Soldier of Fortune aviators kit bag AN-6505-1

[Greg Gale]

Any suggestions for cool zipper pullers for my bag? I don't like dice, and a whistle would be too big.

 

[Earloffunk]

Escape whistle, leather pulls (see picture), dog tag, bomb safety pin

 

[Earloffunk]

Ps the leather pulls seem to be - at least for me - the best choice as they are very practical

 

[Greg Gale]

Thanks! Any good sources for safety pins?I see Aero has some nice ones, but with the shipping costs the price is higher than what I'd pay for a piece of metal.

 

[Earloffunk]

https://www.original-flightjackets.com/Marken/Wolf-Laufenbergs/Bomb-Safety-Pin-Tag::175.html

But I don’t know how big (if any) the price difference is.

 

[Greg Gale]

Aero's much cheaper

What would a fighter pilot have put on it? I was thinking of a .50 cal shell, but that's too big and heavy. I'll probably go with a leather tab.

 

[Earloffunk]

.45 Shell?

 

[Greg Gale]

I just contacted a local shooting range for shells. I also found this. Not "contemporary", though.

 

[Earloffunk]

I just contacted a local shooting range for shells. I also found this. Not "contemporary", though.

If you want i can send you a 9x19 shell

 

[Cocker]

Would not be period correct... I could send you .45ACP or .30 Carbine shells, but I don't think this would go well through mail!

 

[Earloffunk]

Well, 9 Parabellum is period correct. And 9 Parabellum is 9x19. An empty shell should be no problem. The only thing is that Parabellum is from „the other side“...

 

[Greg Gale]

Thanks a lot fellas', if I don't hear back from the shooting range, I might shoot you a PM!

 

[Earloffunk]

https://www.asmc.de/Sonstiges/Gesch.../Schluesselanhaenger-mit-Patrone-klein-p.html

 

[Pilot]

Piece of Schrapnell/ or MK108 projectile which almost hit the P-51 pilot...

 

[Officer Dibley]

I just bought some dice for £12 shipped in the UK. They turned up today and are very good.

 

[Pilot]

A piece of Me 262 which crashed end of 1944 in the region of Strassburg ( France) . ( not the DeepSea...its just to see the size of the piece of alu.)
Maybe someone can carve something out of it....as a zipper puller...

 

[Earloffunk]

Really cool! How did you get it?

 

[Officer Dibley]

View attachment 8417 View attachment 8418 A piece of Me 262 which crashed end of 1944 in the region of Strassburg ( France) . ( not the DeepSea...its just to see the size of the piece of alu.)
Maybe someone can carve something out of it....as a zipper puller...

Interesting idea. I've several bits of aircraft skin. ......

 

[Officer Dibley]

My theory (I used to make part of my living working with type): Since it's not a 3-D object or an insignia, they're not used to paying attention. If they had to do (say) exact embroidery label repops, they'd think differently. Unless they were Eastman.

Here are some examples that turn up in just a few minutes' GIS. Originally some bags were stenciled, some stamped. Were any silkscreened? Nowadays they are.

Originals - far right with Railway Express tag
View attachment 8227 View attachment 8228 View attachment 8230 View attachment 8234
High-end J-repro - stencil is dead-on
View attachment 8229

Other repros - very good to so-so (Eastman, center, could do better)
View attachment 8231 View attachment 8232 View attachment 8233

Soldier of Fortune - good bag, lousy stencil
(looks like the titles used on Happy Days)
View attachment 8238

This brings up the point about replicas, clones & future fraud.

How close do you want a bag, jacket etc to be ? It might satisfy you now but when you can't tell if something is real or not, the price dives through the floor.
Look at ditching whistles.......

Sefton Clothing makes great repro kit but Steve the artisan always makes sure there is at least one thing that tells others who know their onions the item is modern.

However, with German WW2 kit, it was made after the war in the same machines and of German metal and has been sold as genuine for decades.

Careful what you wish for ......

 

[B-Man2]

This would be my choice for a zip puller.
I think it would look cool.