ELC B-3

[Roughwear]

Advertised as an original B3. Has ELC tag. I informed the seller that it's a high end repro and he is not convinced.
http://cgi.ebay.com/WWII-USAAF-PILOTS-S ... 0045529839

He has amended the listing but this made me laugh: I HAVE JUST BEEN INFORMED THAT THIS IS NOT A ORIGIONAL WWII JACKET BUT A VERY HIGH END REPRO. I HAVE BEEN COLLECTING MILITARY FOR A LONG TIME AND IT LOOKS GOOD TO ME. ALSO I DID GET AT A ESTATE OF A WWII PILOT WITH HELMET AND OTHER AUTHENTIC ITEMS, HOWEVER SINCE THERE IS SOME QUESTION AS TO ITS AUTHENTICITY I CAN NO LONGER GUARENTEE TO TO BE WWII. BUY IT FOR WHAT YOU THINK IT IS.

:lol:

 

[ausreenactor]

This guy has described some items in the past in a vague manner. Has raised eyebrows with some of this Vietnam SF kit..

We all know what this one is..anything over retail and something is amiss!! Good spot..

Actually wearing the B-3 and NB-3 here of an evening in Townsville. MA-1 most of the day!! Very pleasant.

Getting some GOODWEAR out of the jackets..

Regards..

Couchy

 

[johnny english]

Still, looks a nice jacket for $306

 

[ausreenactor]

HOOAH!

 

[escorpion_72]

He also claims that this jacket has 2 waist pockets???
I sent him a mail about it and he says that the pockets are there........hm yeah, whatever you say.

 

[groundpound]

that jacket is as repro as it gets!! the tag is incorrect and i have never seen the air force stencils plastered all over the place like this one has on an original. the shearling is the wrong color for an original and the straps are the wrong material. also no hanging chain on it either that i can see. buyer beware!! i wouldnt even consider this one to be particularily high end either. :?

 

[Roughwear]

that jacket is as repro as it gets!! the tag is incorrect and i have never seen the air force stencils plastered all over the place like this one has on an original. the shearling is the wrong color for an original and the straps are the wrong material. also no hanging chain on it either that i can see. buyer beware!! i wouldnt even consider this one to be particularily high end either. :?

Respectfully I must take issue with most of this. The jacket is a high end repro by Eastman Leather Clothing, not a poor B-3 imitation which often appears on Ebay. This jacket is poorly photographed, but if you have seen original duo tone ELC jackets, they are very accurate colour wise. The tag is the Eastman tag and of course is not the same as on originals. I have seen B-3s with a stencil on the windflap and on the inside of the collar straps, and many had the USAAF decal on the right shoulder. The straps are made from horse hide, like originals, and are spot on. As far as the hanging chain is concerned some makers used a leather one and I have two originals with a leather hanger-original to the jacket. The jacket sold for a fair price for an ELC repro.

 

[groundpound]

well... i too will respectfully take what you have said under advisement, however i guess that i am just a stickler for original jackets. in my opinion the cut on the straps is wrong and the material is too light a color. if it does in fact have two hand warmer pockets on it then thats out too. i'm not a big fan of the gratuitous use of airforce decals wherever they may fit. one on the arm and maybe, maybe one somewhere else, but thats about it. i have seen that decal used on shearling pants, but to have two or more on a jacket seems like overkill to me. anyway, i'm not trying to bash, i just dont think that its anywhere near what an original is. ive owned up to six of these at one time and i presently own four, which doesnt make me an expert, just an interested observer.

 

[Roughwear]

well... i too will respectfully take what you have said under advisement, however i guess that i am just a stickler for original jackets. in my opinion the cut on the straps is wrong and the material is too light a color. if it does in fact have two hand warmer pockets on it then thats out too. i'm not a big fan of the gratuitous use of airforce decals wherever they may fit. one on the arm and maybe, maybe one somewhere else, but thats about it. i have seen that decal used on shearling pants, but to have two or more on a jacket seems like overkill to me. anyway, i'm not trying to bash, i just dont think that its anywhere near what an original is. ive owned up to six of these at one time and i presently own four, which doesnt make me an expert, just an interested observer.

I think you would modify your views somewhat if you handled an ELC B3 in the flesh. ELC B3s do not have handwarmer pockets and this jacket has the normal map pocket.

 

[rich]

I think you would modify your views somewhat if you handled an ELC B3 in the flesh. ELC B3s do not have handwarmer pockets and this jacket has the normal map pocket.[/quote]


Shouldn't that be the 'Lucky Strike' pocket Andrew? I've seen these jackets on the ELC stand at Duxford, the high quality is very apparent.

 

[groundpound]

i saw a mga, or was it a morgan, kit car the other day. looked great, nice and shiny, original color, all of the bells and whistles. almost had me thinking it was the real thing for a minute, but then i took a closer look and realized what it really was. i gotta admit, though, it sure looked good driving by. but then i realized that no matter how good it looked driving by, it was just a kit car and would never be anything other than that. funny thing was though, when i looked up what the kit cars go for, the price was almost the same as an original. it hit me that while the purchase price might be the same, and the volkswagon engine and chassis might be more reliable on long trips, the kit car was going to do nothing but lose its value as it got older, as there was no history to it. no soul.it was just a car with a fancy body on it. it was merely transportation pretending to be a true classic. lower maintenance costs to be sure, and it wouldnt rust if you left it out in the rain, but there was just something missing. it sure would be nice to have an original one of those though.

 

[Peter Graham]

I see what you're getting at and I agree with you but I doubt that any kit car based on a Morgan would have a Volkswagen engine and chassis.

 

[groundpound]

they have them here in canada !

 

[Peter Graham]

they have them here in canada !

Really, are they based on a beetle or a front engined Volkswagen of some sort ? Forgive me for going off topic but kit cars are one of my interests.

 

[groundpound]

basically what they are is a fibreglass body mounted upon a vw floorpan/chassis. there are many different variations of body style that can be mounted on this chassis. a fellow that i work with has a lemans style porche racer body on a vw pan. its pretty over the top though, it kinda looks like a ford gt only bigger. definately not for me. i think these things are becoming a bit of a thing of the past though as restorations of originals are becoming easier and easier due to the manufacture of aftermarket parts that havnt been available in the past.