Sheaffer Prelude - the good, the bad and when compared

[maclink]

I recently got my first Sheaffer, i.e., a Prelude with the Deep Blue finish.  It's a nice looking pen, especially when capped.   

 

Prelude at the bottom with Cross Century II and Pelikan M205 above.

 

I was genuinely stunned by the nib.  It's a medium nib that looks great from all angles and it writes very well.  It's really well tuned and among the best out of the box writing experiences I've had at any price point.  OTOH, the section isn't resin/acrylic, but a much cheaper plastic that you would find on much cheaper pens.  I cannot, for the life of me, understand why they would mix a 'luxurious' with a 'cheap' look??

 

Can you see the unsightly injection moulding cheap production seam along the side of the Prelude's section?

 

I then, out of curiosity, got the Cross Century II that you see in the pics.  I was hoping for a surprise as well, but instead spent about an hour fiddling with the nib (realigning tines and doing micromesh work) to get the thing to write.  If I had known it would have been so tedious and that it's also a firehose with the tines too far apart, I'd have returned it without meddling.  OTOH, the overall pen looks and feels better.  Both are coated metal pens, but the section of the Cross is of a higher quality plastic without the little low quality mass production seams on either side, as with the Sheaffer.

 

 

With this Prelude, although it writes well, there are so many other pens, less tackily produced, that I don't see Sheaffer's future as very bright.