ELC Great Escape A-2

[aswatland]

For sometime now I have been keen to see what the ELC Hilts A2 looks like in the flesh. Recently I managed to obtain a very reasonably priced example in a size 44. The jacket has been hand re-dyed like a depot re-issued jacket and of course like the original RW worn in the Great Escape. On the basis of decent scans of the film jacket Eastman reproduced the RW 16159 contract. There is still debate on which RW contract was used in the film and there even may have been two film jackets.

I own an original from this first RW contract from November 1940 and the ELC jacket is a very accurate reproduction. I have replaced the zip puller with an original M-39 Talon as this was fitted to originals from this contract even though the film jacket(s) had a bell Talon puller.

The re-dye work has been nicely done, although the inside of the windflap was not re-dyed unlike the film jacket. The TW treatment was somewhat harsh and I have toned it down a little. The dye appears to be solid and does not leave marks on your fingers!

It is a lovely jacket, extremely well made and as a size 44, a perfect fit.

 

[Marv]

very nice Andrew, great fit also.

 

[Deacon211]

Wow, that is a beautiful jacket.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Edward]

Very nice indeed. If I was gonig to go for another A2, that would be a tempting option, given that Virgil Hilts was the reason I can to appreciate the A2 to begin with (I doubt I'm alone in that respect...).

 

[kojax]

nice jacket

 

[Superfluous]

Thats real nice!

 

[s4rmark]

Nice jacket, a good fit.

 

[EmergencyIan]

Good looking jacket, for sure!


- Ian

 

[bn1966]

I love the re-dye, would love to get my ELC RW A-2 done the same

 

[ProteinNerd]

I'm not really into the whole A2 thing but that is a damn nice jacket.

 

[Brettafett]

Very nice Andrew. I tried on a Great Escape RW at the ELC Pop Up in London recently.
Was a very nice jacket. Not a nice price tag
Size 40R, I am 5'10, 72 kgs...

 

[aswatland]

Yep, the new price when the jacket is available again from ELC is high and I'm glad to have got this one second hand.

 

[willyto]

Very nice Andrew. I tried on a Great Escape RW at the ELC Pop Up in London recently.
Was a very nice jacket. Not a nice price tag
Size 40R, I am 5'10, 72 kgs...
View attachment 68378 View attachment 68377

That's a great fit. Just need the sleevesa tad longer.

 

[regius]

Does Eastman offer this as a routine product on their website?

 

[aswatland]

They did for over six months following its launch in the spring of 2016 , but recently it is no longer available on the website.

 

[rocketeer]

Very nice Andrew. I tried on a Great Escape RW at the ELC Pop Up in London recently.
Was a very nice jacket. Not a nice price tag
Size 40R, I am 5'10, 72 kgs...
View attachment 68378 View attachment 68377

Fits Andrew nice, 'Brett' yes a bit longer sleeves.
Saw this also at the shop. Nice jacket but not my favourite, mainly because I think it would take ages to beat up to get that new/old patina looking more realistic.
I also don't think I would go with the name tag, there could be an 'I'm Sparticus' stand off at an airshow, as well as with the General Patton's in their B3s.
It may be a better idea to get something like this secondhand, even though someone has to buy it new, simply because you may get fed up with it or simply don't like it after a short while. Many of these specialist jackets seem to turn up for sale as Andrews has, and in great condition as I fear I may be correct(well sort of )

Seeya, J

 

[aswatland]

I would not have bought this jacket new, but it was a snip second hand and was is in new condition. I have just toned down the rather harsh aging which did not accord to any original A2s in my collection. I will leave the name tag in situ for the time being and look forward to an interesting discussion with an owner of a Patton B-3!LOL

 

[rocketeer]

They cost more new but I don't think they have the same resale properties as a nicely worn plain jacket, original maker or whatever, especially with the Hilts name tag. Maybe that is why this one came up cheap(ish).
Gary does make some nice jackets across the range but I do wonder whats the point of these specialist items such as the Patton B3s, the crew A2s(Hell's Angel's, Umbriago etc) To me it's a bit like owning a good copy of a Picasso, Constable or a knock off Mona Lisa. It will never be nowhere near as valuable as the original and lots of others will have the same thing. Maybe he stopped listing the 'Escape' because the cost to produce them did not reach the expected profits. Who knows

 

[HPA Rep]

They cost more new but I don't think they have the same resale properties as a nicely worn plain jacket, original maker or whatever, especially with the Hilts name tag. Maybe that is why this one came up cheap(ish).
Gary does make some nice jackets across the range but I do wonder whats the point of these specialist items such as the Patton B3s, the crew A2s(Hell's Angel's, Umbriago etc) To me it's a bit like owning a good copy of a Picasso, Constable or a knock off Mona Lisa. It will never be nowhere near as valuable as the original and lots of others will have the same thing. Maybe he stopped listing the 'Escape' because the cost to produce them did not reach the expected profits. Who knows

I think these specialist styles do appeal to those who certainly won't or can't wear the vintage equivalent for any number of reasons. A genuine "Hell's Angel's" A-2 done up as the ELC A-2 in near-new condition would be double or more the cost and lose value with each chip of paint lost from wear. Additionally, there are those, and more than I once thought, who collect repros, especially really good examples of items they likely wouldn't get to own.

We've sold most of these styles, and, once again, more than I would have thought, though nothing like plain jackets. I've found that the more spectacular the item, the more glitzy or celebrity-driven (Patton B-3), the more it appeals to the casual buyer (especially those in Asia), and Gary confirms this by his experience, as do my friends making similar jackets at Buzz Rickson's in Japan.

The "Escape" was hand-dyed and aged by Gary, so if I had to guess, it's been pulled because he's up to his eyeballs getting the new ELC factory setup ASAP, trying to replace the two senior sewers who retired in Dec., working around the loss of another sewer on medical leave, thinking about hiring even more skilled help to reduce backlogs, and figuring out what comes next now that a replacement consignment of leather has shown up from Oct., and how to work through no less than 4 months backlog of orders under the aforementioned circumstances and the fact that they and we are selling more ELC/ELMC jackets than ever before, partly due to the post-Brexit prices yielding lows not seen since 2007. We are feeling Gary's pain in a big way, most especially the loss of 50% of the sewing workforce.

I performed the same hand-dye work on a Buzz Rickson A-2 we sold a few years ago marketed as "The Cooler King" and it sold out pretty quickly, but the attendant work was a labor of love I will not likely ever indulge again. If I had to guess, the "Escape" will surface again in the future once things revert to normalcy, but when normalcy returns is a huge guess. Gary said this is uncharted territory and like looking down a black well hole. I wish him speed and soothing to his frayed nerves; I'd like to get some soothing, as well.

 

[bn1966]

Couldn't see myself with a 'Great Escape', 'Hells Angels' (big balls to wear that one) or the 'Umbriago'. Re-dye, re-issue without the 'Hilts' tag does appeal though. My ELC RW looks like a 1000 Mission jacket now...maybe Charles could re-dye it for me