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I think it's mid to late 80's. The entry level ones from the 70's were gold and orange. Model 1620 and up. Then the 1200 series came along in about 1978 in Brandywine (1279) with canned ham shaped 1289 also. Green came following grey, and a royal blue, along with the longer handle. 1700 series were brown, green, then a burnt orange with electronic speed control on the quiet clean models through 1989 when the plastic Express model came out.