New Wehrmacht Camo book.

[SMP]

Has anyone seen, heard , or been involved in the new , soon-to-be-published , Schiffer book on Wehrmacht Camo uniforms ? Does it have a worthwhile FJ section ?

Any info ...

Regards

Steve

[Willi Z.]

Hi Steve,

I have been emailing one of the authors in Belgium. The book was to be released this winter.....there are delays due to a strike out in Ca. There will be some FJ stuff in it....smocks and helmet covers. I think everything is original, but some mistakes in the descriptions. The author admits they just haven't handled enough of the variations of smocks. The clip-on splinter cover is real, owned by a friend. The strength of the book will be other Wehrmacht camo. I think it will be worth getting.

I hope the book will feature some Heer helmet covers, to help clear up all the nonsense in the collecting community on those. But, am sure there will not be enough on FJ helmet covers to clear all the myths in that area. Will have to wait till the end of the year for that to happen......

Willi

[werner p.]

WH CAMO BOOK

Hi , I am the author of the camo book you referred to. Willi Zahn has indeed talked to me about it ( through email) and what he says is mostly correct.
I would like to give some additional info however:
FIRST the book is about camo patterns and the uniforms used by the Wehrmacht HEER and LUFTWAFFE ( so not SS)
The LUFTWAFFE section covers helmet covers, FSJ smocks, FSJ camo gear and LW field division smocks.
ALL items are 100% original and some have NEVER been published before ! I am 100% convinced that all explanation about the camouflage used is correct, there could be some mistakes in the detail description of the item ( smock of 1st 2nd or 3rd pattern, step-in model, with zipper or buttons) but this was of minor importance to me since I mainly emphasized on the camo.
A wide variety of smocks in different camouflage patterns is shown, all very nice and original examples !
The helmet cover section has splinter and marsh patterns covers but only 1 FSJ helmet cover, but a very nice one, with a great story to it !

In all the book has about 300 pages and 500 pictures most of which have never been published before !

I really think it is worth all it's money, if only the publisher would finally release it !! It was planned for september, then november , then mid-december and now they don't answer my mails any more.... so I just gave up, it is out of my hands and I have to wait untill they think the tiome is right to release it !

Werner Palinckx
whcamo@pandora.be

[SMP]

Thank-you Werner, I am sure I am going to buy a copy, just as soon as it becomes available.

[JYN]

Photo credit

Hi,

What about the front cover of the book. Is Schiffer going to use the one which is already in the last catalog ?
If yes, are they going to pay the photographer who did this photo a long time ago and ask the permission to those who were on this photo ? Just a question

Jean-Yves

[DJT]

I think it will be a great book

I was very fortunate to visit Werner and view his collection in person earlier this year and all I can say is Wow not only has he some incredibly rare camo items in his collection (mostly in mint condition by the way) but his knowledge on the camo variations and their history & background is quite exceptional. I think it will definitely be a book worth buying for the reference library.

Regards,

Des Thomas

[werner p.]

COVER OF THE BOOK

Thanks for the remarks guys , especially you Des !
What I can say about the cover is this, go and check out my (small) website to see it !!!!!!!!!!!!

http://users.pandora.be/reitz/

andora.be/reitz/I had a big row with Schiffer because they used pictures from Militaria Magazine for which I obtained authorisation, but only to use IN the book , not on the cover !!!!! So I was furious when i saw their first layout of the cover and they changed it, but the first layout was already used in their catalogues.......
They also promised me a FINAL release date of mid-december 2002 , well we are december 20 now and guess what ...still no book !

[JYN]

Nice new cover

Hi again,

Nice new cover. It is going to cost a lot to Schiffer as they are using a picture from ECPAD. They have their special spy which is usually visiting the bookstore where I am working in. He always notes the book and the book's company which is using ECPAD photos in order to check afterward if the book's company has a contract with them.

Good luck for your book

JYN

[werner p.]

cover pic

the cover pic is an original wartime press pic which belongs to my personal collection, the caption is still glued to the back and it says that everytime the pic is published the war photographer should be credited....... but I guess we won't do that !!!

Werner

PS this pic can also be found in the Bundesarchiv Koblenz Germany, The National Archives Washington USA and the Brussels Army museum Brussels Belgium ...........................
and the ECPA in Paris France of course !

[SMP]

Since asking the question I have bought a copy of the book and would like to comment on a few items.
I am mindful of the fact that Werner visits this site so I would first like to say that it is a great book and should be highly recommended to all who are interested in Wehrmacht camo clothing.
However I would like to concentrate on the FJ section and in particular the statement that all smocks featured are original. I offer up two smocks in particular for comment. The first is the 2nd pattern green step-in on page 77. If my memory serves me correctly, this is the same smock ( and photo ) that John H said was a repro smock someone offered him many years ago. Any comment John ?
The second is the smock made from 2-sided Zeltbahn material on p101 complete with "RIES" zippers. To my mind this is an out- and- out forgery. The "RIES" zippers are not war- time and are used on the high-end fake smocks like the excellent green step-ins out of England. Of course I have never seen or handled this smock , so I am open to convincing by anyone with better Knowledge than me.
Other interesting details I would like to hear discussion on are:
1. The rank and eagle badges on p 95.
2. The small loop stitched to the shoulder of the nice splinter smock on p103.
Sorry I can't post pictures of these, but perhaps Werner might oblige us.

Over to the experts....

Regards

Steve

[Brian C.]

werner p.

Awesome winter panzer background pic on your website's main page. Where and when was it taken, and can you e-mail me a copy of it for my archive of pics?

Thanks,

Brian

[John Hodgin]

Hi Steve,

Thanks a lot for bringing this to my attention. I haven't seen the new camo book, so I cannot make absolute statements about the photos yet. Steve, would you scan the photos and post them here so we can see them?

If the green step in you speak of is the one I posted on my greunmeliert thread, then yes, it is NOT authentic, but a very carefullly made fake!

I've photographed many reproductions over the years for reference, some made better than others, and some so well done they would fool any begining Fj collector. However, I can say from Steve's description that the splinter smock is also not authentic. NO jump smocks were made from two sided material, and NO jump smocks were made from zeltbahn splinter!

Best,
John

[John Hodgin]

Here is the smock I posted on the greunmeliert thread. I repeat, this is not an authentic jump smock. However, it was made as authentic as possible, note it even has the relief zipper, a standard feature on all M-40 jump smocks.

[werner p.]

comments on book

Hi guys,

first I would like to say I appreciate all comments, even the negative ones ! Writing a book is like building a house, you have to do it twice to learn from the mistakes you made the first time.
Here are some remarks before anyone else spots them :

1 yes there are descriptions to pictures which are wrong
( splinter in stead of italian cloth for example)
2 the pics for the FSJ section were mostly provided by Borsarello who told me he only provided pics of original pieces. I haven't seen the original smocks, only the pics so I can't judge on that !
So the green smock could well be a reproduction ! I won't put my hand in the fire for that one.
The Brown smock is made of original cloth ( I didn't see that one but Borsarello has a sample of it ) but it is true , it is NOT a standard smock and is field made. Field made DURING or AFTER the war, according to Borsarello it was DURING ............. but you trouble me with the zippers.
So again I leave it to the experts here ( I thought Borsarello was one...)

About the superb lightweight smock on page 95 I can tell the following. A Dutch dealer presented it to me . I saw and touched it and the cloth feels and looks the same like the lightweight smocks. To my judgement this is an original piece.
The insignia you are referring to are machine stitched to the item , interesting is the late war printed eagle ( of course the back isn't visible to check for details) The arm insignia were stitched with two threads : In the left upper corner you see a stitched cross in green thread, this was put on to hold the insignia in place, then the whole was stitched to the sleeve with a tan thread. The wings and bar are stitched to the tan backing by white thread.
We did a test and the cloth used is not syntetic... although on this forum we could read that Germans DID use syntetic fibers, I always prefer garments with non-syntetic threads.

The brown smock is this one
I am sure the cloth is original , whether the smock itself is a pre-1945 piece of taylorwork, remains an open question.

Now why did I use these items, even when I am not 100% sure about the originality of the item itself. My main goal was to show as many types of German Heer or Luftwaffe camo patterns that existed and in which uniforms or equipment they were used. Even when the item ( like the green smock) is a copy, it was the best I could do to show the reader this type of smock and the pattern that was used.

I am always looking for good pictures of original examples of course, maybe this forum and it's members can be of help here !
Unfortunately I only found out about the forum AFTER the manuscript was send to the editor ..........

I agree that for the expert ( as many of you guys are) it leaves a sense of dissatisfaction (is this the correct word ??) but I think Willi can straighten things out when he writes his book on LW camo smocks !

And finally, this gives me something to do for the revised edition !!!

Anyway, thanks for the input and comments guys !

Werner Palinckx

[SMP]

Thanks Werner

Hi Werner,
Well done for answering and providing the photos. I understand you had your hands somewhat tied when it came to working with Mr "B." May I just say on a personal note that I love your book, and if I could afford to I would collect ALL types of camo, not just FJ.
Poor old Willi will soon have to endure what you have just been through when he gets round to publishing his own book.
So get out there and support these guys ! Buy their books !!

Regards

Steve