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Ok, here's a post I've just put on our FB page...

I keep saying I,m gonna change mine in every August when the new models come out ,but they keep making them faster, and these continental models, you just cant understand the instructions or how fast their internal combustion works, plus the costs of upkeep is ridiculous, mind you their boots are quite large so you can get a lot in, but I do like a smaller glove box so you dont lose your hand when rooting around in there, also a decent rear view helps. The instrument panel is also important, nice round large dials, buttons that can be easily turned plus upholstery that is neat and tidy and easy to clean

Another piece of my collection of which I'm rather proud!It's a LW tropical tunic belonged to a FJ Uffz.!It comes from the Vet's family and as you can see the EK ribbon is missing..it was in a frame which they would keep along with several Campaign cufftitles and decorations.No...the eagle is NOT pale blue! Cheers Manu

This kind of smock is commonly referred to as "Feldivision Smock" but in fact it was used by both the Jaegers of the FDs and the FJ....and by many a Heer soldier,too! It's beautiful,comes from Northern France,had a lot of tobacco in his pockets and comes with that sort of patina that I love!It's used but definitely not abused! Hope you'll enjoy! Cheers Manu

8 yrs in the army, 27 yrs a civi and I finally get my first stripe ,,,,,,,,,, yehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I'm a lance jack, I lurve the MCN

Latest acquisitions get an outing in a rare sunny day up North.. The biggy is from an SC500 bomb,hopefully will fit my old girl in the back garden? Was originally recovered from a sandpit near London. My mate straightened them out and give them a lick o'paint. Ive yet to add the yellow striping when I,ve time. Also shown are the ring-tailed fins from my SC500,they fit beautifully! Will eventually get around to painting them also. Both sets are marked with lovely stampings. Note the ring tail units are basically designed on the 1KG Incendiary tails that Lenny has pictured in the wanted section.

Hi All, Here are some photos of a French made bleached German tropical shirt that has more modifications than the previous one, but this one has had work done so that the buttons can be removed..This shirt started life as an early French tropical shirt just like the other one in last thread, but it does not show the heavy wear that is normally seen on shirts from North Africa. Perhaps it was taken from a POW and never worn afterwards. D

Thanks brother! Glad to be here!

What ,from here!!!? no chance, my aims not that good!!

Thank you for sharing Patrick...and welcome aboard!

In this thread a so called "expert" says that a PERFECTLY GOOD LW Green HBT work tunic isn't original.He doesn't even know they existed and he mistakes it for a modified Heer tunic,too! These work tunics existed in white,tan,green and black HBT and were sometimes used in combat as well!The only thing that it's not original (IMO) is the hbt-backed eagle and the collar patches! Even Jos LC (a collector of anything LW who think he's one of the Gods of the WA-lhalla!) hasn't recognized a common,down-to-earth LW work tunic! Cheers Manu http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=499858

Green HBT tunic.I've added the sport /defense badge because there were loops already and I saw one pinned on a LW FD fliegerbluse in a picture.The "gullwings" came with the tunic and they've been pinned in a very peculiar way,i.e. between the prongs and the fabric there are two small squares made of thick cardboard to protect the fabric.The EK ribbon is original but no boards were on the tunic. This way of securing the gullwings would suggest use on behalf of a FD member,as a German historian has told me.Many soldiers pinned the ranks straight thru the denim without sewing patches.We'll never know,though,the owner could have been everything from a "kanonier" to a Fallschirmjager or even a pilot!

Now there is an idea my friend,and i believe my old mucker jeeeensy made scans a few years ago...

Thanks Lenny!It's a pleasure to share that with you and th rest of the guys here!As you can see I'm doing my best to make this forum grow since I've been bitten again by the collecting bug thanks to your FB page! Cheers Manu

Rare LW tropical blue web belt with its original buckle!The buckle has a FP Nummer written on its tab but I cannot make out the number!It's a rare bird since it was made for a very short period between the first half of 1941 to the beginning of 1942!The Breadbag comes fromthe same area where it has been found a few years later! Cheers Manu

Beautiful,mint Heer M43 Einheitsfeldmutze made of Italian Gabardine cloth.It comes with a trap which was made without the black ring due to an issue to the machine that made the roll it had been cut from.I've never seen another like that and I don't think it's some sort of "low viz" trap because the red center would stick out like a forest of sore thumbs anyway!In 1944/45 such a detail wouldn't have been enough to render its make "unsatisfactory"!It's full of neat details. Cheers Manu

Super rare Horse carry rack for the MG. No need for fluffy words I'll let the piccs talk. enjoy.. This will be in the sale section later with the other horse carry rack.

This piece is nothing short of amazing!It's an early M35 Bergmutze which belonged to a Jager of 1 Geb Regt. 136!A Google search will reveal a lot of interesting details about this Regiment,last but not least the fact that it was amongst the first units to cross the Polish border in the early morning of September 1st 1939: "The 2 Gebirgsdivision (2 GD) in Poland - 1939. The 2 GD (Innsbruck) was commanded by Generalleutnant Valentin Feurstein (Ia Oberstleutnant Degen), it was organized on the basis of the 6 Austrian Infantry Division and comprised two regiments of mountain hunters: the GJR 136 of Tyrol (Oberst Nake) and the GJR 137 (Oberst Schlemmer), a mountain artillery regiment: the GAR 111, plus the AA 111; the Geb Pi Btl 82, the NA 67 and the Pz Jag Abt 47. For this campaign the division was subordinated to the XVIII Geb AK (General der Infanterie Eugen Bayer) within the 14 AOK (Generaloberst Wilhelm List). The 2 GD was ordered to cross the international boundary near Biala Spiska, in the Beskids, in the valley of the Dunajec and then was to follow the shortest route to Lemberg / Lwow. It's nealy-unworn,therefore I think that it was the best one in our Jager's trunk and mainly worn for his Ausgehen I think that the pictures will speak volumes,do the talking and all the rest of the trite,obvious sayings! Cheers ManuEmoticon wink

Here is my first educational thread designed to help fellow collectors determine what is an original tropical eagle and what is fake. There are many more copies that could be added, but most are very easy to spot and they are sold as copies. 1/ A very bad copy of a first pattern tropical breast eagle. The construction is bad and the head is deformed, but these sell as orignal. 2/ Another bad copy possibly from the 1970's 3/ A very good modern copy let down by the wings feathers. Be very careful with this type, as they catch many collectors off guard. 4/ This tropical breast eagle is from the late 1980's and early 90's it is a very good copy, but the head is deformed and the eagle backing and thread is synthetic. This one is also a dangerous copy. 5/ Points of interest to compare with the original eagles that I am going to post... 6/ This photo shows the front and back of another copy eagle that is like the one in photo number two.

I'd be interested as well, superb posters. You could sell them in the naafi.

Hi All, Here are some photos of a German made tropical issued shirt it is a typical example and it was probably made in 1941, There was an eagle attached to the shirt at some point and this shirt belonged to the same soldier that owned the Heavily used French made tropical shirt that had a breast eagle attached. Interestingly the inner loops for the buttons have been cut off to use as a repair on another clothing item. In this case the "39" marking is not the date of manufacture and it is clearly a size marking. D

Another dream item that I added to my collection in the past year. I have been searching for years for a pair of these and my parents surprised me with them for my birthday. These Flak Goggles were not issued for long or in large numbers. There is a variant also for armored vehicle personnel. These are the USAAF variant!

That's the kind if item that sends shivers down my spine! Thank you for sharing,DAK!

Unfortunately I have to make do with old pictures on film but I hope to break out the uniforms sooner or later and take better pictures of them!Anyway,more LW tropical uniforms;one in tan and two in blue and green HBT respectively...with matching trousers,which are way rarer than the tunics themselves!

Hi DAK, you can bet your left,right and middle legs that it's original...they don't come better than this!Well,maybe an unissued one but this one has seen action...in Northern France! No,unfortunaley I cannot tell you anything about the RB,but I think I know who you're thinking about!

I'm really impressed with your collection, fantastic, love seeing it.

Stunning....

Great series, loved it... Can't wait for series 2.

DAK, have you read my post on collarless tunics belonging to POOWs that I had posted a few days ago on Lenny's thread on his LW green HBT tunic? I found myself a collarless DAK shirt many years ago! Cheers Manu

In my opinion this one started its like as a regular French shirt that was modified by the German(s) adding the loops and buttons for the shoulter boards,in fact the French shirt had "tunnels" thru which the lower part of the boards had to be slipped thru! Cracking shirt indeed DAK,thank you for sharing mate! Cheers Manu

I have several collecting fields, but one of my largest contains Luftwaffe insignia and uniforms. I noticed over the years that while most collectors clamor torward the more common flight and Hermann Goering Division items, many of the truly rare and obscure items are virtually ignored. There is a whole wealth of Luftwaffe organizations that contributed greatly to the war effort that many know little to nothing about. My first uniform set goes to one of these groups. The General-Luftzuegmeister was the logistics services branch of the Luftwaffe. They used mainly captured uniform stocks. The LW blue uniform is Czech and the black dyed uniform is French. The cap is German made specifically for this organization. There was never an eagle applied to it, per the regulations of the GL. Finding the cap was a total accident. It was sold on Ebay as a modified/denazified cap. I was able to get it for very inexpensively- the rarest LW sidecap possible! here appear to be two waffenfarben, yellow and red. I do not yet know what they represent.

Very helpful post @DAK D.

Who said "I cant audition for the next Flash Gordon Movie" ?

Thanks for that. I will have to dig out my 105 casing and take a few pictures of it. I had it my tent space for a few months, then decided to toss it in a box and ship it home. I was quite surprised it made it.

I struck gold in a secondhand bookshop a while back

Seems like one of those Eastern European dating websites... @Davejb

please note, the above CARTRIDGE CASE, is very like that of Steve T, mouth ,wide and vacuous,,,,, neck,thick,,, shoulders, drooping,,,,, body, thin and long,,, flash hole, about the same place as arse,,,, head, well I,ll let you guess that bit,,,,,,

If these sockcuckers are offended by militaria, why join such groups? I would rant about the international politically correctness groups, Anonomous and the fascistic methods of those groups to make a safer world for all, the greater good and all that other bullshite, but, I won't. Yeah, I know, I just did !

Here are some Heer tropical buckles from my collection. The first tropical buckle was made by Gustav Brehmer in 1940 (GB40) It was a bring back by an South African Vet from the Western Desert Campaign. The second tropical buckle is another early buckle manufactured by Hermann Aurich, it was probably made in 1940, but it has no maker markings or date. The third tropical buckle has no visible maker mark, but the colour would suggest 1941 and afterwards. The forth tropical buckle is dated 1941 under the tropical tab, sadly I can't see any manufacturers stamp.

Brace of 5cm Mortar rounds. German ww2

Base fuze used in the large calibre projectiles. German ww2

Here is a really super GB40 tropical buckle that has been issued and shows light wear. D

Now I am going to share some photos of original tropical breast eagles from my own collection. 1/ These two photos show the front and back of an original early cotton Heer tropical breast eagle. The early eagles details were more bold when compared to the flatter eagle detail of the later rayon/cotton based versions.. 2/ Another early tropical breast eagle still attached to a part of the tropical uniform. This eagle was stitched by hand to the tropical blouse and it is typical for late 1940 and early 1941. The reverse shows the original hand application and the top part of the key hole stitching for the breast pocket. 3/ A later tropical breast eagle as removed from a captured member of Gebergsjager Reg 756 in Tunisia. Note how the eagle was straight machine stitched to the tropical field blouse. 4/ Points of interest on an original to compare with the best fake available now. The reproduction has four wing feathers and an original has five, please compare the red highlighted areas on the fake and orginal photos. It is also interesting to note that the fakes chest feathers continue onto the upper part of the eagles wings and this is something you will never see on an original.

Latest addition to the War Room all finished and now dangling from the ceiling. 1/32nd scale Heinkel He-111. (That's a 1/6th scale V1 behind it )