Soviet WW2 Pilot Uniform

[Takc]

That is all right.

Funny it is, and posts 45, 46, 47 also show the button, which is actually a button of those which were produced in germany after the war as a reparation production to SU.

Typical thick bordered?with feldgrau paint.

As for the caps, I see only one feature of them which is enough to decline to buy them. The rest features are also important, but look at this picture, and it will tell the difference how fabric made caps differ from others, whether handmade or quasi-fabric made.

[Sergey]

Are you really thinking that there could be a factory named RED PARTIZAN in 1942 ???

at the Komsomolsk-na-Amure???

The city was founded in 1930, and in 1938 there were only 8-9 thousands of people there.

The one and only sewing factory was built in K-n-A during 1951-1955..........................

And it is true

[RichieC]

The examples of uniforms and caps posted (except for the white "naval aviation" tunic*) all appear to me to be "DoubleDecker Specials". Of course this particular seller is not alone on everybody's favourite auction site. Also, items of this type appear to have begun surfacing "second hand" at shows, on private websites, and on ebay in the same fashion that the bad Third Reich items from the 60s, 70s, and 80s appear today in 2007.

I think that Daredevil has covered the majority of red flags. I will try and dig up a very old, and VERY long bit of text that appeared on ebay (as a "top 5000 review") for a few weeks, but was mysteriously pulled by the powers that be, or removed by the author soon thereafter. A lot of it is of course pure conjecture, but I have to admit, that it made me think twice.

*As far as this piece is concerned, I have to agree with Takc 100% until I see a period photo of one in use.

[Frontovik Mike]

If the pilot's uniform makes the owner happy then good for them I suppose. However, I am with the doubters on this one and I wouldn't touch it. The uniform is to me... obviously from the source our comrades here have eluded to, either directly or second hand. It is as obvious as an elephant in a phone booth.

The auction run by "them" seem to be constant rotating supply of high end uniforms that are simply too good to be true. The red flags are like police tape at a crime scene. DD hit the high points, but it cannot be overstated how irreconcilable the collective rarity the items represent is versus the frequency at which they are offered from this single source. One needs not be an expert, just observant.

In honor of this eluded to source, lets call this "The London Bus Challenge"...

Start making note of these auctions either mentally or start dumping the photos to an archive on your pc. After about 6-12 months you will see many high end uniform groupings roll past.

1) All with "super stamps"

2) All with similar weathering.

3) Visor hats in particular weathered in a completely unnatural manner

4) The repeat use of the same "super stamps" if you watch long enough

5) A limited selection of uniform cloths being used for all items

6) All complete and with no repair, damage, or missing details

Add to this the fact that sometime last spring, "they" started running a markedly higher number of "private" auctions that ever previously. Why? We can speculate why... and I will... because good folks of reasonable collector's senses have been poo-pooing his material to his bidders and buyers for months, now which is making problem for him. The "private auction" has become a classic militaria scheisster countermeasure all over eBay.

"Their" material has been dogged on two other forums for all of the above and for other reasons on items such as helmets. So when is enough, enough? To each his own, but I do not feel the need to hold this item to make a call. It is simply a matter of something smelling so bad that I wouldn't dare pick it up.

It is much more than the item that the buyer needs to consider. The source and the habits, trends, and tendancies of the source are often clue enough.

I do believe the hustlers of of this material are watching all of this. I say this because the most recent crop of offerings is now showing evidence that they are suddenly trying to change the look of this stuff by altering the weathering and making some stamps less visible. So keep watching, and I'm sure new trends will develop.

MikeB