Glider from David

[Nigel N]

Great comparison shot Mike!!mj06.gif
If it tells us one thing, its that the quality of your new Glider badge is right up there with the very best of S & L and Deumer products!!!!
-Nigel

[Nigel N]

Hi Mike, i thought i'd bring this thread up again, as i've found some pics of an Assman maker marked Glider badge!!!!Glider%20Pilot%20Obverse.JPG

Glider%20Pilot%20Reverse.JPG

[Nigel N]

Dont know if you've seen these before? This one has'nt the same thick wreath as yours, but it might be helpful for comparisons!!!Glider%20Pilot%20Side.JPG

Glider%20Pilot%20MM.JPG

[Matthieu]

I cant pinpoint exactly what, but there is something about these that throws me off .
Maybe we are all used the high quality of early Deumer and S&L ... but to me ... these Assman pieces really lack quality ... they more resemble modern made items.

I will most likely be wrong about these, but I cant get my head around it ...
How far down the timeline ( towards 1945 ) did Assman produce ?
Did the dies survive the war to be reworked or did they make completely new dies ?
For how long did they produce the 57ers ?

Maybe just paranoia from my end ... but I'm not too keen on them.

Grtz
Mathijs

[Mike Yokum]

Thanks for those pictures Nigel. The glossy finish on the front side of the eagle is very different than my badge although I have seen some Assman pieces with a more muted finish. The rivets are also different than my Glider. The Glider I got from David remains a mystery in my mind. Some say definitely S&L, but I'm not convinced yet. There are differences that don't add up in my mind.

Check the Assman Observer GeorgeL owns. Exquisite quality Mathijs with lovely frosting and burnishing! The hinge block and pin are very S&L like, while the rivets are somewhat Deumer like. Perhaps they later used S&L type hollow rivets? It's all conjecture. I would like very much to interview workers from each of the 57er herstellers! What insights only they could give us!

Most of the Assman pieces I have seen have very good quality Mathijs. Even the Glider Nigel shows has very nice burnishing on the wreath, it just doesn't show well in the pictures.

[Nigel N]

If we are honest, we dont know all that much about Assman's postwar production, but they certainly seemed to use many S & L components in their badges and medals, i think thats whats maybe making people think your Glider badge is S & L Mike, but i'm not one of them!
Mathijs, you are right that compared with S & L/Deumer, Assman's dont always "look" as good, but i dont think Assman made 57ers for very long, so these pieces should all be considered "early". They seemed to finish their awards in a different way to S & L/Deumer, this finish does'nt seem to last thru the years as well, sometimes giving the impression of lesser quality, Deschlers EK's are the same
Also we are used to seeing closed hingeblocks on early pieces, and magnetic cores on early EK's etc. but Assman pieces dont follow the same rules!!
No doubt there are loads of variants that we have'nt even seen yet
-Nigel