Reflections on my first reproduction A-2

[Chandler]

Some here may recall that I started the first jacket forum way back when as a way to connect the people who were emailing me through the website.

I wonder how many of us can recall the old "Deja" forums?

Wasn't there a way to track down those old transcripts at one time? Some of that banter would be funny now.

 

[MarcW]

Hi Marc, I still have my ELC from a year or two before yours and also a print out from your site from yonks ago!! The house ELC feels heavier than either my GW or original Dubow but as a 42 and now like most of us I’ve ‘grown’ a bit surprisingly it still fits well! Your site was fantastic in aiding my desire to know more about the iconic jacket that the A2 is, so thank you very much in also helping part with much cash over the years!!!

Thanks! And great to hear you've still got your early Eastman as well.

 

[mulceber]

I wonder how many of us can recall the old "Deja" forums?

Wasn't there a way to track down those old transcripts at one time? Some of that banter would be funny now.

I wonder how many angry debates we'd find about whether cowhide was used. I'm told that was a tense point of disagreement up until Gary published his A-2 guide.

Welcome aboard, Marc! It's great to have someone join us who has contributed so much to this hobby.

 

[leper-colony]

I wonder how many angry debates we'd find about whether cowhide was used. I'm told that was a tense point of disagreement up until Gary published his A-2 guide.

Welcome aboard, Marc! It's great to have someone join us who has contributed so much to this hobby.

You have no idea...lol!
Not that everything has been calm here, either. Seems to have evened out, though.

 

[MarcW]

I wonder how many angry debates we'd find about whether cowhide was used. I'm told that was a tense point of disagreement up until Gary published his A-2 guide.

Welcome aboard, Marc! It's great to have someone join us who has contributed so much to this hobby.

Thanks! It was pretty wild back then. This site seems to have done a better job of weathering the storms and hanging on.

 

[MikeyB-17]

I wonder how many angry debates we'd find about whether cowhide was used. I'm told that was a tense point of disagreement up until Gary published his A-2 guide.

You’re not wrong! The amount of bloodshed over that topic beggars belief, especially during the ELC ‘hide of default’ hoopla.
Good to have you with us Marc. I just missed out on the Deja forum, although the archives were still available so I was able to have a look. My first A-2 was an ELC ‘house’ job in 1997, which I eventually sold, but I picked up another, even earlier one, apparently no later than 1992 by the zip. Some panels are really grainy, others smooth with hardly any grain. I never bothered getting a contract A-2.

 

[Chandler]

I wonder how many angry debates we'd find about whether cowhide was used. I'm told that was a tense point of disagreement up until Gary published his A-2 guide.

Oh man, the cowhide debates were tame compared to others.

Thinking about it though, I think the whole hide debate was after the Deja forum -- probably Yahoo.

Whew. Time sure flies.

 

[mulceber]

You’re not wrong! The amount of bloodshed over that topic beggars belief, especially during the ELC ‘hide of default’ hoopla.

From where I’m standing (relative newby, benefit of hindsight), it’s just astonishing that people really believed cowhide wasn’t used. Like, WE have trouble telling the two hides apart. Did people really think none of those dozens of tanneries would try to cut costs with a little skulduggery?

 

[Chandler]

Did people really think none of those dozens of tanneries would try to cut costs with a little skulduggery?

More than any sort of misrepresentation, I think it was a matter of straight out availability. And then the Army agreed to its use with little question, right?

After all, they allowed goat, so why not?

 

[blackrat2]

Welcome Marc, nice Eastman House
So the ACME site was like a bible to me also, great info etc and certainly the best place to go

 

[ties70]

Yes, that's me. The site is pretty ancient at this point, like a dusty old book among the cobwebs deep down in the musty basement of small town library.

Marc,

so there is finally the chance to say "Thank You!".

Acmedepot was my entry into proper flight jackets, and it remained a source for getting comparison photos and detailed information ever since!

Great to have you here!

Ties

 

[ausreenactor]

Thanks! I'm getting to the age where buying more jackets in general doesn't quite make sense anyway.

Please say that's like 95?

You are the reason I got into all this. I am not saying it is your fault..... but it is 100% all your fault. ACME DEPOT started the want list and I bought to it... Aeros and Eastmans at first. Traded my way in the early days when I had a muscle car and a drinking problem (Cricket Club membership).

This place is just like the jacket you reach for. Supple and broken in when you just want to read up on the latest news.... or a tough, unbroken goat when you feel like a bit of passive-aggressuve shit stirring on a spicy topic...

Bad times never last.... only good people...

GREAT to see this post.

 

[ausreenactor]

The year was 1990. I had recently begun indulging my interest in WWII and the 8th Air Force through books and magazines, and being naturally drawn to all those A-2 clad young men in so many photos. I was probably aware of the jacket to some degree, certainly from seeing war movies over the years, but the thought of having one to wear was only now taking hold.

I remember getting an advertising insert with a credit card bill, and it was for the Cooper A-2. I thought that, even as cool as it looked, $250 sounded like a lot of money for a jacket. But I set it aside for future consideration. Some time after that I came across a small but persuasive ad in Air Classics magazine for A-2 reproductions being sold as the most authentic you could buy.

I sent a check for $5 to Nose Art Unlimited (now History Preservation Associates) for a catalog and samples, which I still have. The images in the color brochure for those early Eastman A-2's widened my eyes for how close they looked to the historical images I had been studying. The thought of a $250 Cooper was jettisoned for good from my mind and replaced by a $425 Eastman that I just had to have.

In April 1991 it arrived, and I couldn't have been more impressed. Now, these were the days before Eastman began producing original maker models with NOS or period copy zippers, so it was the house model bearing some design cues from Bronco and what might be called an interpretive Talon zip design.

Today the jacket is over 30 years old, as if a WWII example had made it to the early 1970s. The surface of the leather is loaded with individual character, with the back panel being smooth and paint-ready. Compared to similar original examples, though, the finish obscures the natural fine detail of follicles and the sharp foundations of all those wrinkles. But there's something in the way the leather feels, moves, and drapes which is so authentic to originals I've handled, and it just feels right and more so than any other repro I've had.

The jacket is a little snug on me now, and I've got other later reproductions which fit me better, but I can't let go of this, the first.

- Marc
View attachment 80387View attachment 80388View attachment 80389

Marc? The pocket tag number? Present and legible?

 

[ausreenactor]

Just found a post from a decade ago..

Marc, I understand the shifting priorities in life and I just want to say thanks moving in that direction back then and for this direction today. Many are in debt to you. Some in debt thanks to you! Look forward to more posts..



Couchy

Debt, thanks to you...... Good one 'me'!

 

[Lorenzo_l]

Hi Marc,

I will join the chorus of voices to express my thanks and appreciation for your work on the ACME Depot website. That was my introduction to and primary source of information on the A-2 when I entered this hobby and while it might look outdated in its format, the information contained therein is current, relevant, and a real goldmine to this day, at least in my opinion. It's great to have you here.

 

[Tattoo A2]

I also would like to thank you for the Acme site, Ive gone over it and thru it many times over the years, very helpful info on there for all us A2 junkies, welcome aboard!

 

[MarcW]

Marc? The pocket tag number? Present and legible?

Yes, indeed. It only says Size 40R. No production numbers way back then.

 

[MarcW]

I'm so grateful for all the generous comments above. Thank you all. I had thought that maybe people would respond with their own stories of their first jackets, but the thread took a turn

I'm also happy to know that the interest in these jackets is still strong and that it continues to bring people together. As a serial hobbyist I've found the best part of taking interests in new topics is how it leads to new communities of people.

Looking forward to hanging out here a bit more.

Marc

 

[leper-colony]

First jacket? An Eastman from Chas @ HPA, when he first got started. It was painted by a Vet friend that was on 24s in the 7AAF. I got too big for it and then unemployed.

 

[Chandler]

I had thought that maybe people would respond with their own stories of their first jackets...

I've mentioned elsewhere in the forum that my 1977 Schott was my first A-2-like jacket. Not very authentic, but probably the only thing available at the time. And yeah, still have it for silly, sentimental reasons.

My first real reproduction A-2 (if it can be called that) was a Flight Apparel Industries A-2 -- I believe the company that sold them was Knopf Industries out of NJ. Saw their ad in an aviation magazine, like Marc. Talk about paper-thin, no character leather. I believe the purchase was 1984 or 1985 -- and yeah, still have that one too, but I can't find pics.

After that one I buckled down and got a REAL A-2 repro -- a horsehide ('cause that's true authentic!) Avirex from the Cockpit catalog (also shown on the forums in the past). Probably picked up in 1990 -- and yes, still in my closet.

Talk about grainy, but Avirex warned of this feature, so no crybabies about not getting a mall jacket for the money.