Fred Dashiell , Apr 28, 2000; 04:20 a.m.
I found a camera which looks to be a Minox 35GL (Ser. No. 4007249) in all respects EXCEPT it does not have a thumb frame advance lever. It only has the friction wheel. Did Minox make some model of 35GL without the thumb lever, or is has this one been amputated somehow (or is it a fake?).
Martin Tai 
, Apr 28, 2000; 09:04 a.m.
Sound like the lever is missing. The film advance lever is actually a combination of lever and a wheel-- if the lever is missing, the wheel still works.
And it works like an Olympus XA thumbwheel !
David Foy , Apr 28, 2000; 03:02 p.m.
The thumb lever broke off my GL. The part is a potmetal casting and
is not particularly strong. Not wanting to pay to have it replaced
(because strictly speaking it is not necessary), I ground off the
stub. Now it looks like it was built as a thumbwheel-advance camera.
Perhaps that happened to yours.
Fred Dashiell , Apr 28, 2000; 03:09 p.m.
Good idea to just smooth off the stub. Mine is sharp and likely to
cut my finger.
<p>
This must be a common problem. I hope Minox made it stronger in
the more recent models.
Martin Tai , May 01, 2000; 01:34 p.m.
I am wondering if Olympus XA also has similar film advance lever/wheel
as Minox ?
Ernest - , Feb 03, 2002; 01:38 a.m.
The all-metal thumb advance lever broke off my GL some years
ago. Don Goldberg replaced it with a metal and plastic one from
a later model. Works fine.
