Mystery! Allyn vs Pastushin

[sandmanoverhaul]

I heard a rumor one time that Allyn got sideways with Pastushin over their Chrome ashtray base. I didn't think much of it until I was doing some inventory work in the shop the other day. I have an early production Allyn P-51 that I set on the table to clean dust a shelf. I also happen to put a Pastushin DC-3 ashtray model next to it. Hmmm, the bases were very similar with some subtle differences. In the pictures I show the early Allyn on the left with a Pastushin on the right-

1) The Allyn version has 5 fingers whereas the Pastushin has 3.
2) The Allyn has 3 rings around the base and the Pastushin has 5 (a weird ratio of 3 and 5!)
3) The Allyn has a slightly larger footprint where the arm connects to the ashtray and the screw hole and "detent" are different on the Allyn.

The overt similarities are that on both bases, the Outside Diameters are very close in size as are their base Heights.

BTW, the support arm is more curved on the Allyn than what was on later Allyn versions.

The rumor was that Pastushin threatened Allyn with a lawsuit to cease and desist with their ashtray base design. Can anyone shed light on this mystery? Is this what prompted Allyn to move towards the teardrop base with the glass insert?
Thanks Tom

[MichaelB]

Fascinating! Yes...I'd suspect it's a cheap rip off of the original base!