Wow look at this Beaut! Early B-3

[Xopher]

I was cruising ebay today and stumbled across this absolutely amazing early, whiteskin B-3. This this is seriously museum quality. If I had the money I'd bid but alas, bad timing. Thought I'd show you folks in case there are any hardcore collectors out there who are looking for one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WW-IIU-S-Ar...173880?hash=item3d2f1904f8:g:OXIAAOSw44BYZN7b

 

[HPA Rep]

I was cruising ebay today and stumbled across this absolutely amazing early, whiteskin B-3. This this is seriously museum quality. If I had the money I'd bid but alas, bad timing. Thought I'd show you folks in case there are any hardcore collectors out there who are looking for one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WW-IIU-S-Ar...173880?hash=item3d2f1904f8:g:OXIAAOSw44BYZN7b

That is a nice one, Xopher! I've owned and handled quite a few of these and I think this one would clean up really well. I wish they depicted the data label so as to show the contract number. This is worth more than the opening bid to anyone who is serious about collecting these items. Thank you very much for letting us know!!!

 

[mihai]

That is a nice one, Xopher! I've owned and handled quite a few of these and I think this one would clean up really well. I wish they depicted the data label so as to show the contract number. This is worth more than the opening bid to anyone who is serious about collecting these items. Thank you very much for letting us know!!!

Talking about cleaning. I have 2 pairs of arctic sheepskin pants. Leather is really strong on both however one is kind of dirty.
Could you please give any insight/ reference the cleaning/conditioning process for this kind of sheepskin finish?
Thanks in advance

 

[aswatland]

It is a nice one dating to 1937. You can make out enough of the label to see it is from the 37-2063-P contract. I suspect it will sell for over $2k

 

[Plumbline]

loving the chest buckle feature ...

 

[aswatland]

The chest buckle was only seen on this contract

 

[HPA Rep]

The chest buckle was only seen on this contract

I've seen the chest buckle on at least three other productions: Phillips Tanning, Werber, and SFAD. Images of the former two, unfortunately, exist in my photo study only in chromes shot back in the '90's, but the SFAD, which I didn't handle personally, is shown here from an Ebay auction that was sent to me some time ago and reflect a depot-dyed SFAD that has various features that are anomalies vs. what is seen on the SFAD B-3 Gary Eastman owns. The main zipper is a postwar replacement but the zippers serving in lieu of the usual side gussets appear to be original to the jacket.

 

[aswatland]

This is news to me Charles. Living in the UK I have not had the opportunity to see other early contracts with chest buckles. "Full Gear" only cites the no name '37 contract as having a chest buckle, but this book is not without errors and omissions. However, I'm wondering if the last one pictured has had the buckle added post manufacture. It looks as if the upper collar buckle has been removed and placed on the upper left chest.

 

[Xopher]

That buckle on the chest is pretty neat, how exactly was it used though? To pull the collar down once it was buckled up? Are there any repros still around that still do this, the only one I've seen was RMNZ

 

[Xopher]

There was a really neat old 37' D-1 that just went off. I love those old contracts, maybe we could talk ELC into doing more early early contracts
http://m.ebay.com/itm/Original-WW2-...eather-Flight-Jacket-/201757032150?nav=SEARCH

 

[HPA Rep]

This is news to me Charles. Living in the UK I have not had the opportunity to see other early contracts with chest buckles. "Full Gear" only cites the no name '37 contract as having a chest buckle, but this book is not without errors and omissions. However, I'm wondering if the last one pictured has had the buckle added post manufacture. It looks as if the upper collar buckle has been removed and placed on the upper left chest.

Thanks, Andrew; of course your exposure to such rare AAC items would be limited in your neck of woods, and this type of gear is pretty limited even here, I just happen to go back far enough and I'm obsessive enough in this field of study to have turned up a vast amount of info. that's not readily available or commonly known. We should always exercise caution with any published info. that draws conclusions without reasonable, supportive evidence. And I agree that the chest buckle COULD be from the collar, which I didn't notice before, though the dye marks make me think that if this was from the collar, the service depot did this work to bring the jacket within the spec. of those produced under civilian contract, such as 2063-P. This is all quite interesting and worth pondering.

 

[HPA Rep]

That buckle on the chest is pretty neat, how exactly was it used though? To pull the collar down once it was buckled up? Are there any repros still around that still do this, the only one I've seen was RMNZ

You nailed the buckle use down, Xopher - congrats!!!

RMNZ, RMJP, and, in 2004, Buzz Rickson's are the only repro makers I know of that made these early B-3's as depicted on the Ebay listing you kindly noted here. I regret not buying the BR version in 2004, which has a slim chance of being offered again due to the high production costs. BR's example was copied from my own, which is the best of this type I've ever seen (has leather name tag named to a West Point grad. of 1923 and retains original inspector stamp in blue ink on exterior).

I'd love to see a true, first-model B-3 offered. I've seen only one such example in my life in person and it was so amazing, being more Irvin than B-3.

 

[HPA Rep]

There was a really neat old 37' D-1 that just went off. I love those old contracts, maybe we could talk ELC into doing more early early contracts
http://m.ebay.com/itm/Original-WW2-...eather-Flight-Jacket-/201757032150?nav=SEARCH

You had me all stirred up, my friend! That's a D-1 made by the San Antonio Air Depot and not a 1937 first run. I've never seen one from the first run (mechanic items are very, very scarce due to attrition), but these would have been made w/ raw, off-white skins and not core-seal-coated skins. I've seen one redskin D-1 in my life and absolutely regret not buying it: it was absolutely beautiful but had a questionable label.

 

[HPA Rep]

This is news to me Charles. Living in the UK I have not had the opportunity to see other early contracts with chest buckles. "Full Gear" only cites the no name '37 contract as having a chest buckle, but this book is not without errors and omissions. However, I'm wondering if the last one pictured has had the buckle added post manufacture. It looks as if the upper collar buckle has been removed and placed on the upper left chest.

You need to see an Aussie-made B-3 to really have your mind blown!

 

[Xopher]

You need to see an Aussie-made B-3 to really have your mind blown!

Are there any photos of such a creature? I'd love to see!

 

[HPA Rep]

Are there any photos of such a creature? I'd love to see!

I have pics of the one I owned - the only I've ever seen in the flesh and it was NOS unworn - but, alas, I need to get the medium-format transparencies drum scanned and digitized.

 

[mr_lits]

My RMCNZ copy or the '37 contract appears to be quite accurate down to the details by comparison. I can't tell if the windflap and cuffs on the original are the shorter trimmed shearling (like seen on later models) but my RMCNZ has full length pile on all panels (like on Aeros modern repros). Either way I cant wait till mine looks like the one for sale. I also look forward to see what the origional sells for.

 

[HPA Rep]

My RMCNZ copy or the '37 contract appears to be quite accurate down to the details by comparison. I can't tell if the windflap and cuffs on the original are the shorter trimmed shearling (like seen on later models) but my RMCNZ has full length pile on all panels (like on Aeros modern repros). Either way I cant wait till mine looks like the one for sale. I also look forward to see what the origional sells for.

View attachment 64122

I recall seeing your B-3 before and it's a super piece! If I recall, the outdoor pics of this show the facings on sleeves to be a pale color that is pretty much matching the original shade, which is a very light shade of creamy tan with some very pale pinkish hues on some examples, and not the caramel color seen above indoors.

The wool should be shorn down on these as was the case on all B-3's, thus the cuffs & wind flap should be the same depth, the collar and sleeve wool then longer, and the body the longest. You can, at times, see wool on the cuffs and wind flap longer than what the spec. provided but still shorter than the collar and sleeves. If you look at the vintage pics of these being worn, the wool on cuffs should appear to be less deep than the collar. The white-skin vintage jackets I've had the privilege and good fortune to handle have been consistently conforming to having wool depths in three varying lengths.

 

[HPA Rep]

Talking about cleaning. I have 2 pairs of arctic sheepskin pants. Leather is really strong on both however one is kind of dirty.
Could you please give any insight/ reference the cleaning/conditioning process for this kind of sheepskin finish?
Thanks in advance

I have seen dry cleaners offering specialty suede cleaning do a great job on some of these, steam cleaning away black grit and grime, but I have also used cleaning agents. Please note that nothing I say here is advice or intended as instruction; it is posted only to tell a story about how I cleaned similar items made of this sueded sheepskin.

Using a foaming carpet cleaner safe or intense for wool carpets, I have cleaned both the wool and suede parts using very sparing amounts of clean tap water, old, white tee shirts, and soft-bristle brushes. After cleaning areas with gentle rubbing using the tees and brushes and the carpet cleaner, I blotted and wiped with terry towels and allowed to dry slowly via air, with no form of rapid or sped-up drying employed or my sheepskin would have turned into a block of concrete and been ruined. Any stubborn soiling on the wool or suede was cleaned using solvents such as Goof Off, and it's noteworthy that Palmolive dish soap is also a great tool for removing greasy dirt. I was very careful to not be overly aggressive when rubbing away soil from both wool and suede parts so as to not remove leather or wool, which would have come off if I had been less careful. And I was extra, extra careful of any spots where the leather was thinner and worn, making sure to be extremely gentle.

That's a story of how I did some cleaning of this type. Enjoy!

 

[aswatland]

It sold for $1526, with just two bidders!