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198X Antares M 30 Serial # 421971 198X Antares M 30 typewriter, Serial # 421971 Javier Vazquez del Olmo's 198X Antares M 30 typewriter. 2022-09-03 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Javier Vazquez del Olmo: 198X Antares M 30 Serial # 421971 This looks like Antares trying to make their version of the Valentine.

Not only that, but making it what the Valentine was intended to be: a disposable product. Something you use for a while and then discard it. Should be cheap because it's basically a chunk of plastic with less Metal in it than a Bon Jovi album, should be easy to produce and should go against that dated trend of making things to last. Why having a typewriter for the rest of your life if you can (and you must, because it disintegrated) buy another one? The principle of programmed obsolescence has entered the premises. Olivetti finally didn't go all out and take this road and stopped midway with a striking, modern machine but with old and tested engineering under the hood. Antares instead removed every metal part that could be removed, implemented some weird solutions like mounting the carriage rails perpendicular to the rest of the machine and designed a really bizarre looking contraption enveloped in strange angles. What could go wrong?

Doesn't look that cool, weighs almost 1 kilo more than the full metal Pluma (or Lettera) 22 and on top of everything it's horrible to use. Come on, Antares had better models to work with, even the 20S is better, so why go down a route to obvious disaster?

198X Antares M 30 #421971

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Javier Vazquez del Olmo (Javi)
Created: 09-03-2022 at 07:37AM
Last Edit: 09-03-2022 at 07:37AM

Description Hunter 9 Photos 0 Likes  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

This looks like Antares trying to make their version of the Valentine.

Not only that, but making it what the Valentine was intended to be: a disposable product. Something you use for a while and then discard it. Should be cheap because it's basically a chunk of plastic with less Metal in it than a Bon Jovi album, should be easy to produce and should go against that dated trend of making things to last. Why having a typewriter for the rest of your life if you can (and you must, because it disintegrated) buy another one? The principle of programmed obsolescence has entered the premises. Olivetti finally didn't go all out and take this road and stopped midway with a striking, modern machine but with old and tested engineering under the hood. Antares instead removed every metal part that could be removed, implemented some weird solutions like mounting the carriage rails perpendicular to the rest of the machine and designed a really bizarre looking contraption enveloped in strange angles. What could go wrong?

Doesn't look that cool, weighs almost 1 kilo more than the full metal Pluma (or Lettera) 22 and on top of everything it's horrible to use. Come on, Antares had better models to work with, even the 20S is better, so why go down a route to obvious disaster?

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:




Weird angles all over the place. The Hounds of Tindalos could come anytime soon, just saying.
Weird angles all over the place. The Hounds of Tindalos could come anytime soon, just saying.

The s/n is etched at the lower right corner. Marginally better than a sticker...
The s/n is etched at the lower right corner. Marginally better than a sticker...



This typewriter is a choncc of plastic with several metal parts on top. Also, note the weird placement of the carriage rails.
This typewriter is a choncc of plastic with several metal parts on top. Also, note the weird placement of the carriage rails.

So much plastic and still heavier than a PLuma 22, a Baby or its older cousin the Antares Parva
So much plastic and still heavier than a PLuma 22, a Baby or its older cousin the Antares Parva

Hunter: Javier Vazquez del Olmo (Javi)

Javier Vazquez del Olmo's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 6476

The first typewriter I saw was my grandpa´s Olivetti Linea 98 at the office. It was just a curio for me. Then I was given a Nakajima, which I didn´t use and my grandfather took it from me because it was easier to handle than the bulky Linea 98. Now I own that typewriter, and I started a little collection in Valladolid, Spain. The Nakajima, which is "my" typewriter only returned home in 2017, almost 20 years later, when he wanted a better typewriter.

A collection that started small grew into something bigger, a nuisace for my family and a great source of satisfaction for me.


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