USD

 

well having them all, I can testify that the Hero 800 is basically an analog to a Parker 45 flighter ( quality and workmanship as well as styling ); the Hero 156 is certainly a step up from that. I would say the Moonman 80 a better made than the original ( US made ) P45 , after all its got decades of manufacturing, material and technological know how behind it.

Edited June 28, 2018 by Mech-for-i

[penzel_washinkton]

Just want to mention that a Moonman 80S is being sold by Bobby pens on ebay.

Dimension wise I think it is the same with the previous version, the main difference being the cap material is the same as the barrel thus making it cheaper.

I think previous version is also cartridge converter?

 

Don't know about you guys but I'm snagging this version.

 

Also they sell the 80 Mini, interesting pocket pen!

[Mech-for-i]

I noticed those also .. I am thinking about adding the 80s on next month's purchase .. the 80 Mini I am not so sure ... interesting but I am not too keen on cartridge only .. still might get one though

[penzel_washinkton]

Yep, seeing it cartridge only for the Mini takes away my initial huge interest.

Based on this, is it safe to say that the metal part really has a big part in cost of the pen? By changing the cap, the price falls down by almost half

[old4570]

Yeah , got my 80 , haven't tried it just yet .

Trying to find the cheapest Parker 45's as a base line ( That look ok )

But from just handling the Moonman 80 , seems like a really nice pen .

[steve50]

Yeah , got my 80 , haven't tried it just yet .

Trying to find the cheapest Parker 45's as a base line ( That look ok )

But from just handling the Moonman 80 , seems like a really nice pen .

Let us know how it writes too!

[old4570]

Just ordered the other Moonman 80 pens , The 80s and the 80 Mini .

I need to clean the other Parker's and then ink them ..

At the moment only the Parker 45 Arrow is inked and the NIB on that was a paper tearing monster ( F NIB maybe worn down to EF )

So I had to do some work on it to get it to write .

[penzel_washinkton]

That's a quick trigger pulling after receiving your Moonman 80, what's the drive?

Is the Moonman 80 good in overall?

[old4570]

Drive - Knowledge , and curiosity !

Is the Parker 45 all that and more ? ( The asking prices on them can be a little crazy - to me )

I mean , millions of them were made . So why the crazy prices for what was a budget pen . ( The need to know )

The Parker 45 arrow I picked up needed a lot of NIB work to get it to write reasonably well .

 

The Plan :

 

I have the Moonman 80 , hopefully on the way are the Moonman 80s and 80 Mini ..

The prices on the 80s and 80 Mini ( trigger pull ? ) were reasonable .

+ I figure these pens will be my first proper review . ( Print not video ) , So why not review all the Moonman 80 FP's ( there be only 3 )

 

And once that is done , I can then do a direct comparison with the original .. I might have too much time on my hands ?

[penzel_washinkton]

For me the prices on the 80s is more than reasonable

[AGF]

I payed 9 euros for a moonman 80, and the next day they asked 22.

[Number99]

4 hours ago, AGF said:

I payed 9 euros for a moonman 80, and the next day they asked 22.

I read your post and ordered 4 of them that were still in the cart. (I just remembered that I had forgotten).

 Total 3,050JPY Order on AliExpress.

Listed under the trade name Moonman 80s or MAJOHN 80s. Find a seller who sells kindly and cheaply.

 

correction;

I'm sorry.

 I ordered a model with a plastic cap.

Edited March 28, 2022 by Number99

[Dan Carmell]

On 6/27/2018 at 9:57 PM, old4570 said:

There was also the Hero / 156 - 158 ..

 

I was able to track down a Hero 800 , it does how ever cost more than the Moonman 80 ..

Me thinks the Moonman is the closest replica / clone / copy ..

 

I did read that the Hero 800 was a bit of a budget copy ( not nearly as good as a Parker 45 ) , but that the Hero 156 - 158 were actually better than a Parker 45

 

I did see a Hero 156 (?) I think it was the 156 , about $90 USD

I never saw the 156/158, to the best of my recollection, when I was hunting Heros in the early 2000s, but I did pick up a flighter version of the 800 And if the 156/158, it must have been quite well made. My 800 has just one area that rougher than the 45 and that’s the black tip, which has a gap between the metal barrel & tip—trivial really. The Hero squeeze filler is arguably better than at least two converters supplied at different times with the 45. 
 

I did buy the Moonman 80 mini because it was so cute. The clip lacks the detail of the 800 & 45 but it’s well made and the metal end cap on the barrel is a nice touch. 
 

We were so ignorant about these pens back then, it’s very interesting, the amount of knowledge and information in this forum now. 

[Dan Carmell]

On 6/28/2018 at 12:06 AM, old4570 said:

Any Hero 800's would be NOS as would the 156 / 158 .. So there will be no more .

If you have an itch ?

Having just learned about the 156/158, I have an itch!