Buzz Rickson B-15 - pic heavy

[bn1966]

Wonder what HM customs are going to sting me for a used Buzz from the USA?? Love that B15-C Devilish.

 

[devilish]

As far as BR, RMC etc. being accurate to different contracts and having access to originals. Anyone who's collected vintage for any length of time knows the Japanese do have vast collections of almost every desirable item. From jeans to jackets. Piles and piles of them. Both private and commercial. Companies will pay well known collectors for access to their stash.
Now it's true this doesn't always mean every variant is copied exactly and license is definitely taken. BR do the William Gibson collection that is slimmer, longer and in 'incorrect' colors. RMC, as I've stated earlier, aren't accurate, in the true sense of the word, most of the time. Better construction and more modern fits on nearly everything they make.
The one thing that does hold true though, they do a way better job than any American company has done for a long time. Sad but true and their prices reflect this. Bash 'em all you want for this or that but it's still true they make a better jacket.

 

[wild_balls]

I Am little late on the thread here, but you nailed the fit spot on there Sloan! Looks really great.
I have been on and off about getting a Buzz jacket like yours! Now I'm cconvinced, Thank you.



Cheers Joakim

 

[Sloan1874]

Ha! Thanks WB, I know exactly what you mean - I've coveted a Buzz for a while, so when I saw it on eBay - not knowing it was our bn1966! - I had to go for it. I apologise in advance for the damage to your bank balance that I may have indirectly caused...

 

[Big J]

Wonder what HM customs are going to sting me for a used Buzz from the USA?? Love that B15-C Devilish.

HM customs shouldn't sting you at all for 'used clothing'.

 

[tropicalbob]

On the matter of the nylon colour, there's currently an original L2A on eBay which in the photo at least looks as light coloured as my Alpha Vintage(!). Might be flash photo... Doubt it is fading. Too uniform, and not the faded purple UV patches you see on the original N2As and some B15s on sale. (First original L2A I've seen, so don't have a handle on that.)

Funny you mention that. My jacket, which had kind of a matte finish, developed a beautiful purplish-violet color in the wear-spots. I loved it. Unfortunately, I left it at my folks' house, and my old man, who was an ex-Marine and couldn't bear having anything around that wasn't immediately useful (including me) threw it out, along with my engineer boots and the photos of my old girlfriends.

 

[Sloan1874]

Jings, that's harsh!

 

[tropicalbob]

Yeah, we weren't on the best of terms at the time. To be fair, though, he later on gave me the USN AN6552 that he won in a troop-ship card game on the way home from the war. For years I thought I'd lost it, only to find out last Christmas that my brother had swiped it. What a family.

 

[Smithy]

On the matter of the nylon colour, there's currently an original L2A on eBay which in the photo at least looks as light coloured as my Alpha Vintage(!). Might be flash photo... Doubt it is fading. Too uniform, and not the faded purple UV patches you see on the original N2As and some B15s on sale. (First original L2A I've seen, so don't have a handle on that.)

I take it that it's this one Edward?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Original-1950s-USAF-L-2A-L2A-Flight-Jacket-Size-38-/151366771951?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item233e29a4ef

It certainly does look light but could very well be flash or spot lit when the snaps were taken. Here's a pic I have of a B-15C which looks light again but once again it's impossible to definitively say whether it is a slightly lighter shade of nylon or lighting conditions:

Who knows maybe the Alpha marketing boffins weren't telling porkies and some blue spec nylons were manufactured in slightly lighter shades than what is usually seen?

 

[Doctor Damage]

Real McCoy B15. I think someone mentioned something about the sheen on these.

 

[Doctor Damage]

Photo of the pilot's lounge, K-14, Kimpo air base, South Korea, 1954.

I regret I did not record the website from which I got this photo, but I'm sure a search will turn it up.

 

[Doctor Damage]

Medal-of-Honor-DAVIS-Jr.-George-Andrew-Major-USAF-334th-FIS-4th-FIW-Korea-1952.
(click for huge image)

 

[tmitchell59]

Very nice. I have nothing like this. The look is really growing on me. Buzz Rickson stuff is just plain nice. You wear it well.

 

[Cocker]

Sometimes, I wish I'd be a couple inches shorter so I'd be able to get my hands on a BR B-15 that fits!!

 

[bn1966]

Sometimes, I wish I'd be a couple inches shorter so I'd be able to get my hands on a BR B-15 that fits!!

Flipped a BR Blue B-15 size 46 last year, it was a used eBay purchase...I'd been searching the Bay for a couple of years & jumped on a BIN based on how well my BR L-2A fitted. Problem with the B-15 was that the shoulders were narrower than the L-2A (& too snug)...go figure

 

[Doctor Damage]

I'm always keeping half an eye open for a used B15 repro or knockoff. I like the faded green nylon and faded green fur B15D the best, which is clearly photographed in the Suit Up book. Has any company made that as repros? I don't think Buzz has, and Alpha's current green is a non-faded colour (i.e. too green). I'd like the furry chinstrap too.

 

[HPA Rep]

I'm always keeping half an eye open for a used B15 repro or knockoff. I like the faded green nylon and faded green fur B15D the best, which is clearly photographed in the Suit Up book. Has any company made that as repros? I don't think Buzz has, and Alpha's current green is a non-faded colour (i.e. too green). I'd like the furry chinstrap too.

Not sure if you're only seeking only a faded B-15D, which I am not aware of BR ever making, but we have just a few of the BR B-15D's in stock, which were made in 2015 as a one-time production, with the last run dating back to 2001. Since BR is making these as close to the vintage type as possible, they are engineered to fade and do funky things when exposed to UV's, just as did the vintage jackets, so this may be for you:

https://www.historypreservation.com...-rickson-usaf-b-15d-flying-jacket-sage-green/

 

[bn1966]

Alpha "Vintage" series did a version of the B-15D as you have described Doc, numbers probably a bit on the short side for you. I have one of these in XL which is the only jacket I currently own in the series (having moved on numerous others). Quality isn't the best.

Replica series (Alpha) covered the jacket too (top textiles) & a Medium may well work for you (cut longer & larger). I had one in XL (can't have been too far off of Buzz quality)..it was at least a 48 so I moved it on. On VLJ a number of members have had similar sizing problems, a Large would be more than adequate for my needs.

 

[Smithy]

Sometimes, I wish I'd be a couple inches shorter so I'd be able to get my hands on a BR B-15 that fits!!

I'm the same. At 6' 2'' I'm just too tall for a BR B-15C. I love them but based on the body length measurements for various sizes I've seen, they're too short for me.

 

[bn1966]

I'm the same. At 6' 2'' I'm just too tall for a BR B-15C. I love them but based on the body length measurements for various sizes I've seen, they're too short for me.

Some of the Alpha Replica series were cut longer as I recollect, my size 44 (XL) was too long & generously cut for my tastes (great textiles though).