Retro 51 Tornado Homerun Full Body

Our friends over at Goldspot sent us over one (OK, maybe two and one is going to be a giveaway soon) of the new Retro 51 Tornado Homerun baseball themed pens.  Keep in mind that these are a limited edition of only 750 units, so if you are a big baseball fan and pen person, you need to get on it and pick one up now.

Retro 51 Tornado Homerun Baseball

Its hard to mention baseball and home runs without thinking of people like Micky Mantle and Hank Aaron, so I thought I’d break out the Mantle baseball for the picture above with the Retro 51 Homerun in the background.  You can see that the designers at Retro 51 did an excellent job of making this pen look like a baseball.  Most baseball themed pens I see are shaped like a bat because thats probably the easiest way to design a baseball pen.  Kudos to the Retro 51 folks for not taking the easy way out here.

Retro 51 Tornado Homerun Size Comparison

I have several of the standard Retro 51 Tornado pens including the bamboo version pictured above, but the Homerun is a slightly different model differentiated by its size.  As you can see in this picture, the Retro 51 Homerun is actually a bit thicker with a diameter that is about 0.5″ bigger than the standard versions.

Retro 51 Tornado Homerun Top Baseball

Another good visual to give you an idea how much larger the Retro 51 Homerun is comes when you look at the top of the Homerun and the regular Tornado.  The Retro 51 Homerun clearly has a larger knob at the top that you twist to extend or retract the ink.  its also kind of awesome that they stuck a baseball in that part too.

Retro 51 Tornado Homerun Stitching

The brass barrel of the Retro 51 Homerun is wrapped with a lacquer finish that has slightly raised red markings that do a great job of simulating not only the look but also the feel of actual stitches on a baseball.  The main body of the pen isn’t pure white, but more of an antique white which matches nicely with the antique brass looking finish of the clip and other accents on the knob and nose cone of the pen.

Retro 51 Tornado Homerun Limited Edition Number 708

As I said in the beginning of this post, the Retro 51 Tornado Homerun is actually a limited edition run so each of the 750 pens in the series are individually numbered.  Right on the collar below the twisty knob that you use to retract and extend the ink, the limited edition number is etched into the metal.

Retro 51 Tornado Homerun Limited Edition Numbering

In addition to the limited edition number being etched onto the pen itself, the tube that it comes in also has the number indicated on the outside.

Retro 51 Tornado Homerun Writing Sample:

Retro 51 Tornado Homerun Writing Sample

Writing with any of the pens in the Retro 51 line is always pleasurable because of the fantastic refills that they come with. The larger diameter (.5″ at the widest part) doesn’t make much of a difference for me when I’m writing with it.  I have what one might consider medium size hands and have a preference for larger pens anyway, but if you have smaller hands and/or like small pens this pen might not be ideal for you.  I also didn’t feel any change in balance in terms of being top heavy with the larger diameter, which I think is averted due to the shorter stature of the pen.

Retro 51 Tornado Homerun All Time Leaders Edited

No mention of baseball and the home run statistic is complete without addressing the whole steroid controversy, so I thought I’d use my Retro 51 Homerun to edit the current list of MLBs all time home run leaders (via baseball-reference.com) to reflect reality.  It turns out the Retro 51 Homerun is great for crossing out cheaters if you have any similar lists that need some editing.   It really would have been great if they made the limited edition quantity of these pens 755 instead of 750 to represent the true home run record established by Hank Aaron.  Maybe even do 762 limited edition pens to represent the fake home run record, but put a * next to pens numbered from 756-762 just to be fair.  Anyway, I’ll stop now before I find a way to alienate anymore of our lovely readers and their favorite baseball players. 🙂

Retro 51 Tornado Homerun Package

Bottom line is that the Retro 51 Homerun is an AWESOME looking pen that is a must have for any baseball fan.  When I stopped by the Retro 51 booth at the National Stationery Show on Sunday, the folks there told me that these sold out to their authorized retailers incredibly quickly, so don’t miss your chance to get your hands on one of these now.  Our friends at Goldspot still have some in stock that you can get your hands on, but you better grab one now before the fat lady sings on this great limited edition pen.  Oh, and keep in mind there will be a giveaway here shortly (ie. most likely tomorrow) so if you don’t have the funds for one you can take a shot at winning one too, but no PEDs or cheaters are allowed to enter, thanks. 🙂

©2016, Brian Greene. All rights reserved.