Avitas

Here is the cockade, made of tin or some type of ferrous material. Please post your examples if you have one of the Turkistan patch or the cockade. Cheers, Pat

Reverse of patch...

Hello everyone, Here is a nice unused but original cloth arm patch for what I think is the Turkistan volunteers to the Waffen-SS. I am not sure if this is the same Tukistan Legion that surrendered to the British in Italy in 1944, it was probably issued to someone who volunteered late and by the time he did it was over for his Legion. I have seen a variation of this patch with the words "Biz Alla Bilen." on it instead of the "Tanri Biz Menen!" on my example. Perhaps one was for volunteers to the regular German Army, and one for the volunteers to the Waffen-SS, as I was told mine was for. It does not glow at all under black light and comes from a respectable dealer, so I don't have too many worries of its authenticity, but any confirmation is always a nice feeling. It came with a cockade in the light blue of Turkistan which is highly magnetic and in unused condition. This set could have been leftover unissued stock as well. If anyone has more info on this type of foreign volunteer patch please help out, as I could use it on this fairly obscure item. Cheers, Pat

Here is a nice scan of the reverse, with what I am pretty sure is the correct stitching and materials. Any comments are welcome and please post your examples. Cheers, Pat

Hello there, I recently acquired this WW2 Kriegsmarine trade sleeve patch for what I am pretty sure is for the mechanics and engineers. It is dark blue and gold, made of wool, with the correct backing and the white threads on the reverse do not glow under black light. It is very well made and a good original I believe. Any confirmation on that or the proper name for the ID of it are very welcome. Please post your various Kriegsmarine trade patches here, as they are an interesting sub-genre in the KM field. Cheers, Pat

Here is the back of this molding unit, with the linen fabric on it. I assume the other half would be added to this, then put in a vice or something and then the liquid metal would be pressure fed through the canal on the right of the eagle, filling up the mold. Again, I don't think too manny of these are around as I haven't found much info on it so far. Cheers, Pat

Hello All, I had the fortune of coming across half of an original metal insignia mold, the front half with what I believe is a metal stickpin version of the Wehrmacht chest eagle. If anyone can ID who this maker is that would be excellent as this is probably one of the molds that was used to make some of the items on the forum! It is made of a weird heat-resistant foamy material that holds detail extremely well and has some "singe" marks that would show that this was used quite often. It shows where the molten kriegsmetall was injected and is extremely well detailed in the pebbling around the swaztika and the lines are very sharp. If only the other half of this mold was with it. I wonder if anyone else has one of these to show, please do if you have one. From what I gather, this foamy material was used in the throughout the war and before it as well, for low-heat metal alloys. The reverse has a linen type material added. Any further expertise on this is very helpful, as this is a neat example of how badges and insignia were die-cast. I have no reason to believe this is a copy also, but if anyone has any different info please share that as well. Cheers, Pat

Lastly for today, the details of this Atlantic Star, which has seen better days. Any comments are welcome on this and the Burma star. Thanks, Pat

Reverse of the Atlantic Star...on second thought the ribbon probably wasn't cut, but just the glue was worn out or it was pulled off of the mount at that point. Cheers, Pat

The second new star I picked up was this Atlantic Star, which at one time was part of a mounted set as far as I can gather as it is cut on the back of the ribbon and has glue across it as well, a sure sign of being mounted with other medals. It is a shame it has been separated from its brothers, but alas this happens sometimes. At least the ribbon is original, and the star itself appears to have seen some time at sea as it has more oxidation and some serious wear. Any ideas on its wear at sea or any other comments are great! Cheers, Pat Ed, On the Burma Star, I do not see any names but it does appear to have had the "Pacific" clasp at one point as there are a couple holes in the ribbon at the right places. All of my Canadian issue ww2 Campaign stars are unnmamed.

Finally for the Burma Campaign Star, a close-up of the details. The edges are the proper die-struck method with lines unlike the repros or "re-strikes" which have smooth edges. Any comments or further info on these stars are welcome also! Cheers, Pat

Here is the reverse of the Burma Star...

Hello Gents, I recently picked up some nice WW2 campaign stars to add to my collection of the Italy (x2), France-Germany, 39-45 and Afrika stars I posted in my 8th Army medal set previously. I will post my new stars here from now on. First up is a very nice condition Burma Star with full length original ribbon. This example has kept in great shape and is a fine example of an often unmentioned battle in World War 2. Cheers, Pat

I think it was for colour contrast as well, as that is the only logical reason for having it there. Otherwise, it would have been solid and not nearly as impressive in my view. From the more I learn about these awards, no detail was too small in these highly idealistic minds who created the awards if it meant creating a more respectable and grand piece of work. Cheers, Pat

As you can see, it is slightly bent but I am not going to try and bend it back! Too many broken clasps in the past. Here is the reverse, and I appreciate all comments on this and any item in this thread. Cheers, Pat

Hi there, It is sad about the Luftschutz, but it figures as it came from the same dealer as my fake combat badges. On a brighter note, here is my newest addition, a 1936 model Black Wound Badge stickpin for the Condor Legion. I posted this on the Spanish Civil War forum as well, but I figured it might get a few more eyes here. This one is highly magnetic and has a bit of rust, so I think it is iron, and it is stamped. Any comments on it being a Condor Legion piece or possibly just a pre-1940 issue Wehrmacht model are very helpful, as I always like to properly ID my pieces, but the dealer and myself are pretty sure it is the 1936 Condor Legion model. I am really starting to become addicted to stickpins, they are just a great affordable item with such nice detail for small items! Cheers, Pat

I recently picked up the book "The Birth of the Nazis: How the Freikorps Blazed a Trail for Hitler" by Nigel Jones, from Constable & Robinson books in London for under $10 on the clearance shelf at the local "Chapters" here in Canada. This is a pretty good general account of the Freikorps from just before the end of the war all the way through. It is probably available at Chapters internet site "indigo.ca." Cheers, Pat

Can't say it tasted like much, besides a 90 year old piece of metal! I am really confused on this one and hopefully someone can help us out on this one Tom, as I am not quite sure what this is made of, but my gut feeling says solid silver. Are there any known examples of silver EK2's? I could very well be wrong, as my "taste testing" abilities are far from perfect, so any more help is greatly appreciated on this. Cheers and thanks again Tom, Pat

And here is the reverse with different pin set-up and markings, but the front detail are a pretty close match to the 1964 Commemorative version. Cheers, Pat

Here is mine, which looks much like the 1964 version you have shown Chris. The reverse is a little bot different with the markings but the material and details are very close. I will wager there are a lot of these out there. Cheers, Pat

How many real ones of this could have existed? I have never seen this type before, but I would guess that VERY few originals if any were made and most of these would be copies. Any more info on this badge? Cheers, Pat

Good idea Chris, I see Nick the Chairman took the idea and made a German fakes section for members. I was wondering if Nick or another moderator can move this thread to that new forum as it belongs there now. Cheers, Pat

Close-up of the hokey RZM and 800 markings... Please add your high end repros here for further reference and any comments or info on these badges are very helpful. Thanks again, Pat

reverse of the July 1944 wound badge repro....

Last one for now, the infamous 20 Juli 1944 Adolf Hitler wound badge. This one is peculiarly marked with an RZM marking and the 800 silver marking. A nice repro of a badge none of us will probably ever own with an almost authentic looking silver finish, so this is the sole good reason for copies. I think someone would think twice before paying $50,000 for this one! Cheers, Pat