Quite a common item these days with so many new jackets out there, but be aware that not all is what it may appear, especially if you wish to attach an old, maybe original painted patch to a well worn replica jacket.
I had quite a few of these during the replica A2 craze during the late 1980s, made for myself they were just surplus with not enough jackets to put them all on, then selling on at a good price as replica patches were almost unheard of in the UK. Whether the customer thought they were real of fake I did not know as no one ever asked.
Here we have an original breast patch with a replica shoulder patch.
The shoulder patch on my Lucky 7 Seven jacket was a repaint due to the original becoming un stitched and lost due to wearing it. This is a replica of the original, made with a piece of an old leather car seat and enamels.
One reason cloth patches are preferred over paint is that the painted are reasonably easy to fake, but to make them look and feel correct is quite a task. Should you spot what you think is a fake try this simple test. Hold it to your nose and sniff gently, anything that smalls like paint at least be wary of.
Mine were made over 25 years ago, so the aroma of enamel paint and varnish has disappeared though I do not claim them to be original.
Bellow.
An A2 of mine from around 1984
It is not always the case that these patches are fake as I had the A2 pictured below touched up as the image was heavily flaking. The head had almost completely gone while the body was still in good shape. This jacket was an original wearer in those days, but looked rather silly to be honest with the headless girl. I had a friend touch it up a little in a sympathetic style.
(Anyone ever seen this jacket? I would be interested, not in buying it but just where is it now
)
Traditionally the squadron patches may have been made using horse or goat usually painted on an officially supplied 5" horse hide disc, but I have seen both larger and smaller versions, though I have seen a few originals made from various materials including paint on canvas.
Just a little info carried over from another recent post. It would be interesting to see more artificially aged patches, paintings or just how modern equivalents have worn over time.
Cheers, J.
I had quite a few of these during the replica A2 craze during the late 1980s, made for myself they were just surplus with not enough jackets to put them all on, then selling on at a good price as replica patches were almost unheard of in the UK. Whether the customer thought they were real of fake I did not know as no one ever asked.
Here we have an original breast patch with a replica shoulder patch.
The shoulder patch on my Lucky 7 Seven jacket was a repaint due to the original becoming un stitched and lost due to wearing it. This is a replica of the original, made with a piece of an old leather car seat and enamels.
One reason cloth patches are preferred over paint is that the painted are reasonably easy to fake, but to make them look and feel correct is quite a task. Should you spot what you think is a fake try this simple test. Hold it to your nose and sniff gently, anything that smalls like paint at least be wary of.
Mine were made over 25 years ago, so the aroma of enamel paint and varnish has disappeared though I do not claim them to be original.
Bellow.
An A2 of mine from around 1984
It is not always the case that these patches are fake as I had the A2 pictured below touched up as the image was heavily flaking. The head had almost completely gone while the body was still in good shape. This jacket was an original wearer in those days, but looked rather silly to be honest with the headless girl. I had a friend touch it up a little in a sympathetic style.
(Anyone ever seen this jacket? I would be interested, not in buying it but just where is it now
)Traditionally the squadron patches may have been made using horse or goat usually painted on an officially supplied 5" horse hide disc, but I have seen both larger and smaller versions, though I have seen a few originals made from various materials including paint on canvas.
Just a little info carried over from another recent post. It would be interesting to see more artificially aged patches, paintings or just how modern equivalents have worn over time.
Cheers, J.
