Ashtray - Heart of Darkness (Devo Scene)


Sonny-Burnett

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post-32-0-38266400-1393449647_thumb.jpg

 

 

I'm trying to find this particular ashtray, which appears to be a windproof, sandbag ashtray of the kind used on boats. (click on both images to enlarge)

 

Can't easily make out the symbols on the screen shot but would like to know if anyone else has managed to track this particular one down?  

 

FYI. found this one on Amazon which seems close but not exact on the symbols.

 

post-32-0-60141300-1393449903_thumb.jpg

Edited by Sonny-Burnett
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Eingefügtes BildSonny's Windproof Sandbag Ashtray RS.jpg

 

 

I'm trying to find this particular ashtray, which appears to be a windproof, sandbag ashtray of the kind used on boats. (click on both images to enlarge)

 

Can't easily make out the symbols on the screen shot but would like to know if anyone else has managed to track this particular one down?  

 

FYI. found this one on Amazon which seems close but not exact on the symbols.

 

Eingefügtes BildAmazon Ashtray.jpg

 

 

Try ebay ?  :D  :fireworks:  :fireworks: 

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yep tried Ebay as well.

 

The real question I have is what symbols are on the Ashtray in the Screen Capture from HoD, (1st photo) as I really can't make them out.

 

Then I can narrow down the options I found. So if anyone has a clearer shot of the screen capture, I'd appreciate seeing it. (got mine from the NBC site).

Edited by Sonny-Burnett
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Anyone have a better view of the Crockett ashtray seen above in Heart of Darkness?

 

Or better yet, has anyone besides me gone out looking for one and succeeded?

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  • 9 years later...
On 3/7/2014 at 3:41 PM, Sonny-Burnett said:

Anyone have a better view of the Crockett ashtray seen above in Heart of Darkness?

 

Or better yet, has anyone besides me gone out looking for one and succeeded?

I think you got as close to it as possible @Sonny-Burnett.

For what it's worth, I can only make out reliably two images: a ship helm, and... this is either a lady tanning on a chaise or a ship anchor :).

Here are the rotated/saturated images:

HoD2.png.7f37d6e40f5b54e260d08e710a49120f.png 

HoD1.png.0dfe7bc33144b11f2441d9c62b1921d4.png

Which I pulled from the two best shots we have in the scene:

vlcsnap-2023-03-30-23h07m34s415.png.93aabdc4443894f21e07d14c4cffb83b.png 

vlcsnap-2023-03-30-23h07m57s858.png.68b4883756590201527f152c408ae076.png

We don't have a 360 degrees view of the ashtray in the scene to compare against symbol by symbol. That would be fine and we could anchor (pun intended) to a couple of known symbols and their relation to each other to compare against designs on sale today, but... Since the bean bag bottom is just a cloth, there is very high probability that the cloth was redesigned over the years even if it was the same company making them then and now.

Pactrade Marine, which is a specialized marine equipment manufacturer and importer, sells it: https://www.pactrademarine.com/reading-lights-c-47_32/marine-boat-stainless-steel-rim-ashtray-bean-bag-base-windproof-p-534.html

The question is whether Pactrade Marine is a company old enough to be selling the same in the 80s (I couldn't find when they were founded), and whether they make it themselves or just distribute.

Here is the bottom of their ashtray:

s-l1600.thumb.jpg.44bb886befa9bf8583f3153247a7bf1e.jpg

It does have the helm, but it looks slightly thinner. So let's assume it's not the right version.

Here is another specialized company: https://www.five-oceans.com/collections/gifts-accessories/products/windproof-bean-bag-ashtray-blue-fo101-fo-101

The description on the website is much richer, and they even have dimensions schematic - more serious guys, maybe they actually manufacture it. And they are "a company with more than 40 years of worldwide experience in the marine industry" so could have been making these in mid-80s too! Their helm has thicker lines, but this one I think too thick:

101_01_900x.jpg.11d1299b3c7f46fc9d901922140b51d3.jpg

I see a couple more similar companies online, but the bottom line is this cloth might have slightly changed many times whoever made the ashtray... I personally would just buy from Five Oceans and consider case closed. 

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Tons of options out there...

the Five Oceans as you noticed has this coarse print, so it looks a bit like a knock-off to me, so that's the one that I would not buy, but that's just my two cents. I reckon they'll all be made in China these days anyway, in one or two factories and sold throughout the world under whatever brand name.

https://www.westmarine.com/seafit-bean-bag-ashtray-2127132.html

https://www.ebay.com/itm/164675768560

https://www.amazon.com/Amarine-made-Stainless-Windproof-Bean-Ashtray/dp/B00BK5VACQ

https://de.aliexpress.com/item/4001195118094.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2deu

https://de.aliexpress.com/i/33049097999.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2deu

https://www.svb24.com/en/sand-bag-ashtray.html

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8 hours ago, daytona365 said:

Tons of options out there...

the Five Oceans as you noticed has this coarse print, so it looks a bit like a knock-off to me, so that's the one that I would not buy, but that's just my two cents. I reckon they'll all be made in China these days anyway, in one or two factories and sold throughout the world under whatever brand name.

https://www.westmarine.com/seafit-bean-bag-ashtray-2127132.html

https://www.ebay.com/itm/164675768560

https://www.amazon.com/Amarine-made-Stainless-Windproof-Bean-Ashtray/dp/B00BK5VACQ

https://de.aliexpress.com/item/4001195118094.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2deu

https://de.aliexpress.com/i/33049097999.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2deu

https://www.svb24.com/en/sand-bag-ashtray.html

I agree that they are most certainly all made in China, in the same or different factories which doesn't really matter. I called Pactrade Marine and confirmed that the ashtray is made in China. Couldn't reach West Marine, and Five Oceans doesn't provide a number on the website/Maps. They are in Miramar, so I could possibly drive and talk to somebody in the store, if it is worth it... 

The key question is whether in the 80s the one in the show was also from China or was US-made. The Pactrade Marine rep on the phone couldn't consult me on this global trade question. So the best course of action so far is to just pick one from the numerous vendors available that matches the print look/quality best and buy it if one wanted to recreate the scene. 

I do like the ones you sent on AliExpress because the print looks better and I can see that same symbol of the lady/anchor, though in a slightly different interpretation:

HoD1.png.54a83b1736af5d1a16e3cf9f333c79af.png

Screenshot2023-03-31112317.png.38830337cecc289327a907e5219b7f0f.png

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1 hour ago, Paul Veres said:

I agree that they are most certainly all made in China, in the same or different factories which doesn't really matter. I called Pactrade Marine and confirmed that the ashtray is made in China. Couldn't reach West Marine, and Five Oceans doesn't provide a number on the website/Maps. They are in Miramar, so I could possibly drive and talk to somebody in the store, if it is worth it... 

The key question is whether in the 80s the one in the show was also from China or was US-made. The Pactrade Marine rep on the phone couldn't consult me on this global trade question. So the best course of action so far is to just pick one from the numerous vendors available that matches the print look/quality best and buy it if one wanted to recreate the scene. 

I do like the ones you sent on AliExpress because the print looks better and I can see that same symbol of the lady/anchor, though in a slightly different interpretation:

HoD1.png.54a83b1736af5d1a16e3cf9f333c79af.png

Screenshot2023-03-31112317.png.38830337cecc289327a907e5219b7f0f.png

I would say the chances that the ashtray was made in China in the 80’s is essentially zero.  China was still a command economy until the very late 70’s and by 1985 was still only 2% of foreign trade, most of which was raw materials and agricultural exports.  The US was at the time a net exporter to China, mostly technology and other manufactured goods, plus investment capital.  The trade balance was very decisively in favor of the US then.
 

China’s manufacturing exports began to grow more dramatically in the 90’s and really exploded after they joined the WTO in 2001.  This is all after the series, of course.  Sometimes it’s hard to believe those details given the circumstances today.  If the ashtray was manufactured overseas, and that might be true but was not a certainty then, it was more likely made in Taiwan or South Korea in that time period, even more than Japan.  Taiwan had a pretty large shipbuilding industry in the 70’s and 80’s.  I have a friend with a Formosa 41 ketch built there in the mid 70’s.  I don’t know about other nautical supplies though.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/31/2023 at 1:12 PM, pahonu said:

I would say the chances that the ashtray was made in China in the 80’s is essentially zero.  China was still a command economy until the very late 70’s and by 1985 was still only 2% of foreign trade, most of which was raw materials and agricultural exports.  The US was at the time a net exporter to China, mostly technology and other manufactured goods, plus investment capital.  The trade balance was very decisively in favor of the US then.
 

China’s manufacturing exports began to grow more dramatically in the 90’s and really exploded after they joined the WTO in 2001.  This is all after the series, of course.  Sometimes it’s hard to believe those details given the circumstances today.  If the ashtray was manufactured overseas, and that might be true but was not a certainty then, it was more likely made in Taiwan or South Korea in that time period, even more than Japan.  Taiwan had a pretty large shipbuilding industry in the 70’s and 80’s.  I have a friend with a Formosa 41 ketch built there in the mid 70’s.  I don’t know about other nautical supplies though.

Thank you for the insight @pahonu, makes sense. In summary, we're stuck with China-made copies today and without knowing where the MV "original" was made...

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  • 3 weeks later...

So I bought these fellas on eBay, mainly because they were sold by someone in Miami...

They were offered as vintage and given the patina of the packaging, they must be a few years old. Not 1980's though, telling by the url on the cardboard sheet. The positioning of the symbols on the cloth is somewhat arbitrary, so I don't have the surfer shape and the steering wheel close together, but overall it's all looking very close to the one used on the show.

20230429_200430973_iOS.thumb.jpg.850a1e1ee5bf79cefbda08c6505d9a01.jpg

20230429_200557833_iOS.thumb.jpg.08b6155e51e9cf3d1f3e6150e1b338ba.jpg

20230429_200438082_iOS.thumb.jpg.b70b22db25da68e25652482d6f205e0c.jpg

20230429_200503777_iOS.thumb.jpg.57cef4e0a040edd57b4ac3a800f52d4d.jpg

20230429_200557833_iOS.thumb.jpg.08b6155e51e9cf3d1f3e6150e1b338ba.jpg

 

 

 

20230429_200758901_iOS.jpg

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2 hours ago, daytona365 said:

So I bought these fellas on eBay, mainly because they were sold by someone in Miami...

They were offered as vintage and given the patina of the packaging, they must be a few years old. Not 1980's though, telling by the url on the cardboard sheet. The positioning of the symbols on the cloth is somewhat arbitrary, so I don't have the surfer shape and the steering wheel close together, but overall it's all looking very close to the one used on the show.

20230429_200430973_iOS.thumb.jpg.850a1e1ee5bf79cefbda08c6505d9a01.jpg

20230429_200557833_iOS.thumb.jpg.08b6155e51e9cf3d1f3e6150e1b338ba.jpg

20230429_200438082_iOS.thumb.jpg.b70b22db25da68e25652482d6f205e0c.jpg

20230429_200503777_iOS.thumb.jpg.57cef4e0a040edd57b4ac3a800f52d4d.jpg

20230429_200557833_iOS.thumb.jpg.08b6155e51e9cf3d1f3e6150e1b338ba.jpg

 

 

 

20230429_200758901_iOS.jpg

Nice pick up!  It shows that it was made in Taiwan as I speculated about a couple of posts back.  It may go back farther than you think.  China surpassed Taiwan in this type of manufacturing in the 2000’s so it may be from the 90’s.  
 

The age of a product can be deceiving if it has been stored properly.  A business that I buy aftermarket parts from for my old VW van had a chance to buy a cargo container of NOS parts from Volkswagen sight unseen several years ago.  I don’t remember all the details or their bid, but they got it and went on to catalog and list for sale all its contents.  These were parts manufactured in the 80’s mostly.  I bought a few hard to find interior finish parts and remember thinking that these things are really over 30 years old because they looked great.  So who knows?  You  might have something from the time of the show or at least much nearer than you might have expected. :thumbsup:

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2 hours ago, daytona365 said:

So I bought these fellas on eBay, mainly because they were sold by someone in Miami...

They were offered as vintage and given the patina of the packaging, they must be a few years old. Not 1980's though, telling by the url on the cardboard sheet. The positioning of the symbols on the cloth is somewhat arbitrary, so I don't have the surfer shape and the steering wheel close together, but overall it's all looking very close to the one used on the show.

20230429_200430973_iOS.thumb.jpg.850a1e1ee5bf79cefbda08c6505d9a01.jpg

20230429_200557833_iOS.thumb.jpg.08b6155e51e9cf3d1f3e6150e1b338ba.jpg

20230429_200438082_iOS.thumb.jpg.b70b22db25da68e25652482d6f205e0c.jpg

20230429_200503777_iOS.thumb.jpg.57cef4e0a040edd57b4ac3a800f52d4d.jpg

20230429_200557833_iOS.thumb.jpg.08b6155e51e9cf3d1f3e6150e1b338ba.jpg

 

 

 

20230429_200758901_iOS.jpg

Nice @daytona365. Now time to get on a boat and light up...

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