IRVIN NUTS?...the ULTIMATE thread for those who love 'em!

[PADDY]

zipp replacements...

At some point I will be replacing the zips on the Eastman with possibly the Lightning recasts from Canada (for the sleeves at least). This Eastman is from the 'early' 1990's. But better repro zipps would just enhance it 100 fold.

 

[Alan Eardley]

Paddy

Good idea - but note that the tape on the HG/SoF zip is not as russet as the RiRis that ELC uses, so you may with to dye them to match the main zip (the tape of which is quite like many originals).

Alan

At some point I will be replacing the zips on the Eastman with possibly the Lightning recasts from Canada (for the sleeves at least). This Eastman is from the 'early' 1990's. But better repro zipps would just enhance it 100 fold.

 

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Irvins from sub Indian continent..?

As the repo from WPG , don't get me wrong , from the photos here , it looks like a great jacket from any angle , priced at just $ 350 a piece , do you think ALC or EL have anything to worry ?

I am waiting for WPG to come up with a two panels early model , then what do you think ? I for one will be temped to get one from them.

 

[jamespibworth@n]

Of course,

I buy A2s from England and Scotland, so why not?

I agree if they offer an early pattern and sort the zips they may be on to a good thing.

There may be a lot of interest in Sheepskin when that Dam film is released?

Good luck to them.

Cheeio

 

[Windsock]

Coincidentally. WPG has a business association with SoF in Wales which has a business association with Harlan Glenn in Canada who does the best repro Lightning zips (and the best Denison smock).

Is he still doing this? I'm trying to recall what the response was when I checked through SoF about a year and a half ago but either he wasn't doing them any more or that they wouldn't be suitable for an Irvin- I just can't remember.

 

[Smithy]

the very rare black fur Irvin

Thanks for bringing that up.

It's been awhile now since I last saw a photo of one of these but they are a bit of a mystery aren't they?

Does anybody here know more about this "abnormal" Irvin, has actually owned one or knows a little more about them?

 

[ukali1066]

Well...I married a Pakistani woman...so buying a jacket made there is really no biggie to me


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As the repo from WPG , don't get me wrong , from the photos here , it looks like a great jacket from any angle , priced at just $ 350 a piece , do you think ALC or EL have anything to worry ?

I am waiting for WPG to come up with a two panels early model , then what do you think ? I for one will be temped to get one from them.[/I]

 

[GreatWhiteNorth]

You've got a great jacket there !

The only reason I didn't get one from WPG is that they don't have anything smaller then 40 , but at this price , if it fits , it is an absolute great buy.

Well...I married a Pakistani woman...so buying a jacket
made there is really no biggie to me



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As the repo from WPG , don't get me wrong , from the photos here , it looks like a great jacket from any angle , priced at just $ 350 a piece , do you think ALC or EL have anything to worry ?

I am waiting for WPG to come up with a two panels early model , then what do you think ? I for one will be temped to get one from them.[/I]

 

[ukali1066]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwNQf08Kxsw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt5P_zvE5qY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-oPgbPdnWk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiQatiEzz_k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdAlYF67r9E

Hey Irvin lovers...check out these funny sketches by british comedians Armstrong & Miller....they're WW2 RAF pilots....BUT they talk like teenagers today.....

 

[nightandthecity]

totally well buff man! Innit

 

[Mike1973]

just wish I could turn the canned laughter off....:rage:

 

[kampkatz]

Thanks for the pics. The unusual styles are fascinating. It is amazing that new info keeps appearing. That book may get too big for a coffee table!

 

[boyorastroboy]

Is he still doing this? I'm trying to recall what the response was when I checked through SoF about a year and a half ago but either he wasn't doing them any more or that they wouldn't be suitable for an Irvin- I just can't remember.

I didn't find anything when I googled "Harlan Glenn", maybe they don't have an internet presence...

 

[Spitfire]

Thanks for bringing that up.

It's been awhile now since I last saw a photo of one of these but they are a bit of a mystery aren't they?

Does anybody here know more about this "abnormal" Irvin, has actually owned one or knows a little more about them?

Only in the movies:

 

[aswatland]

A black Irvin sold on ebay some months ago. It was the 1941 pattern and, if I remember correctly, there were no good close-up shots. It appeared to be made by either Robinson and Ensum or Wareings. I once owned a jacket by the former maker and some of the panels were virtually black. Clearly with wartime shortages some makers used the fleece from breeds of sheep with black wool. I will try to post some pics shortly of the above Irvin. Apart from the colour, I don't believe there was anything special about them. They only command high prices because of their rarity.

I love the shot of this "Irvin" from the BofB. Poor 1960s copy, perhaps made by the studio costume department!

 

[Smithy]

A black Irvin sold on ebay some months ago. It was the 1941 pattern and, if I remember correctly, there were no good close-up shots. It appeared to be made by either Robinson and Ensum or Wareings. I once owned a jacket by the former maker and some of the panels were virtually black. Clearly with wartime shortages some makers used the fleece from breeds of sheep with black wool. I will try to post some pics shortly of the above Irvin. Apart from the colour, I don't believe there was anything special about them. They only command high prices because of their rarity.

I love the shot of this "Irvin" from the BofB. Poor 1960s copy, perhaps made by the studio costume department!

I'd love to see the pics Andrew.

Thanks for posting the pic Spitty but like Andrew it looks strange to my eyes. Look at the jacket's right hand front, it's lacking an Irvin's (for want of a better word) notched lapel collar and front - if you know what I mean. As a result both sides of the jacket are symmetrical unlike an Irvin.

 

[nightandthecity]

the only "black" Irvin I've had through my hands was in the early/mid-80s so I am having to cast my mind back a bit......

It was 1941 pattern with the chest seams and four piece back. It had the elastic strap behind the collar. It had long fur inside, and it was well made, without the cobbled together look of some later Irvins, and it had an ordinary Air Ministry label not a Pheon WD label. All this suggested to me a jacket from around 1941/42. Unfortunately I can't remember the zips, but I do remember that the leather, though brown, had a kind of greyish tinge to it and looked almost charcoal in some lights - it was unlike the colour of any other Irvin I've seen.

Word among the collectors at the time was these were Canadian, some people even claimed they were made from wolfskin! But, as I said, it had an Air Ministry label and my impression was the same as Andrew's - that it was an ordinary Irvin but made from a black wooled breed of sheep.

On the other hand, the label could have been added in stores, so I suppose the RCAF option can't be totally ruled out.

 

[Smithy]

Thanks for the extra info nightandthecity. It would be great if we could find out how many makers used black sheepskins for their jackets or whether they were confined only to specific manufacturers. Also is there a particular period when they seem to stem from in particular?

Once again thanks for bringing the black Irvin up, it's something I had forgotten about but it's a great little bit of unusual Irvin history.

 

[aswatland]

Now there may be some truth in the Canadian link in that I saw a very tatty black Irvin on Ebay a year ago and it was in Canada. The pics below are of the one I mentioned earlier in the thread. It was sold by a UK seller and it was one I decided to pass on! BTW all the zips were Lightnings, the same as on my Robinson and Ensum Irvin.

 

[Smithy]

Many thanks for posting those Andrew!

That is very similar to the one I saw on eBay about 2002, however the outside leather on the one I saw was noticeably darker. At the time I emailed a RAF reenactor I know (as I hadn't seen one before and I was both curious and sceptical) but he said they do exist but are as rare as hen's teeth.

Surely not many can have been made because I don't even seem to have any period photos in my books and I have a fair few pics of aircrew in Irvins.

In terms of the Canadian link, how many other countries do we know may have made Irvins? I mentioned someone I know who thought a maker in NZ had constructed a few but to be honest I haven't heard anyone else saying this (although there are the rumours that both Irvin trousers and '36 and '39 pattern flying boots were made there which might lend credence if true to other items of AM issue flying kit being made there). But are there other countries that we can say for sure definitely manufactured them?

This really has got my curiosity up...