Posts: 1171
From: Highland Mills, NY USA
Registered: Jun 2003
posted March 22, 2011 08:13 PM
There's a seller on Ebay that has available a hand cranked Super 8 Movie Viewer. The asking price is $15. It's made of plastic and it comes in a yellow box. Does anyone know who made these and if they actually work? Doug has been kind enough to provide a link to the item (Thanks, Doug).
Posts: 81
From: Valencia, CA, USA
Registered: Aug 2010
posted March 23, 2011 04:53 PM
I had one almost exactly like this one pictured on ebay. The only difference was mine didn't have the grip handle and had a film reel capacity of 50ft. It was made by Argus ... and it was how I got into film collecting at the age of 7. My viewer came with a cartoon entitled 'Fits in the Pits' and was a scene with Fred Flintstone working on his dinosaur in the quarry.
It works fairly well. Just thread the film, turn the hand crank and hold up to the light. I loved that little toy!!!
Posts: 96
From: Athens, Greece
Registered: Jan 2011
posted March 23, 2011 04:59 PM
I bought 2 of these for me and my friend. They actually suck. Reels were uneven, plastics are crappy, light didn't work. reel mechanism was too hard to spin. I gave up trying after a while and kept it as a decorative...
Posts: 763
From: Auckland,New Zealand
Registered: Jun 2003
posted March 23, 2011 11:05 PM
Yep,a very "below average" one,this viewer.Every now and then, someone puts up a post about a toy movie viewer and,each time,my juices are stirred! I get to thinking about the Hong Kong-made Apollo 3D Movie Viewer that was advertised in "Movie Maker "magazine in the year 1981. This gadget was a bit like a "super 8mm" Viewmaster.Film cassettes were inserted horizontally into the viewer.Film subject matter was limited to boxing matches(I think).Anyrate,I really would like to have a play with one of these gadgets....regards,Trev
Posts: 2941
From: Croydon, London, UK
Registered: Aug 2004
posted March 24, 2011 11:06 AM
I have a small rectangular thing that takes small cartridges with about 30 seconds of Super 8 film. The picture you see is so small that it's pretty hopeless. Surprisingly, the cartridges were being sold until at least 1992, as I have ones for 'Terminator 2' and 'Batman Returns'. When I bought it, it came with a clip from an English football (soccer) match, which wasn't a great idea as you would have trouble spotting the ball!
Posts: 763
From: Auckland,New Zealand
Registered: Jun 2003
posted November 16, 2014 12:52 AM
Tonight,I found a picture of the Apollo 3D Movie Viewer-in MovieMaker Oct 1984. http://www.filmstips.com/pictures.php