second opinion re lost battalions repro tunics

[corporalSteiner]

hello reenactors.
i have read some threads commenting that lost battalions may use 'the wrong weave' wool on their repro range of field blouses.
as i am waiting on one at the moment can anyone offer their three phfennigs worth on this claim.
the pictures on the web site, while limited, seem to show the right kind of cloth.
are there any reenactors out there with snaps to show of their lost battalions tunics?

thanks very much in advance.

kind regards.

corp.

[CWP]

LB makes the best reproduction tunics available.

[von Olsson]

LB makes the best reproduction tunics available.

Says who?

I have only seen one LB tunic and this was a M43. I have to say that I did not like the wool beacuse I thought it was to thin.

[Mikkel]

Funny, Janke an original contractor, use original patterns, wool from an original wool mill, original buttons (or at least used to a few years ago).
But somehow an ami, using wrong wool, is better?

[CWP]

Yawn... Michael Janke was not an original contractor. His patterns have obvious failings- for one, the lack of a chest dart on the Heer tunics, and the shape of the chest pockets themselves. Janke's quality has declined in the next 10 years, I believe they are no longer made in Germany. I have more than a few original uniform items and the LB wool compares very favorably.

[von Olsson]

Yawn... Michael Janke was not an original contractor. His patterns have obvious failings- for one, the lack of a chest dart on the Heer tunics, and the shape of the chest pockets themselves. Janke's quality has declined in the next 10 years, I believe they are no longer made in Germany. I have more than a few original uniform items and the LB wool compares very favorably.

Wich more repro made tunics have you seen?

[CWP]

I'm the authenticity officer for one of the bigger reenactment groups in the northeast USA. Our web site is www.3pgd.org. I've been reenacting since 2000, I've been to more than 100 reenactments. I collect original uniforms and I have a keen interest in keeping up with reproductions. New recruits in our unit are only allowed to purchase uniforms from Lost Battalions. I have held many dozens of LB tunics in my hands, and I am familiar with probably every batch of tunics they have made in the last 8 years. I also live very close to Bill Bureau, one of the only USA sources for Janke tunics. I have handled a large number of Janke tunics that he has offered for sale. They are not bad and the wool is great but the tailoring issues are very obvious to me (I'm talking Heer/SS Feldgrau field blouses here). I have also seen a lot of Sturm tunics and used to own one. They have problems but are not really bad for the money. We won't let our guys use them because they don't meet our standards. I haven't seen many tunics from Richard A Underwood in the UK but I liked the ones I saw and should probably learn more about them. I have also seen tunics from the eBay sellers from Asia and those things were disgusting.

[Mikkel]

Correct, Janke was not a contractor, but rather one of countless private tailoring firms that made uniforms.
I assume that you are aware that there two different qualities of Janke products. The ones made by his subcontractor in poland (I don't know if they are still made there), and the ones made in-house. I have not seen any of the tunics made by the subcontractors so I cant comment on those, but those from inhouse are extremely accurate.

If i'm not mistaken the was a good comparisono of an original tunic to a sturm one on the axishistoryforum. The downside of those are that they only come in very few sizes, so unless you fit a standard size, it will not look very good on you. If you do, then it's a god source of accurate tunics (I personally don't like the wool that much, not suited for early models imo).

I'm not hitting on the LB products as such, but I, as VonOlsson, don't like the bad quality of the wool. But I understand with the low value of the $ nowdays, the price vs. quality of european made items are not worth the extra price for us citizens?

[CWP]

I don't understand how anyone could say that LB wool is of bad quality.

Our unit portrays 9./G.R. (mot.) 8. This unit was formed in March 1943 from the ashes of IR (mot.) 8 which had been destroyed at Stalingrad. Although a small number of soldiers had escaped Stalingrad, the bulk of the unit came from IR 386 which had been formed as a "Kriemhildeeinheit" late in 1942. "Kriemhilde" was a last-ditch emergency plan to create more combat units by combing through soldiers serving in the Ersatzheer. These rear-area soldiers would naturally have included older men and other people who had previously been deemed unfit for front-line service. Added to this group was a large number of Polish soldiers from Volksliste 3. G.R. (mot.) 8 in 1943-44 was far from the image of German soldiers in 1939!

By the way Mikkel, welcome to the forum! Let's see your original uniforms!

[Black_Legion]

Cočč pics, I didm't have a chance to se LB uniforms yet but they are the top, and so is the At-front .
I did own a singapore made M40W-ss and it is very god for something lik 100USD inc. Post fees to a diferent continet.
Aldo, the insignia was horible except sholderklape, so i replaced it with flat wire Rottenfuhrer one's

[Brendan Hunt]

I don't see any collar liner buttons... Also, I've owned a Spearhead tunic before, but I've switched to Sturm and then comfortably to Lost Battalions. It looks like yours has the same issue mine had. Seems like the shoulder straps are super long, IMO. I'm no expert, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

-Brendan

[DennyB]

Lost Battalion does make a good quality reproduction of German uniforms, I have owned a couple and I have had Janke ones also. I think LB is superior to the ones currently made by Janke.

[Black_Legion]

I don't see any collar liner buttons... Also, I've owned a Spearhead tunic before, but I've switched to Sturm and then comfortably to Lost Battalions. It looks like yours has the same issue mine had. Seems like the shoulder straps are super long, IMO. I'm no expert, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

-Brendan

What can we expect for a 100bucks???
With some modificatins you can make a good tunic, the wool was heavy-not like the ones with some light weight wool.
Inside it hade some material similar to cotton or silk i don't remeber.

But if i was buying a new one-copy i would definetly buy a LB-like a real thing.

[Patrick Dempsey]

Hello all,

i used to own a LB reproduction prior to selling it earlier this year.

I was very happy with it in all aspects of detail and wool.

Here it is with a pair of Janke trousers on top.

regarding Janke items...i think their reputation came from a time that has long passed when there was no real competition.




Patrick.

[corporalSteiner]

tunic comment

great to read all the comments, thank you for the response...

a lost battalions jacket, m42 model, i have seen, looked great in all aspects except one.................

the fit where the back panel joins the two sleeves tops plus the sleeve tops themselves seemed over big, over roomy.................the jacket showed this slightly.....

has anyone had the same problem re the fit of L.B. tunics M42 especially, at this specific point? looks as if a outsized sleeve was used for a smaller chest panel, with an over large back panel...........a pick and mix tunic manufacturing style perhaps...anyway....a real drag to have so nice a tunic a few points short in such an important detail....do they do alterations on stuff bought?

kind regards

kind regards