The B-3 appreciation society …

[Baron Kurtz]

If I remember correctly I ended up putting a Talon zip on a Crown tape! It's the only zipper pull I had at the time though.

Certainly look like Crown teeth to me.

bk

 

[John Lever]

Well John, this is an eBay purchase, for the princely sum of 99p, so it looks like this is the one you got, too. You probably remember the almost detached right chest snap. I'm in a quandary as to how to fix this on the cheap.

Steve: Thanks for the picture. From what i can see from my jacket it looks like the person who replaced the zipper simply cut off the teeth of the original and tacked the abomination on top. When i removed the abomination this evening the brown herringbone tape of the typical Talon was underneath!

I Pecarded the front left panel this morning, and it s looking absolutely amazing. Wonderful contrast to the right front panel now. Amazing what a dose of goo will do!

bk

Well if it is then you got a better deal than I did. I remember paying at least £150 for it, but then I now remember the jacket I bought was from Scandinavia !

 

[David Conwill]

No jacket...

...anymore. Have I told you that particular tragic story? My grandfather wore a B-3 all through the war (ground crew officer in a P-47 squadron in the ETO). The jacket was one of the few things he kept from the war. The back split apart sometime in the '90s and my dad THREW IT AWAY!

*sigh*

At least I still have the A-3 pants:

Type A-3
DWG. NO. 33H 5592
A.C. CONTRACT
NO. W 535 ac-19436
AERO LEATHER CLO. CO.
BEACON, N.Y.

Tips on who to have someday provide me with a matching jacket?

-Dave

 

[Baron Kurtz]

very basic question: will MASH Japan send stuff (i.e. one of their Talon 42s) to Europe?

And what are people's opinions on these repros? Anyone tried them?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Talon-zipper-nickle-for-WW-II-A-2-flight-jacket_W0QQitemZ320277774151QQihZ011QQcategoryZ156437QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

bk

 

[H.Johnson]

Baron,

Indeed, Yoshi at Mash is very helpful and will send zippers Worldwide. If you email him at the information address at Mash you will find him to be very helpful. His English is very good and he knows his stuff.

He will, for instance, shorten a zip to whatever length you require. I have done this a number of times with various makes of zipper, including the WW2 Talon that I put on a B-3 that I 'built' from scratch a couple of years ago.

If you decide to use the auction seller you posted you should be aware that they are not accurate reproductions of WW2 Talons - you get what you pay for.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Baron,

Indeed, Yoshi at Mash is very helpful and will send zippers Worldwide. If you email him at the information address at Mash you will find him to be very helpful. His English is very good and he knows his stuff.

He will, for instance, shorten a zip to whatever length you require. I have done this a number of times with various makes of zipper, including the WW2 Talon that I put on a B-3 that I 'built' from scratch a couple of years ago.

Nice to hear from you Herbert!

Thanks for the info re: Yoshi. I've already emailed MASH through their contact page, so hopefully i'll get an affirmative reply.

If you decide to use the auction seller you posted you should be aware that they are not accurate reproductions of WW2 Talons - you get what you pay for.

Thanks again. This is the info i needed on this product. I think i'll just pick up a couple of zip-pulls. That's all i really need for non-B3 purposes. Cheap alloy Lightnings (of the Aussie variety) have just broken on me so i'll put on some Talon pulls, i think.

bk

 

[Edward]

As promised, some shots of the Lost Worlds B3 I recently acquired from fellow FL member, John Lever. By all accounts I've read, the guy at LW is rather on the eccentric side and not the easiest person to do business with, though if this jacket is anything to go by, he produces a fine product.

First, in wear:

 

[Edward]

Some detail shots:

Inside (Marlene and Greta thought this was a great palce to curl up):

Not easy to get a clear shot of the label, but some attempts:

If I was being particularly anal, I would question the extraneous "made in USA" label that has been added. Seemed an odd inclusion given the boasts of ultra-accuracy on the LW website. [huh] Not something that would be an issue such that I'd feel the need to try and remove it, though.

Strap:

I wasn't sure whether I'd care for the bi-coloured style of B3, especially with these lighter coloured straps, but I figured I could at least dye the straps down, and given that I'd eventually like an Irvin as well, a bit more variation in the coulr wouldn't hurt. As it happens, I really like the overall appeqrance of this jacket in person, and won't be attempting to change a thing.

Arm side view:

Back panels:

Regarding sizing.... I normally wear a 42R suit jacket, but tend to go for a 44R in an overcaot to allow sufficient room for a suit jacket or a sweater, as appropriate. There would certianly be room in this for a sweater (if I ever had to spend much time in sub zero temperatures or felt like committing suicide by boiling myself to death, that is), but the cut is such that with just a T shirt below, I dont feel or look drowned in it. I should expect that come Winter most of the jacket's wear will be over the top of an undershirt and cotton or flannel shirt of some sort. I may even wear it in place of a blazer over collar, tie and waistcoat for less formal days in the office (I've done this already with the AN6552, and it's a great look in my opinion). Quite honestly, long before i heard stories from other folks that the LW guy is difficult to deal with, I'd been put off by his rants on the website, but if this is typical of his products I certainly wouldn't hesistate to buy second hand Lost Worlds again.

 

[Fletch]

I'd been put off by his rants on the website

You ain't the only one. There's a definite trend to bellicosity and jingoism among American jacketheads (lurk VLJ awhile and you'll see), but Stu takes it over the top. I can't believe it hasn't cost him some business, but it's probably increased loyalty among true believers.

The flight jacket/waistcoat look is something I've done myself. You don't see it in old pictures, however, but so what.

Now to teh kittehz...Is Greta named for Garbo or Keller?

 

[Edward]

The flight jacket/waistcoat look is something I've done myself. You don't see it in old pictures, however, but so what.

It may well be a Hollywood invention. In sporting that look, I was inspired by the USAAF boys in their collar and tie with the A2. I'd consider it something of a more casual period look.... again, I could be totally barking up the wrong tree here, but it seems to me that most of the historical photos we have tend towards the more formal looks as photos were a rarer thing back then, tended to be of more formal occasions. Where nowadays, we snap away at anything, it was different back in the day. Recently I've been reading The Beautiful and the Damned (F Scott Fitzgerald), and during a wedding in the book, one of the characters announces that they are ready for "the photo." which is what got me thinking along those lines.

In the civilain context, another thread perhaps, but I'd be interested to see more period shots of B3s and how they were worn. Also, in the immediate post-war period, did the B3 make its way into any sort of civilian usage the way Irvins often did? I'd like to see photos like that too, not least as really that's much more reflective of how most of us will probably put them into service day to day in 2008....

Now to teh kittehz...Is Greta named for Garbo or Keller?

Garbo.

 

[fishmeok]

I won a B-3 last year by accident on OFAS (forgot to withdraw the bid). It's a US Authentic, nice enough jacket, but has several of the details wrong. Cuffs, jacket length, zipper and pocket placement, straps and buckles, etc. I figured it would be an easy fix, since I had the machine and the ability. Turns out I'm overrated. Sheepskin is a PITA to sew, it slides easily through the machine but is so elastic that the slightest drag will knock the stitch length to hell. I've been trying to re-do the zipper and have had to pull it off twice now because of uneven stitches.
Cheers
Mark

Some pics- spot the inaacuracies...

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Edward, that's a lovely jacket. I really like the look of the two tone jackets. the only thing i dislike is the lightness of the waist straps. I'd prefer a darker strap on that particular jacket …

I've been trying to re-do the zipper and have had to pull it off twice now because of uneven stitches.
Cheers
Mark

I'd suggest doing it by hand, using the old stitch holes. Laborious, but the results are pleasing.

bk

 

[Edward]

It is unusual to see, I think, in the repros, though it was original on some contracts. I'm sure they'll darken a bit in use, though.

 

[H.Johnson]

I won a B-3 last year by accident on OFAS (forgot to withdraw the bid). It's a US Authentic, nice enough jacket, but has several of the details wrong. Cuffs, jacket length, zipper and pocket placement, straps and buckles, etc. I figured it would be an easy fix, since I had the machine and the ability. Turns out I'm overrated. Sheepskin is a PITA to sew, it slides easily through the machine but is so elastic that the slightest drag will knock the stitch length to hell. I've been trying to re-do the zipper and have had to pull it off twice now because of uneven stitches.
Cheers
Mark

Mark

I sympathise. A few years ago I made a B-3 from scratch. I didn't have the correct machine foot, so following the advice of a number of wise and experienced people, I did it by hand.

Here's how. Having made a pattern (from an original) and cut out the sheepskin pieces, I made stitch holes in the leather strips using a stitch guage (a metal strip with regular holes drilled at 10 per inch). Alternatively you can use a traditional pounce wheel. I then joined the edges of the cut shearling pieces with hand stitches 'overlocked', then pinned on the leather strips and used 'glovers stitch' (two needles on one thread) to sew through the holes in the strips, overlapping the threads on the inside and adjusting the tension 'by eye'. I worked slowly and took care. It took ages...

OK, I made a few mistakes (the pocket was hard to set) and I did the zipper on a machine, but overall the result was fine. Some quite discerning people took it for an expensive repro. The biggest expense was the NOS buckles. The sleeve and strip leather came from Rolls-Royce trimmer's offcuts bin, the waist and collar straps came from a friend who makes harnesses for bull terriers and I dyed the sheepskin myself 'from the white'.

It was fun, sort of, but...er...it doesn't fit. Too much seam allowance. Damn!

 

[John Lever]

Glad you like the jacket and it looks like a perfect fit. All we need now is some cold weather ...

 

[ethanedwards]

B3

If you get a chance to watch the Eastman DVD, there is an excellent and detailed sequence of one of their machinists constructing a B3. The skill involved is a thing of beauty. And the jacket's not bad either.....

 

[Edward]

Glad you like the jacket and it looks like a perfect fit. All we need now is some cold weather ...

We could be getting that sooner than usual, if things keep going the way they have been this week!! If nothing else, it's definitely gonig to Belfast with me come Christmas!

 

[kampkatz]

Very nice looking B3, Edward. Wear it in good health.
BTW- your kittens look like younger versions of mine; 11 year olds Hazel and Blackberry.

 

[H.Johnson]

I'd suggest doing it by hand, using the old stitch holes. Laborious, but the results are pleasing.

bk

Baron,

You are right - it's good fun, and rewards patience. Here's one made from scratch, mostly by hand. Repairs are much easier.

 

[H.Johnson]

You ain't the only one. There's a definite trend to bellicosity and jingoism among American jacketheads (lurk VLJ awhile and you'll see).

Yeah...tell me about it!