This has been puzzling me for quite sometime. I have collected the entire (and I believe by my research) and complete Mitchell 600 series of reels. Several of them I had to import from England as for some reason, the English loved them. In an advertisement found in many sporting magazines it showed the 600 series with a maroon or red colored side plate. EVERY 600 series I have ever seen has white side plates. Does anyone know of a maroon colored Mitchell 600?DD579940-59EE-42A6-9A5A-3F821E273C5F.png
Oftentimes, certain colored reels were only released in certain areas (Europe, Canada, Australia, etc.) and not the US. Not sure in this case, though.
It would be interesting to see if they used a higher quality material on the red sideplates —- then they did on the white ones. I think I have only seen 2 or 3 of these Garcia/Mitchell Conventionals that don't have the typical spider cracks around the center of the plates. And I have likely handled around 50.
Best, Fred
Me tinks is a GOOF UP in the ad in 1964.
Do these cracks present a structural concern or they're just ugly?
Trying to decide if my 622 should get spooled up or head to the shelf.
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on August 17, 2022, 03:02:58 AMDo these cracks present a structural concern or they're just ugly?
Trying to decide if my 622 should get spooled up or head to the shelf.
They never seem to get much worse, and they work just fine.
Best, Fred
Hard to show off a white reel on white paper, maybe? If they were ever red, somebody would have shown us a real one by now.
How long did they use the white material for their plates?
I'll paint mine if someone wants to pay an exorbitant rate for it. I'll even fill in the cracks first. One of a kind. Til you make one.
I checked all of my reels (15 of them) and everyone of them has a crack to some degree. Some are very small while others are obvious.
Not leaning towards the "hard to photograph a white reel" theory. Got to believe there was more to it.
Colorizing Photo's was Common practice when that ad was made . Today they have progs to do it for you .such as
Did they make a run for K Mart fishing reels , some body could have made red reel
Quote from: oldmanjoe on August 18, 2022, 12:46:34 PMDid they make a run for K Mart fishing reels , some body could have made red reel
I think Olympic made a lot of K-Mart Reels.
Quote from: Reeltyme on August 17, 2022, 06:19:28 PMNot leaning towards the "hard to photograph a white reel" theory.
OK. I'm not a strong Garcia follower. I have some. But my guess was predicated on the printing tech available then and the type of paper. To close that loop, somebody could post a "white reel" ad from the same time frame. My guess is it would show up on glossy paper in a dark background.
I still hold that if there were red ones
made by Garcia, the "I got one!" guy would be here by now cause we all want to see it. I want to see it.
I was really hoping someone would pop up as well with a "here's a photo of one". I started collecting them because no one else did and I was board. Of course, you MUST have the whole series!
By the way, they are made quite well!
Interesting... I too have never seen a 600 series Mitchell in anything other than (cracked) white. Apart from the so-called unbreakable plastic spools (that broke all too easily - I had several), these reels seem to last for ever, even when mistreated. Clean them up and go put them to use, though the drag system was jerky when wet.
My 600A that has done plenty rockcod /bottomfishing duty out of Morro Bay and most definitely has a standard chrome/steel spool. It is on a light duty inshore bottom fishing outfit. Yes, it is cracked. Other than that it works just fine on the Kencor 4' rod I have it on. - john
My guesses: The ad is targeted to an American market since it mentions of American fish species. They may have been jumping on the red trend of the time (following the Ambassadeur's). And/or chasing the popularity of the Penn reels. Possibly they weren't produced for long?
Quote from: Reeltyme link=msg=4199876 date=16608730q64I was really hoping someone would pop up as well with a "here's a photo of one". I started collecting them because no one else did and I was board. Of course, you MUST have the whole series!
You painted it huh? Worth a fortune on the 'bay
You did get the color VERY close though!
I had a white one with a broken plastic spool, the decal was missing, so I was not sure what model it was, so I gave it to a mate for part, cheers Don.
Then there are the Orange ones
Mystery solved! :)
The stickers might become more valuable than the reels at some point. Who has a roll of those?
I have a white one that isn't cracked !! I will have to dig it out for pictures. Buried away in box of bottom shelf reels LOL !!!
Quote from: 54bullseye on September 24, 2022, 10:14:44 PMI have a white one that isn't cracked !! I will have to dig it out for pictures. Buried away in box of bottom shelf reels LOL !!!
Might be Cracked now :(
Yep, there's 2 kinds of Mitchell 600's
.....them that's cracked, and them that's gonna crack
Me likey the red and orange. Nice job Henry !!