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New shipment from Fivestar

Thomas Koehle

Thomas Koehle

Well-Known Member
Ordered 5 days ago - all 3 jackets with some slight alterations - today already in my garage (will be home on the weekend only so not possible to share fitpics ...
LDFsEfu.jpg


Thx @Shawn Ali for the as usual quick reaction and awesome quality of your work

1 x ANJ3 (did you see that graining????)
CUFwbxS.jpg

j50ZkYT.jpg


1 x 37J1
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1 x M421a
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B-Man2

B-Man2

Well-Known Member
Totally agree with you Zu……
but ….. the reality is that 99.% of the US population wouldn’t know the difference between these jackets and the original ones.
I’ve often said the same about high end repros . The truth is ….”We few , we happy few. We band of brothers “( See what I did there ?;)) are the only ones who dwell on the most intricate parts of these jackets and we are the ones who could pick a repro out in a crowd in the blink of an eye.
So for the price they aren’t really that bad for the 99% of those who are less discerning about the accuracy of these jackets .

RULE # 5
Regardless of how we as collectors view these jackets, most people can’t tell the difference between one A2 from another, so remember that, when deciding if you need the $1200 repro or the $500. one.;)
 
ZuZu

ZuZu

Well-Known Member
B-Man2 said:
Totally agree with you Zu……
but ….. the reality is that 99.% of the US population wouldn’t know the difference between these jackets and the original ones.
I’ve often said the same about high end repros . The truth is ….”We few , we happy few. We band of brothers “( See what I did there ?;)) are the only ones who dwell on the most intricate parts of these jackets and we are the ones who could pick a repro out in a crowd in the blink of an eye.
So for the price they aren’t really that bad for the 99% of those who are less discerning about the accuracy of these jackets .

RULE # 5
Regardless of how we as collectors view these jackets, most people can’t tell the difference between one A2 from another, so remember that, when deciding if you need the $1200 repro or the $500. one.;)
Click to expand...
Ah- but Thomas is one of the "band of brothers"!
 
Last edited:
Smithy

Smithy

Well-Known Member
I wrote the following in the recent Eastman thread but it bears repeating here as I think Thomas is demonstrative of some of us VLjers and how the importance of "ultimate" accuracy has waned for a few of us over the years...



"I got into replica wartime jackets a bit over 2 decades ago. This is just me so with that caveat in place but I have found that over that 20 something years, ultimate accuracy means far less to me than it did a few years back. Yes I want something to be close to an original jacket but now being an absolute facsimile to the original isn't of absolute concern to me anymore. Firstly because all repros are just that. They are repros and will never be the same as an original. Secondly, I'm not a WWII RAF, USAAF, or USN airmen, so if the jacket isn't 100% accurate, that's not really a problem.

I wear these things as a love to the men who flew and fought. If a collar is slightly misshaped compared to an original, stitching slightly out of whack compared to the original, pockets not quite right, then so be it. I couldn't give a shit anymore but I was never an absolute perfection Nazi.

If you want ultimate accuracy in a repro get a GW. At the same time all repros are repros and even a GW is just that.

There's room for everyone in this silly, old hobby. I'm one of those, who now couldn't give a shit about ultimate accuracy with a repro because it's an endless and fruitless pursuit - you want ultimate accuracy, buy an original.

I'm personally happy now with repros which are a great evocation of the original because at the end of the day a repro will always be a copy and never the same as an original.

That's just me though."
 
mulceber

mulceber

Moderator
Smithy said:
There's room for everyone in this silly, old hobby.
Click to expand...
That is my guiding belief in a nutshell. By and large, I am one of the people chasing the perfection unicorn. I know it will always remain just out of grasp, but I enjoy trying to get as close as possible. But I'm not everyone. Not everyone cares, or can be in that chase, or wants to be in that chase. It would be a very boring hobby if everyone were after the same thing. And it would be very quiet too - because aside from one or two VLJers, GW/ELC/Sheeley/BR/RMC jacket purchases are NOT a common event. This community couldn't sustain itself on originals and luxury repros alone.
 
Thomas Koehle

Thomas Koehle

Well-Known Member
Sorry no fitpics yet due to the lack of a larger mirror ... - and we have 35° C which doesn't make any jacket comfy sotosay ...

tried to snap some pics anyway

the graining of the ANJ3 is incredibly nice - leather i soft and smooth but still heavy and sturdy - the haptics are pretty valuable

fit is according to the dimensions i forwarded to Shawn

craftmanship is top level

highly recommended item - will drop some better photos asap

TPqO7Pq.jpg

U7zDajU.jpg

ev1pUQ9.jpg

rILhfZM.jpg


didn't had time for the fabric jackets - some pics will follow
 
Kennyz

Kennyz

Well-Known Member
Thomas Koehle said:
Sorry no fitpics yet due to the lack of a larger mirror ... - and we have 35° C which doesn't make any jacket comfy sotosay ...

tried to snap some pics anyway

the graining of the ANJ3 is incredibly nice - leather i soft and smooth but still heavy and sturdy - the haptics are pretty valuable

fit is according to the dimensions i forwarded to Shawn

craftmanship is top level

highly recommended item - will drop some better photos asap

TPqO7Pq.jpg

U7zDajU.jpg

ev1pUQ9.jpg

rILhfZM.jpg


didn't had time for the fabric jackets - some pics will follow
Click to expand...
@Thomas Koehle That ANJ3 is really sharp! Congratulations.

Ken
 
Nickb123

Nickb123

Well-Known Member
Smithy said:
I wrote the following in the recent Eastman thread but it bears repeating here as I think Thomas is demonstrative of some of us VLjers and how the importance of "ultimate" accuracy has waned for a few of us over the years...



"I got into replica wartime jackets a bit over 2 decades ago. This is just me so with that caveat in place but I have found that over that 20 something years, ultimate accuracy means far less to me than it did a few years back. Yes I want something to be close to an original jacket but now being an absolute facsimile to the original isn't of absolute concern to me anymore. Firstly because all repros are just that. They are repros and will never be the same as an original. Secondly, I'm not a WWII RAF, USAAF, or USN airmen, so if the jacket isn't 100% accurate, that's not really a problem.

I wear these things as a love to the men who flew and fought. If a collar is slightly misshaped compared to an original, stitching slightly out of whack compared to the original, pockets not quite right, then so be it. I couldn't give a shit anymore but I was never an absolute perfection Nazi.

If you want ultimate accuracy in a repro get a GW. At the same time all repros are repros and even a GW is just that.

There's room for everyone in this silly, old hobby. I'm one of those, who now couldn't give a shit about ultimate accuracy with a repro because it's an endless and fruitless pursuit - you want ultimate accuracy, buy an original.

I'm personally happy now with repros which are a great evocation of the original because at the end of the day a repro will always be a copy and never the same as an original.

That's just me though."
Click to expand...
It’s a tough one Smithy and could go either way. But there’s likely more zen in that approach.

Probably for the crazy GW hoarders such as myself, less is probably more if you’re of that mindset.
 
Thomas Koehle

Thomas Koehle

Well-Known Member
B-Man2 said:
Totally agree with you Zu……
but ….. the reality is that 99.% of the US population wouldn’t know the difference between these jackets and the original ones.
I’ve often said the same about high end repros . The truth is ….”We few , we happy few. We band of brothers “( See what I did there ?;)) are the only ones who dwell on the most intricate parts of these jackets and we are the ones who could pick a repro out in a crowd in the blink of an eye.
So for the price they aren’t really that bad for the 99% of those who are less discerning about the accuracy of these jackets .

RULE # 5
Regardless of how we as collectors view these jackets, most people can’t tell the difference between one A2 from another, so remember that, when deciding if you need the $1200 repro or the $500. one.;)
Click to expand...

I see the point and i'm 100% with Burt @B-Man2 especially in the point of whether to "invest" in a repop jacket 1.200 USD or probably 500 USD. Well the ANJ3 was priced well below 500 even tough quality and craftmanship would suggest a 500 bucks pricetag.

As some of you know i got some original jackets in the collection as well. Mostly USN-jackets of which the Ed Church was the most expensive one (but still below 1.200 bucks. Since G1 are still available in a pricerange starting from 150 USD up to more than 1.000 (for pristine ones) i'm still below the pricelevel of an EASTMAN repop or of an AERO - not mentioning the smaller producers of exquisit reproductions.

I was looking for a G1-ish jacket without mouton to wear even in warmer periods. Since i like shape and cut of the USN-jackets much more than of the A2 my choice was an ANJ but as everyone of us know originals are pretty hard to get hands on. So the only option is a reproduction.

In general - inspired by Burt @B-Man2 , @Chandler and some other folks on the forum - i meanwhile rather buy an original than a reproduction ...
 
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