This is hardly breaking news, but Lamy gave us another nice Al-Star for 2018, the Vibrant Pink, with matching ink.
I’m not sure this new Al-Star is any more interesting than any other, but it is pink, and that’s an excuse for photos, plus a headline that contains a poem. I’ll include a twist at the end, too. (All this, and for free, too? Such a deal.)
Well here we go: Vibrant Pink, pen and ink.
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FWIW, I’m a Safari fan too – converted by you! I didn’t use to think that much of them, preferring Kaweco Sports or the old-style Sheaffer no-Nonsenses for the cheap-but-good-and-loads-of-nib-sizes category. But the way you talk them up, I got there! You did a post a few years back on Safaris specifically and it was my ‘aha!’ moment.
I mean, I still like the Sport & No-Nonsense, but now I like the Safari just as much. The way I see it now, it’s like design wise it complements the other two, so I can recommend the Kaweco for people who want a smaller pen or standard carts, the Sheaffers for people who want something more traditional looking, and the Safari for people with more contemporary tastes.
So, at least one more fan! Heh 🙂
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No way!!!! This is almost scary, because I think it’s very possible that my entire life’s purpose has now been achieved. Having three great kids, watching the Chicago Cubs win the 2016 World Series, and now I learn I’ve converted you to a Lamy Safari fan?! If I’m hit by a bus tomorrow, let it be known I had a smile on my face.
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Way!! Hahaha. I’m sure it’s at least as fulfilling as the Cubs victory 😉
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Thank you for the great review. 🙂 I came late to the Al-Star party – quite like the Vibrant Pink, but it’s a shame I missed the Ruby. Oh well.
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You’re welcome! I love the Ruby. But the Vibrant Pink is really nice, too, I have to say.
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I love your collection! Your perplexity over the pink sparkles made me laugh because right now I have 2 Lamys of very boring non-colour…inked up with sparkling golden and teal inks. (They write very smoothly and spark…li…ly, you’ll be pleased to know.) And I love pink inks too!
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Thank you! That sounds awesome!
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Nice post! I love the photos! I also collect AL-Stars, and am still missing the Raspberry (if you know someone…let me know). The ruby red one is also my favourite! Got lucky when I found mine.
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Great review! I’m sad that when I took a slight fp break, all the cool AL-Stars emerged! I do
Wish they would bring back more colored clips. I bought both the fp & the ink, but the ink is not for me. So, I have it inked with Callifolio Andrinople, which is a good match, as well.
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Andrinople seems like a better match color-wise. 👍🏻 I took the Vibrant Pink to my pen meetup yesterday. Everyone liked the pen, though most of the men didn’t seem inclined to buy it. 😁 The ink got a more mixed response — I think because the color isn’t really so much of a match. I do have it in an EF nib, though, which doesn’t really show off an ink. 🙂
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I’ve only been into fountain pens for a couple of years, so I had no idea Lamy had put out so many colors! I favor Al-Stars; I like the metallic finish and feel. And tray #1 makes me happy, too. Only, I’d be happier if they were in my drawer! -lol- I do have several, though. I have Purple, Pacific, and Blue-Green. Of Safaris, I have Yellow and Coral. After two, I decided I liked Al-Stars better. I wish I had the Ruby Red and Raspberry. I love that Raspberry shade of pink; it’s a warm shade. And I also like the light green next to Charged Green. But that’s what happens when someone is new to a hobby, though. I guess it’s inevitable that I’d be wanting colors that are no longer available. Sigh….
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Thank you!
I’m more of a Safari fan, historically, but lately I’ve liked the Al-Star colors a lot more.
With the Raspberry, I should warn that it looks more saturated in those photos than in real life. I’ve always been meh about the Raspberry. But I really like pink, and I really like crazy, fun colors. The Raspberry is more tasteful.
Honestly, I think we all want a few pens that aren’t available, or are only available for an arm and a leg. But luckily, they keep making more. 🙂
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Your enthusiasm is definitely contagious- thank you for showing us the whole collection and not just the Pink.
I confess that I probably have them all but they live in pencil cases with their similarly-coloured cousins so don’t go to many AL reunions. Your support for Ruby has prompted me to move it into the fresh air of the pen pot. Thank you!
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Thank you! As it turns out, the luckiest good choice I ever made in pens was to buy two small pen cases with drawers, made by another lovely person from England. That’s where those Al-Stars in the photo are sitting. And sometimes when I’m pulling up drawers, looking for a pen to use, I’ll get a little jolt of happiness just seeing what’s in there. It’s a nice way to enjoy them aesthetically without having them all in use.
And how nice to hear that you are using the Ruby! I should do the same. I’ve only got the one Vibrant Pink Al-Star inked up right now. In fact, my whole pen cup is really boring right now. It needs a shot of Charged Green, at the very least. Maybe I’ll go all Al-Star next week. 🙂
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Your photo of “last four annual Al-Stars” is a 75% match for the color scheme of my travel wardrobe. Seriously, the sneakers I’m wearing as I sit at a gate waiting for my plane coordinate perfectly. (It’s the three colors on the right, minus the orange.) Maybe I should work in that Lamy color selection department…
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Awesome! Because the three colors on the right are my favorites of the four! We should pitch Lamy.
Kudos to you for a jazzy travel wardrobe. Mine, such as it is, is black, white and gray. Like a newspaper.
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Thank you for the review! And, y’know, I quite like some of those colors. I think your enthusiasm is contagious.
I love how the color inks we have are a bit of a “tell”. You have two pinks, and a whole range of amazing colors… I have three browns, three blues, three blacks, two reds and a green. But I must confess, before I gave my daughter her pen and purple ink the other day, I inked up a spare Platinum Plaisir with a converter-full of her sparkly purple Diamine Lilac Satin.
Purely for research purposes you understand.
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Uh, yeah, I have two pink inks… (laughs nervously, slinks away). Or possibly … eight … who knows?
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There’s no shame in two pinks! How’s that any more embarrassing than three browns? 🙂
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🙂 🙂 🙂 I missed the “Or possibly … eight … who knows?” How did that happen? 🙂 🙂 🙂
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🔮
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It’s not embarrassing at all. Neither is. 😁
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That soft green with the black clip is beautiful! Also, all of the colors look so much prettier when next to each other than solo. I really like the raspberry, it reminds me of a more subtle NeonCoral Safari (which I bought in my sleep and have used probably one time because me and pink aren’t friends). I like the lil bit of sparkle in the ink. It gives it a little extra flair without being another shimmering/sparkling/glistening ink.
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I’m glad to hear something positive about the sparkles. I’m nonplussed, but not for any rational reason. Maybe that’s just me, circa 2018. The more upbeat and chipper person I used to be probably would have greeted the idea of sparkles in a Lamy pink ink as the greatest combination of things ever.
But, see, as a fan of pink, and of anything outrageous, I adore the Neon Coral Safari. So I’ll probably like a little flair in the sparkly ink, too. Thank you for that!
That’s so true: all of the colors look much nicer together. Seeing them all in a row like that makes me happy. Hopefully other people feel the same. 🙂
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Great to read your views on this new Al-Star and ink, and to see where it fits in with previous model spectrum. That ruby red one looks lovely too!
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The Ruby Red is beautiful. I hope they bring it back.
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The new ink and pen look pretty good. The pen should look good with Pilot Iroshizuku-Yama budo!! I seem to like magenta more than a regular pink though. I liked the colors and comparisons. Excellent photography as usual.
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Thank you. Yes, I’m sure Yama-budo would be perfect. Another good match would be Colorverse Andromeda, which I should try with it. But I like the Vibrant Pink ink, too. It’s really good on poor paper, too — of course, I’m using it in an extra-fine nib…. 🙂
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