Quality reenactor uniforms

[VonLuck]

Anyone have an opinion on reenactor uniforms from China or Singapore (Cuttonmare, militaria-keith, etc) being sold on EBay? I've heard mixed comments, but are they that much worse than At the Front, 1944 Militaria, etc? They are about half the price and don't look a whole lot different in the pictures.

Thanks

[geopop71]

Re-enactor uniforms

Von:
My opinion is they may be one and the same, I get the impression that At the Front may be getting them from China. Could be wrong, but who cares?
Who would notice? For my wallet they would be just fine for enacting or a dummy! I could not tell the differance when I looked at them. I want to dress a dummy with German uniform, but can't even afford the cheaper one's. I have all the rest of the equipment, just need the tunic and trouser's.
geopop

[Ardennes]

there is a difference - all depends on how you want to reenact. If you want to be historically accurate, then you'll want to handle and look over the uniform and feel like it's right and worth your $. Some people are happy with the imports available on ebay - others are not. I've seen a lot of variance in items, and I for one would be very picky about what I got and from whom. I do believe that At The Front is carrying some of the same items - and I would not use that as a rubber stamp approval.

Talk to people in your unit and get a feel for the attitudes and experiences and also the level of seriousness. Every time I've tried to cut a corner in uniform expense, it ends up costing me double what a good uniform would cost. I'm not saying you have to spend a fortune to reenact, but if you're going to spend the time and $, might as well do it right - the first time.

[Gunbunny]

Hello, I bought one of those Chinese tunics off eBay with the idea of just having something to put under a camo smock on a mannequin. The quality (is that the right word?) is poor. The material, the buttons, the lining, etc. is wrong. The insignia included is really laughable. The lining in particular presents problems because it is a whitish grey color that is completely wrong and is visible even when the jacket is buttoned. About all these would be good for is as a movie costume. Reenactment use would be problematic because of all the obvious errors in material and construction. Spend a little more money and get a higher quality item. It shouldn't be that hard to find one. I would post some pics but my arm is in a sling right now and I really don't feel like going down to the basement to dig that "thing" out right now.

[sturmpioner43]

To Buy or Not to Buy

Hello, I would have to agree that the quality of the wool used in the Chinese imports is a "Light weight" Low Grade (Good if you do events in a warmer climate) and the insignia is of terrible quality.

However, I would have to say that for the Price, you can't go wrong. As for the lining being the wrong color and the construction being off, keep in mind that Originals were made by MANY different firms and that as the War dragged on, the quality decreased. There is a huge difference from a "Private Purchase Tailor Made Uniform" and a Depot Issue Tunic.


In my unit there are guys with At The Front, Lost Battalions and 1944 Stuff. I am not all that impressed with any of them for the amount of money that they charge. The main reason a lot of people are unhappy with the "Imports" (I've heard them admit it) is that they paid three to four times the amount that I did for my Complete Uniform.

In the end it all comes down to the equation of: The Number of Times I will wear this + the amount of money I will spend = my Happiness. I hope this helps!

[CWP]

I have some original tunics in my collection and I am very familiar with the reproduction tunics being offered. The Hong Kong and Singapore uniforms are revolting garbage that should not be used for reenacting. The cut is completely wrong, they are way too long in the skirt, the skirt is longer than the sleeves, the sleeves are wrong, the skirt is the lame length in the front as in the back. Also the materials are dead wrong. The At the Front uniforms are made by Sturm, these are very different from the terrible "Keith" eBay offerings that should be destroyed. Using these awful uniforms is bad for reenacting. There is surprisingly little difference in the construction and tailoring of original issue tunics and the eBay garbage is miles away from even coming close. I hate seeing people at reenactments wearing tunics cut like American suit jackets. The belt hook holes are too low to even wear the belt where it goes.

[Ardennes]

The stuff from overseas varies so much from seller to seller and month to month. I've seen fliegerbluses from keith and barry and others that look great in the photo and arrived light pale blue like something French forces in the 1700's wore. The cuts and sewing are of fast copy quality - sort of like they upsized a smaller repro uniform for a fat reenactor without taking the time to make sure it was done right.

Call me picky or anal or protective of my investment or whatever - but when I show up to a reenactment, I show up to step back in time. The people wearing the cheap FJ smocks and such look FARBY - the colors are not right nor is the material - camo smocks are not supposed to "shine" ! the patterns look wrong, the stuff looks bad and it ruins the weekend.

Now yes, some of it is close and can be considerd a good deal - but, it also needs to be worked on, just like the other guys. For example, helmets should not be new and shiney or painted in fantasy colors, they shouldn't look 60 years old either...whomever the supplier is is just the starting point. The individual reenactor now needs to work on his impression and put everything to use right - under the guidance of his unit and according to history.

The problem with a lot of the imported stuff is that a lot of people are just buying everything they need at once from ebay, not researching or asking what they need and wearing it out that weekend. They read what the seller says and take it for gospel and head out to "play". A lot of these guys are not even joining units, they are just lone wolfing it and doing whatever they damn well please. Sometimes their history knowledge is limited to Band of Brothers and Playstation Games.

I spend extra on my uniform and compare them to my originals. When I wear my gear, people compliment me on my uniform - including veterans - and I spend a lot of time to make my impression right. I research, I follow guidelines, I consult, I alter if need be, etc.

decide what you want to buy based on what you wish to do - if you want to reenact with a squared away unit in a good organization, save your money and buy quality the first time. If you want something as a quick substitute for airsoft or paintball, go with the imports. Talk to your unit and see what others have and where they got it and what they've done to it - research research research.

[VonLuck]

Thanks for the opinions. So far I think the best deal is Hessen antique. Seems like good quality without breaking the piggy bank. Hong Kong is a thing of the past...

[ccmax]

Sturm uniforms have been imported from China for a long time. Some At The Front items are also Chinese imports.

[CWP]

There is a huge difference between Sturm (sold by Hessen Antique, At the Front and many others) and the Hong Kong/Singapore eBay rubbish. Lost Battalions makes the best field blouses, they get the cut right in areas where Sturm goes wrong. If you look at someone wearing a Sturm blouse standing next to someone wearing a LB blouse, you can see a big difference, particularly in the length of the skirt, the sleeves and the location of the belt. Sturm has ALWAYS been made in China, even though it used to say "Made in Germany" on the bags.

[Abzeichen]

Just some stitch Nazi



I may just be some stitch Nazi, but I agree with all of the others, Hongkong Keith is garbage. I have heard that he doesn't even have originals to use as examples, which is obvious from his product line. He also seems to think all of his customers are over six feet tall. My unit is not permitted to buy anything from him.

Sturm are nice unifroms for the price, I like their Mantel. Hessian Anitque is a good outlet for Sturm. Lost battlaions is also good, a step up from Sturm. The best you can get in my opinion is On-the-march. She makes as close as you can get to an original. The fabric weight, weave, color, and density are all right on. Here is a photo of an On the march, an original, and a LB for comparison. DSC00188.JPG

[MikeW]

Anything from China is just overpriced junk.

For example you go to Home Depot, theres a Milawaukee hole hawg, and theres the Rigid brand which is imported from China selling for the same price. Overpriced junk IMO

[Abzeichen]

Be American, buy American

I can say if you buy Lost Battalions or On the March you know you are supporting American small business. The quality is also superior to the Chinese. What more can you ask for?

[allanb4570]

Orient Junk

Von,
In my MHO, the oriental stuff is not cut correctly, as has been stated by others on this thread. If you look at original pictures of the soldaten, you will see, that the skirts of the blouse, or jacket, rarely fall below the sleeve length. I have a Singapore sling tropical jacket and being short, 5 feet, 6 inches, the sleeves are an easy fix to shorten. But, you cannot make the skirt any shorter without completely tearing the jacket apart. By the time you have all this done, it's cheaper to invest in a jacket from Lost Battalions, Janke, or Die Kleiderkammer (Fallschrimjager), or some of the others mentioned earlier in this thread.
Now, I have a tropical jacket I would love to sell, only worn once!

[Jurgen Rossler]

Im sorry that so many of you seem to think that the Chineese repro's are so bad, That may have been the case a year ago but I think that if you look at the items Hong Kong keith is producing now its 100% better, Also if you send him an email to state what is wrong i.e belt hooks in the wrong place etc he corrects it. I bought a Denison smock from What Price Glory and when it arrived I nearly cryed it was so bad, No knitted cuffs colour and shape totally incorrect and this company was reccomeneded to me by Airborne re-enactors!!! So for me I will stick to buying out of China at least they correct their mistakes and dont charge like a wounded bull.