Here's one for all your 90's Argos kids

[turbo500]

Hi all,


 


Picked up this little Goblin Ace from a second hand shop near me yesterday for the grand total of....£2. This was the first vacuum I ever owned. A friend bought one for me when I was about 12. My mother went mental and after a few months, made me get rid of it.


 


These were popular Argos sellers, retailing for around £24.99. It sold under various names - Goblin Ace & Iota, JMB Compact, Morphy Richards Jazz, Hoover Studio and Dirt Devil Compact. 


 


For a very small, very cheap vac, the suction is fantastic. I wouldn't like to use one to clean my whole house, but for a quick pick up vac and for above floor cleaning, it's pretty good and it has some great memories behind it for those of who studied the Argos Catalogue religiously in the days when we were too young to collect. 

 

[turbo500]

Here's the same cleaner branded "Goblin Iota"

 

[turbo500]

Morphy Richards Jazz. This was essentially the same cleaner, but came with steel extension tubes and a wheeled floorhead. There was also a version with variable power

 

[turbo500]

Here's a few more variations on it from Argos 2003 - the same design cleaner branded as Dirt Devil, Morphy Richards, Electrolux and Bush

 

[jmurray01]

Looks like a good simple cylinder Chris!

You don't happen to have an Argos book with the Electrolux Tango Z5001 in it do you?

 

[turbo500]

Sadly not, Jamie. I don't ever recall seeing the Tango's in Argos. 


 


The Goblin is a really nice, powerful and compact vac. For the price, it's a great machine. Here it is with the hood off, you can see how simple it is. 

 

[sebo_fan]

I had a few of these - they were, as Chris says really good and well built for the price. Hoover brought out branded versions of these several years ago in yellow and a separate red colour offering as a free appliance purchase with selected washing machines. They were also available singularly. They eventually rebodied the Compact/Ace; here's Hoover's "Studio" using the same dust bag.

I had a red Studio that was actually pretty good for a "Hoover" even though it was clearly MR who had donated the design. Hoover also fitted variable suction on TOL models and replaced the plpes with telescopic height adjustment tubes and a decent floor head.

The Lux Tango in red (possibly the same one Jamie owns) was on sale in Argos catalogues - I can recall seeing it in red and black and also later in blue and black. I think it was around the time when LG were still making their excellent lightweight budget upright vacuum.

 

[turbo500]

Hi Ryan,


 


Thanks for flagging up the Hoover Studio - I'd completely forgotten about those. The Hoover I was thinking of was those little lemon yellow ones with the plastic tubes. I remember the basic red studio 1400 being on sale for about £40 in our local Co-Op.


 


I'm not sure who this design belongs to. As all the model numbers appear to begin with DD, I had always presumed they were Dirt Devil made?


 


Glad to see there is someone else who appreciates these nifty little cleaners.


 


Chris

 

[jmurray01]

There is something satisfying about a simple bagged cylinder isn't there?

 

[sebo_fan]

Chris - as far as I'm aware it was Morphy Richards who had the sole design rights for marketing the Ace and Compact cylinders first before Dirt Devil brought out their own versions - and I think DD used a different bag in some of their models with most of their machines selling first at Poundstretchers before Argos. But the DD2200 Handy was certainly the same as the MR/Goblin/Hoover/Electrolux Minimite/Superlite based bodies. JMB also sold it as the "Sonic" bagged cylinder. Vax also had one under the name of the "Mojo."

The Studio was rather different looking, but the handle at the bottom served not much of a purpose other than allow you to know where the motor was as the handle had a liability of getting too hot in use as well as being the heaviest part of the machine. The recess handle at the back was far simpler and Hoover retained that from the original Ace/Compact design. MR also went onto producing these with the Goblin brand name too.

 

[vintagerepairer]

One more to examine, gentlemen. A Panasonic this time.

http://www.reevoo.com/p/panasonic-mce7113

 

[suctionselector]

Chris

This is in my 2001 Argos catalogue, same price and same quality. Could you possibly scan in all the vaccs and washers from the catalogue? Thanks

 

[turbo500]

Hey Jacob,


 


Sadly, I don't have a scanner at the moment. I plan on getting another soon, but not sure when it will happen. I can take some pics in the mean time though if you like and we can do a swap of Argos pics?


 


Chris

 

[suctionselector]

Chris

Sure, I have 2001,2002 and 2004 ones Will upload the 2001 ones on a new thread in a moment.