Edward
Bartender
- Messages
- 25,081
- Location
- London, UK
Would not bother now, too old for that sort of thing on a repo, though I do have a squadron patch on my Eastman A2 but thats about it. I don't do reenactments as its a bit hard to pass for a 2nd Lt when you are fat n 50(+)
Heh, well... I'm about a decade younger than you, but otherwise....
I tend to feel a little queasy about a lot of the motifs asociated with the bombing campaigns, knowing what we do about the civilian casualties, but yeah, I have an A2 with the 77th Fighter Group patch on it (not a deliberate choice - scored a bargain on an Aero A2 on eBay a few years ago. One of the seal goat numbers. Bought on a whim, and I found myself wearing it in preference to my Eastman Roughwear, to the extent where I plan to sell the latter now). Planning a USN AVG repro, but that's another beast again. I've always found the spectacle of grown men a decade and more older and orders of magnitude bigger than the kids who flew with the AAF arguing over whose size 50 A2 is the most accurate hilarious.... I'm no reenactor either. TBH, for me the flying jackets have always been all about the jackets - I don't have a huge burning interest in the other aspects of the gear, or the planes so much.
Wested aren't bad by any means. I have a Raiders in goat; it's certainly no Aero, but for a jacket I can take with me on longhaul flights, leave lying on my chair in the business lounge, leave in hotel rooms, wear around without thinking about, sweat in in 22C in February in Dehli because it's the only jacket I have with me with a secure zip wallet pocket... certainly has its place. The Aero will, of course, be a far superior jacket, but different strokes for different folks: Wested's primary market, as I undderstand it, is for costume guys whose jackets will rarely see wear anywhere other than the inside of an air-conditioned convention centre. They do look good, not cheap fancy dress, and if you're only buying for a costume, imo the added pluses of the Aero are something you're less likely to benefit from. Which is not to do down Wested by any means - they're just different beasts. I'd happily wear a Wested (I've even considered one of their 'Dr Who' jackets, as it's a style I like but don't think I'd wear enough for it to be worth 'Aero money').
