Just acquired a set of Classic Omega accessories

[human]

So a few months ago, back in B.C. (Before Coronavirus), a partial Heritage Convenience Group accessory set that our friend in Texas had rescued from the Plano store's liquidation came into my possession and I was able to fill in most of the gaps from a random assortment of Kirby tools I had in Tradition blue. The couple of pieces I was missing were the small handle and strap and the long, straight wand, which for me was the more critical of the two.

Those long wands seem to be kind of hard to find and the ones I've seen for sale have been priced far more than I would have been willing to pay. Fast forward to about a week and a half ago and I spied a set of tools for a Classic Omega priced for less than I'd seen the wands listed. I had hardly put it on my watch list when the seller sent me an email offering to knock a few more dollars off the price, so I slept on it and closed the deal the next day. Yeah, they weren't the color I needed but the price was too good to pass up.

The tool set finally arrived today—only took six days to get here with Priority Mail 2-day delivery—and its in excellent shape. Other than the color, the tools are pretty much identical to those in the Heritage Convenience Group. And like the Heritage set, I'm missing a couple of pieces, the narrow upholstery brush, the one that's about five inches wide and has no bristles, and the crevice tool. Ironically, its little set of bristles were in the bottom of the box and don't look like they ever were put on the tool. There's also a Suds-O-Gun that doesn't seem to fit in the box and the cardboard storage box itself looks brand new. All in all, these Omega tools are in far better shape than the motley collection of Heritage tools.

So my original idea was to pull the couple of pieces I needed from the Omega box and sell the rest on since I don't have an Omega and don't really want one since they have shakeout bags. But the Omega tools are so much nicer; in fact, some don't even look like they've been used at all, including the dusting bush, which has an extra belt wrapped around the bristles. Ah, decisions, decisions.

 

[texaskirbyguy]

I know how you feel - been down that road too many times. Those long wands are just very hard to find with a tool set and they might cost 30 plus shipping and a whole set for 30-50 plus shipping. I actually had to get three Tradition sets to get one complete set. I recently bought a complete Classic III and D80 set just to get those silly wands.

Speaking of Omegas, I got a complete Omega attachment set years ago and the long wand was missing. I finally got a super complete like-new set with extra hose and shampooer for only 50 from the Plano shop. Yes I have way more than I need now but at least there is a complete set and one set that is only missing a wand... Good to have just in case I break or loose a piece I suppose. Of course space is the big issue...

Idea - just get yourself an Omega and put a Heritage or Heritage II bag setup on it so you use the HEPA bags. The Omega is a nice classy-looking machine with the same performance of the Heritage.

 

[human]

Sounds like I got a bargain on that Omega set, especially since it came from eBay. I'm into it for less than $20, including shipping. The best price I ever saw for the wand alone was around $25. That's what made me decide to pounce on it.

I just did the very conversion you described on a Heritage 1HD that originally had a shakeout bag. It now sports a plastic Heritage II mini emptor, fill tube and round bag connector inside a new orange outer bag. I imagine the Classic Omega would be a little more challenging in that an outer bag would pretty much have to be custom fabricated or the original bag heavily modified since none were made to take disposable bags. None of the Heritage/Legend bags would be a very good match, color wise. A Classic III, with its red trim, would actually be a better candidate in that respect. Oddly enough, I saw such a bag assembly advertised on eBay recently. It was a gray H2 outer bag and mini-emptor setup with bright red Classic III bag topper and guard band. That combo looked like it belonged together.

Even though I don't own one, I do have a fondness for the Classic Omega's very classy color combination. It was the first Kirby I ever saw when we had a demo in our living room in about 1973. I would have been around nine years old and I was mightily impressed. I barely missed an opportunity to buy one at a thrift shop for $10 a few years ago. Someone else was looking at it and rather than try to talk him out of it, I took a few minutes to explain how it worked. It was in really nice shape and he got an absolute bargain. I figure the universe smiled upon me for that because not long afterward, I grabbed a pristine Electrolux Diamond Jubilee canister at the same shop for the same $10 and I haven't seen a decent vacuum cleaner there since.