Question

[Wolffen]

Hi, I have a dream that one day I will put together a Kamikaze pilot, Now my question to you is how hard is to get original kamikaze head band and its price? Also in what price rage is Japanese pilots clothing and equipment think bit cheaper then LW. And were do I start looking for this stuff online? Sow couple of items on collector’s guild. Need also good ref site to see exactly what I need to get for kamikaze pilot don’t know if there stuff was same as regular pilot; think it should be. Did they have different insignia patches on jackets? Thx

<O
PS: I am Noob at Japanese collectables.

[blinky]

Hi Wolf

There are many very good books detailing Japanese pilot uniforms and equipment, I'm not at home right now but I can try to come up with a list for you later this week if no one else steps in.
The first thing you need to do is decide if you want him to be Army or Navy. In regards to prices, you can get flight suits fairly cheap but in general equipment is very expensive, much more expensive than Luftwaffe equipment and much more difficult to find good original pieces. For a nice original parachute harness or life vest, you are looking at a few thousand dollars in most cases (if you can find them). On the positive side, there are some very good reproductions of these items that would work as filler pieces until you can find originals.

I guess just be aware this would be a very long term project but to be honest very much worth it.....a Japanese pilot decked out in full gear is 10000 times more cool than any Luftwaffe one ....(with the possible exception of a Nachtjager )

eric

[Eric Doody]

Wolffen,

Original kamikaze headbands turn up every now and again as they were not strictly for kamikaze pilots. (Civilians wore the headbands too.) Expect to pay anywhere around $200 to $300 for such a headband.

Japanese Naval Aviation Uniforms and Equipment 1937-45 by Gary Nila and Published by Osprey (ISBN 1-84176-465-5) is a good reference book that shows some of the kamikaze pilot's uniforms, equipment, and insignia.

I am going to guess that a Navy kamikaze pilot with flight suit, flying helmet, flying goggles, headband, flying boots, and flying gloves will probably run you around $5,000. A real float vest will run you $2,500 on the low end and maybe $4,000 on the high end. Add original insignia and a sword and now you could be up around $10,000.

An Army kamikaze pilot would be a little less expensive to put together.

Hope this helps.

Eric