Thanks Kenwood and others for the additional information.

I just ran across this Fantasia Pearl kit for sale on CL in Buffalo NY.

https://buffalo.craigslist.org/msg/d/lockport-1963-star-corporation-drum-kit/6916218705.html

Star logo on tom mount, but no badges that I can see in the pics. Slingerland copy lugs, not offset, which fits with Kenwood's observations. Crazy 13x9 custom ordered snare drum??? Maybe the first owner just converted a tom? Neat kit though.

As a teacher this pandemic has the silver lining of giving me time at home to complete some projects that have been on the side-burner.

Thanks to the nice folks at Drum Factory Direct, and America’s still amazing distribution network, I received the last of the parts I needed within 48 hours of placing my order.

This kit was a complete impulse purchase. I saw the post on CL, dropped everything and drove an hour toward the Ohio/PA border. All I needed to see in the pictures was the wrap, and those teardrop (Lawn dart) lugs, and I was gone. My wife gets irritated when I do that, but has come to accept it. I think she is just jealous of the pure joy on my face when I get home.

As those of you afflicted with VDF know, the hunt and capture are only part of the joy, the rest comes more slowly and requires some hard work, and usually some additional cash outlay. This kit has been a lot of fun to restore. It had some condition challenges mainly with the Fantasia Pearl wrap, and the missing reso side rims and tension rods. The fact that it was a double bass kit really saved the day. I was able to harvest the inlaid hoop, claws, and T-rods from the second bass drum to put together one complete original bass drum. The wrap on the extra drum is split badly so bringing the kit back to it’s original double bass glory was never really an option.

After seeing how scarce MIJ tension rods with the goofy thread size have become, I used a tap tool to (quite easily) rethread the reso side lug inserts to take standard rods. I left the batter side lugs original so I imagine there will be a future owner of this kit scratching their head as to why the rods are not interchangeable...let’s hope they realize it before they take it down to the shells for a deep cleaning and mix all the lugs and rods together. If I sell it, I may keep that little detail to myself if I don’t like how the negotiation goes.

The wrap on the kit posed some interesting challenges. The Fantasia Pearl pattern is great at hiding imperfections and repairs, but the background “color” of the wrap is nearly clear when removed from the shell. It may have been more opaque before UV light faded it, or maybe it was window clear to start with, and UV has darkened it to the slight amber/ginger-ale cast it has now. I guess the fact that the shells are painted white on the outside indicates that the wrap was designed to have it show through to one extent or another. It made me wonder if there have been other wraps made like that, with a clear background, so that the color of the shell shows through. That’s one for the Gurus?

The other odd thing I came across is that sawdust from the drilling of the lug holes at the factory was trapped between the shell and the wrap. What I first thought were rust like stains on the surface of the wrap, turned out to be the dark Luan sawdust showing through the clear parts of the wrap. I was able to tease quite a bit of the sawdust out from under the wrap using a vacuum, small brushes, and tweezers. Because the wrap was clear I also needed to use a clear contact cement (Gorilla brand) when repairing and stabilizing the wrap in the few places that needed it. Thanks to someone along the way using clear packing tape to do makeshift repairs, the wrap was all still there, no patching was needed. Gravity had also made the wrap “flow” and ripple some, but the ripples are completely obscured by the swirly pearly pattern.

In the end, the wrap turned out amazing, the hardware cleaned up great, and I feel good about saving this kit from rotting away in that barn. The other bonus was that the deal included a 1965 Supra that has since had the shell re-chromed and looks as good as new.

If you are still with me, thanks for reading. Please stay safe everyone.

A big thumbs up to you!! They look great!! I like the front bass head...It blends in nicely with the fantasia pearl wrap...

Cheers

Thanks gantro!

The bass head is one I found quite by accident on Reverb. At the time I didn’t have a 22 kick to put it on, but I’m a physics teacher so it was calling to me. The head is black and bright white, which clashed with the yellowing tint of the wrap. I thought of doing something with paint or stain to tone down the white, but an idea hit me...I used a timpani head that I had laying around that was an odd translucent beige kind of color, cut a 22 circle out of that and made a two ply head that toned the white to just the right color, and with an Evans emad on the batter side the kick sounds just right to my ear.

Sorry for the long winded response...I’m a little bored. My wife and youngest daughter escaped to the mother-in-laws place in FLA just before people started taking this shelter in place stuff seriously, and left me at home with my 18 year old who just sleeps most of the time.

Fantastic Mr. Toast.

I always thought that the fantasia wrap was perhaps the best looking of all of the MIJ wraps.

I think you really scored on this one.

The kit is really great.

Great Job

Mr.Toast .... WOW .... !!

That's is a stunning looking kit !

Now that pushes the Cool button Big Time - I like it

Congratulations on a great restoration project.

That kit would get and deserve a lot of attention at any gig.

Doug

That turned out great! The only thing that could make this thread better is more pics including closer-up views.

That was very smart to color match the head with the wrap.

I too have one of these. It does need some work - but it is already in quite decent shape. I paid 300 for a 4 piece (which includes a matching snare).

I keep it covered from the light.

ALSO - I actually have about a half dozen MIJ projects like this. I have never had the time and have never (until late last fall) had a router table to repair edges.

I am probably all set with drum projects for most/if not all the rest of my life.

I just need to maintain balance. Other priorities have competed with drum hunting ---- now it they will compete with drum restoring. The good Lord has some work for me to do - and it needs to take priority, though all good balance has room for healthy 'recreation'.

And no - I am NOT exactly quarantined. My work is considered an exception to the executive orders - and so I have continued working full time as usual - albeit the WAY we think and work has certainly been changed.

Back to the topic at hand. Did you do (or have done) any edgework on this kit?

I have a friend that is seeking a 22inch kit with the thin shells/rerings......my FP kit does not meet that criteria - so I guess I am safe from having to send it his way!

Excited

Excited

Hello,

I don't know why, but somehow this thread came up below my radar earlier.

Great story! It is a pleasure to listen to your writing, Sir.

I can add an information on that 'transparent' Fantasia Pearl wrap. Some time ago, I experienced the exact same effect with a DrumMate (also made by Star) drum kit, being wrapped in White Marine Pearl. It was also transparent in the 'background' of the wrap - and the shells were painted white, as well, shining through the transparent places of the wrap.

As I now have another Star kit wrapped in a 'non-transparent' WMP and from the same production era (around 1972/73), there must have been some batches of less high quality wraps at that time. I can't believe that it was a matter of saving money, as they had to paint the drum shells white on the outside, to make the finishes look quite equal to 'normal' WMP or Fantasia Pearl. But who knows?

Cheers,

Ralf

NB: I'd love to have a photo of your drum kit for my web page. But is there still the Ludwig double tom mount in place on the bass drum?