Vixen FL102S at auction - Anyone here buy it?

[murkey]

Hi All,

I just wondered if anyone here purchased this classic Vixen fluorite scope with mount and extras? I was really keen on it as I once had a Tak FS-102 which I regrettably sold many years ago, so owning another 4" scope of similar quality is always there for me..

At £600 closing bid it had another 27.6% to add as it was purchased online which comes out at £765.00, thing that put me off was the look of mould on the front element or worse on the fluorite element?

Anyway if someone here did purchase it I hope it turns out a good one and would love to see a review of it after a clean up, I would have been tempted to bid high had I been more local and had a chance to view it and access the front element issues. 

Auction Link - https://www.stridesauctions.co.uk/catalogue/lots/2EBA51A3E095E93E79728E5CE168783892894EFD2FE0E33DACE5D49F95FB16FB/B68C29BC0201733ABC433BC257A823AD/antiques-etc-lot-1120a/?d

 

[John]

It was not me but given the mould issue on the objective I guess the price obtained was fair. If some of that mould is between the elements then it can be a ticklish job splitting the elements and getting them back together just right. At least it's not a triplet !

 

[mikeDnight]

Truly a fantastic scope, but it does look suspiciously like fungal growth. It's probably been capped while dewed and left for some time, perhaps outside in an observatory. A good reason to keep refractors in the home!

[dweller25]

Oh dear, what a shame

[Stu]

Hmm, nice scope but don't think I would have gone that high for it. Shame it has not been looked after better.

[murkey]

It is a shame if its damaged the fluorite, another tell tell sign of damp is the look of mildew on this leather look case - 

 

[paulastro]

It  nearly brought tears to my eyes when I saw the fungus on the lens, what a tragic loss.  Great scope as it was before its neglect, a better bet would have been to spend the money on a new SW 100ED.

[John]

The fungus may well have damaged any coatings on the glass but I'm not sure about the glass itself. I have had a scope that had fungus like that (a 6 inch F/8 chinese achro) and I did manage to clean it up quite well but it took a lot of effort. The scope was practically given to me so I was happy to play with it. If the new owner has some optical expertise then it might be a good buy in the long run but if they think that a quick wipe round will sort it, they may be in for a surprise.

The last Vixen FL102 that came up on UK Astro Buy & Sell was listed at £850 and the one before that £1150 ono and both were described as in good condition optically and mechanically.

 

[murkey]

9 hours ago, John said:

The last Vixen FL102 that came up on UK Astro Buy & Sell was listed at £850 and the one before that £1150 ono and both were described as in good condition optically and mechanically.

 

At £850 that is a good price for a really great scope, but it does make the auction scope a bit of a gamble, saying that it came with a great Polaris mount, some eyepieces and other bits so adding them in it may have been a good deal..