Max FJ report.

[John Hodgin]

I'll start this off with a photo of Willi at the MAX, aka. fearless leader, demonstrating the use of small arms... Willi snagged some ultra rare field gear, but I'll not tell and will wait for him to share it here.

[John Hodgin]

Jerome Blake, long time SS collector, bought this to his table, one of the few authentic SS jump smocks. Jerome's SS camo collection is incredible.

[Jos L C]

More...!!!!!!!!
And Willi ,..never point a Panzerfaust towards the camera..
It might go off and all we're seeing is a explosion on the next picture..


Jos.

[John Hodgin]

Here is the eagle, as originally sewn, on the chest, not the sleeve. Please forgive the poor photos, taken with my son's tiny "point and shoot."

[John Hodgin]

Jos! You are up late! Better keep the lady happy

Here is a mint splinter that Brian M. had for sale. It is almost identical to one illustrated in Beaver's SS camo book. That particular smock is now in a museum in Sicily.

There were also several fine tan/water jump smocks for sale. The hard edged tan/water that Jason B. had sold today I believe.

[John Hodgin]

More on Jerome's table. Superb gloves and pants. Jerome had two pairs of jump pants and I believe both sold.

[Willi Z.]

Yes, the Max was great as usual! As much for the social activities as the items. No beer or wine for me for the next week or so.... . Always great to see some of the world's most advanced collectors all in one same room....especially numerous FJ, DAK, helmet, Panzer, etc collectors. John and I shared some quality time. We even both spent time grabbing items from George Petersen's large boxes of quality Luft insignia....we both grabbed some super cool Luft items.

Yes, Jerome sold both FJ trousers....to FJ collectors. Mine minty pair remained under my table, nothing really worth trading them for.

Not many FJ helmets this time round. One very nice camo FJ (Pionier unit marked) went to a good friend. Another nice camo FJ went to the author of the 2-volume helmet series, Brana R. A few "Normandy" camo FJs went unsold. A few bad camos. Other FJ odds and ends moved to other collectors.

Here is a photo of John and I fondling that SS Dot 44 camo FJ smock.. .

Willi

[Willi Z.]

John also picked up some cool and super quality stuff. Will let him share if he wants. I think Chris M. also found some nice pieces.

We also got to view some newly (and extremely scary) repro Luft tropical tunics. One was even FJ unit marked.

Here is a matched set of Oberjäger smock rank gulls and a splinter on GM smock eagle that I picked up.

WZ

[Willi Z.]

A very nice and textbook mint water pattern smock.

[JYN]

Any nice papers or groupings ?

Jean-Yves

[ENGLISH BOB]

hi Willi
any camo chutes, harnesses or even static lines forsale? and at what
price?
cheers
Bob.

[John Hodgin]

Greetings Jean-Yves,

Sadly, I did not see any documents or personal photos of paratroopers for sale. Willi may have. These are very hard to find in the US.

I did have the great pleasure to meet Denis and Eric Barbe. Fine men with INCREDIBLE collections. I watched Denis purchase a nice Fj item.

Regards,
John

[John Hodgin]

More...!!!!!!!!
And Willi ,..never point a Panzerfaust towards the camera..
It might go off and all we're seeing is a explosion on the next picture..


Jos.

Jos,

It is indeed good that the MAX will be in my state next year. That will allow Monroeville time to rebuild the east wall of the ExpoMart..

[SMP]

Thanks for the report John/Willi,
Care to expand on the prices ? PM me if you prefer.
Regards,
Steve

[Willi Z.]

Didn't see any chutes or harnesses at the show Bob. In the past there have always been a few complete RZ20s, but these are not big sellers right now.

In reference to JYN's question, there were some FJ paper items. Didn't notice any nice photos. There was a nice document grouping to a tow pilot with involvement at Eben Emael. Not sure if that sold, but it was offered by a forum member. One FJ collector picked up a few FJ documents to complete a grouping he has. Did see a nice Wehrpass and Fallschirmschützenschein to a veteran of the Sturm Regiment (Kreta and Russia) sell to a guy.

As John mentioned, FJ paper items are not common in the US, and shows like the Max. Though this may be a useful thread topic, there are several reasons why. US shows mainly reflect items brought home by US veterans, and few document groupings/albums fit this category. Most US collectors have no interest in documents, based on few being on the market. Most groupings come from Europe and we are dependant upon dealers/collectors from Europe bringing them along. The Euro hurts that at the moment. Documents tend to be very pricey when encountered at US shows. Only my opinions based on observations. With European shows/collections featuring more albums and documents, it seems like different "collecting cultures" based on availability. I am sure Eric, Chris and John could add to this, as we all have lots of FJ paper items and know how tough it is to find them in the US.

Willi