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Kristof, Nice OPW2 Marc

Brendan, Are you sure that it is not simply rust (I know, a bit less glamorous that the blood of your ennemy spilt all over your awards)? Marc

USAirforce, It would, if it were original Marc

Miguel, Post individual scans of the items, that way they are all larger and clearer. When posting orders or medals, no need to show the suspension, that is rarely the interesting part Marc

They are offering 11 different molds for pressure casting Marc

Nice bars, Stogieman! The first one is a real beauty Marc

Miguel, The Soviet (and any nation issuing award for that matter) had a well established order of precedence for their awards (orders and medals). I'll see if I can dig it from somewhere. Marc

Paul, Thanks, I'll keep that in mind Marc

I am slowly (but apparently surely) getting attracted to the beauty and lore of Japanese Orders. I am not exactly a novice at collecting OMDs (15+ years specializing in the Soviet jungle), but Japanese orders somewhat puzzle me. I noticed that, very often, the differentiation between classes is made simply by the presence or absence of gilding on the award (eg: Golden Kite 7th/6th class, 5th/4th class). I hope that I won't shock veteran collectors of Japanese awards, but could it be that a lower class piece be "upgraded" to the next class up - a fairly simple process IMHO (having seen too many similar "achievements" from our Eastern European friends in the Soviet field) - for substantial financial gains? Has anyone heard of such instances, or of outright faking of Japanese orders? Marc

Bob, Probably [bad!!!] memories of years gone by... Marc

Stogieman, I am not certain that this is for "Excellent Infantry" as you state. On the badge, it is written "Excellent Shooter". Marc

Alex, In this case, I do believe that you should indeed complain. From what I have observed, Alex (the dealer, not you) is not overly good at identifying documents that were tampered with. Marc

Alex, Before you complain to Alex regarding the entries, wait to receive the research included. There you'll have the Uchotnaya Kartochka, which shows all the awards the person received, as well as their serial numbers. If that it does not match, then complain. Marc

Cookie, Some pictures would go a long way in helping determine genuineness and value Marc

Simply no words can express my state of owe

Yeah, but it takes 2 to tango, so at least one of them is a serious basketcase Marc

Christophe, Congratulations, you are going to ask question #200 You have basically answered all that was needed. The plane took off from the Murmansk area, and was carrying "Item 202", also known as "Kuzkina Mat". Marc

Right guys, I'm taking advantage of a nappy break to submit our next puzzle. In 1961, the Soviet Union painted with white paint and washed with shampoo a specific plane on a daily basis. It later made a specific flight (lots of specificities here...) 1. What type of plane was it? 2. What was the purpose for the daily maintenance? 3. On what date did its specific flight took place? 4. What was its itinerary? 5. Who was its commander? 6. What was the nickname of its main "passenger"? As usual, the winner is the first to answer all 6 questions. Happy hunting! Marc

Christophe, I think that there are a few errors in the Wikipedia biography. . Antonov received 3 Order of Lenin, not 2 (we can even see that on the picture you posted). He also received the Order of the October Revolution, the Order of the Patriotic War 1st class, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, and many medals . He was a deputy to the Supreme Soviet from the 5th to the 10th convocations . He became a member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in 1981 [source: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation] OK, give me a little bit of time to think about something interesting, in between nappy changes Marc

Christophe, I believe it might go as follows: 1. Oleg Konstantinovich Antonov [25/01(7/02) 1906 - 4/04/1984] 2. Building planes, among them the AN-225 (nicknamed "Мрия"), the world's heaviest and largest aircraft, which was used to transport, among other things, the Buran shuttle 3. Stalin (later exchanged for State) prize: 1952 Lenin Prize: 1962 HSL: 1966 4. Member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for the 5th to 10th convocations (1958-1983) Marc

922F, The URL you gave is not complete. Could you please post the right one. Thanks, Marc

Snoopy, Generally speaking, it is better to leave a piece alone as it is and not mess with it. Now, that being said, I'd personally would probably wipe the inside of this helmet with olive oil. Marc

Stogieman, For those of us not well (or not at all!) versed in German imperial awards (or even in German awards in general), could you please give a few pointer as to what makes this piece an obvious fake. Marc

Stogieman, Yes, they are. There is a mintmark at the lower left of your badge, on the reverse. From memory, I believe that it is the Pobeda Factory. Marc

Chuck, These are genuine. I believe that there was a thread about them on "the other forum". Marc