Mathmos Telstar legs are not equidistant

[Andrew Perr]

Hello Forum

I have recent bought a Mathmos Telstar direct from Mathmos (UK).

I have a few issues with it, but as I have never actually looked at a Mathmos Telestar in detail before I hope someone can give me  a second opinion

A few issues I have are:

1: The legs are not equidistant. I don't mean a few millimetres but several centimetres difference.

Distances are 21.5cm (about 8.5 inches), 18.5cm (about 7.25 inches) and   18.5cm (about 7.25 inches) again. This is very obvious when looking at the lamp.

2: The bottle sits in the base up to the lip of the bottle but it is very wobbly as is the top cover.

I have contacted Mathmos and they have told me this is all perfectly normal. 

I accept this up to a point but I would have thought the legs would be equidistant (of very nearly so) and the bottle should be quite snug although with some play.

I have attached a few photos and short video and any comments would be welcome.

Thanks in advance Andrew

     

[Paul]

 

Hi

The legs not being equidistant is a change they made a year of two ago and I 100% agree, they look pretty bad now. I'm assuming it’s to help it fit in the box better (the ones with equally distant legs bulged the box a bit) but if that’s their priority over having a nice symmetrical lamp then it’s a lazy decision.

As for the wobble, it’s pot luck. Yours looks the same as my newer Telatars from your video so I'd say it’s as good as you will get. 

The caps are much better than they used to be with the little lips on the inside that sit on the bottle cap. 

[Andrew Perr]

Thanks Paul

It's - it not what i wanted to hear and it's a real shame. I have  a couple of Astros which I love so was expecting the Telestar to be very high quality in every respect - seeing as this is how Mathmos advertise themselves and why i paid the best part of £100  for it.

I could live with the bottle wobble - but the legs not being equidistant is a real annoyance....

Anyway, thanks again for the reply

Paul said:

 

Hi

The legs not being equidistant is a change they made a year of two ago and I 100% agree, they look pretty bad now. I'm assuming it’s to help it fit in the box better (the ones with equally distant legs bulged the box a bit) but if that’s their priority over having a nice symmetrical lamp then it’s a lazy decision.

As for the wobble, it’s pot luck. Yours looks the same as my newer Telatars from your video so I'd say it’s as good as you will get. 

The caps are much better than they used to be with the little lips on the inside that sit on the bottle cap. 

[lampfancy]

I remember hearing about the offset legs a few years ago, had hoped they might have changed it by now, but I guess not.



Seems mad that altering the product itself was considered to be easier than just making a slightly wider box for that model, all the models have a bespoke box designs anyway (I remember at one point they had a single generic box for all models)



Pretty annoying though, looks very strange from certain angles, as if the legs have been bent or something.



I have an older Telstar from the early ‘00s, the kind with the annoying, wobbly push-fit legs and perpetually tarnishing aluminium - kind of wish I has gotten another one during the ‘sweet spot’, of production - after they had improved the finish and leg fixings but before the annoying offset was introduced.

[Modulo '70]

Thanks for providing this interesting subject about the Mathmos Telstar. I must admit I had never noticed this before. I shall check out my Orange bodied Telstar. Most of my others are from the 90’s I think so with a different construction.

[Bob Scran]

Hi, I believe the legs were changed not because of the box. They changed the inside to a GU10 fitting but people kept breaking this when turning the bulb when fitting so they added an extra bit inside to stop this happening which meant the legs had to be moved to fit the design. 

[Paul]

 I know the ones you mean but they changed the legs position before better securing the bulb holder with the little lips. I have a couple with wonky legs that don’t have the internal lips to hold the bulb holder.

I believe the position of the legs were changed just after they discontinued the black/copper. The ridges that hold the bulb came around the time the black/nickel was released two or three years later.  

I might be totally wrong about the box however. 

Bob Scran said:

Hi, I believe the legs were changed not because of the box. They changed the inside to a GU10 fitting but people kept breaking this when turning the bulb when fitting so they added an extra bit inside to stop this happening which meant the legs had to be moved to fit the design.