How flexible/bendable should a zinc PAB be?

[Steve Conway]

Hi guys,

I just got this in the mail and it arrived in a bent condition which didn't match the pictures, so I assumed it got a whack in transit, I was able to bend it back into shape with relatively little effort using my fingers, is zinc supposed to be this flexible? I am at work so can't compare it with any of my other zinc badges.

Regards

Steve

[Steve Conway]

more

[Steve Conway]

another

[Don D.]

Zink should not be bendable. See if you can write with it on a piece of paper.

[Steve Conway]

Hi Don,

Yes it does write on paper. Does this mean it is a fake or made of some other metal?

Regards

Steve

[Anthony]

pab

Sounds like a FAKE to me, unfortunately.

Anthony.

[Hank C.]

Probably lead. Probably a fake. I had a fake high seas badge that was like that.

Hank

[Steve Conway]

Hi guys,

Thanks, fortunately I bought it off the e-stand here so I'd best get on to the seller and let him know.

Regards

Steve

[Don D.]

Lead fake. What does it weigh?

[Tom Yanacek]

Hello Steve,
A fairly convincing casting, most likely cast from an original. The soft and bendable base metal is a dead giveaway though. The hardware looks almost correct for a wartime Souval.
Best regards! Tom

[Steve Conway]

Hi guys,

Thanks again.

Don - I dont think it is solid lead as it is not heavy enough, I dont know what it weighs as I don't have access to a scale, but it weighs less than comparable lead wargames miniatures of which I have plenty of experience having made thousands over the years.

It is possibly a mix of lead and tin, either way you can write like a pencil with it, and you can bend it easily with the fingers. Also, the difference in hand and to the picture, is pronounced. The picture is a very light gray whereas in hand it is a very dark gray, however, when you use it like a pencil, the part in contact with the paper becomes very shiny.

Actually, you can polish it to a high sheen with paper very easily.

Regards

Steve

[hagwalther]

Looks like very heavy cast pock marks on the back.

One to go back I'm afraid.

Regards ...

[Patrick W]

I wouldn't be too fast to damn that as fake without better shots. Some original zinc badges will have a degree of bend to them with pressure. I had a genuine zinc minesweeper that could be bent quite easily also the bad guys are able to refinish original cccs by bending them so the backplate drops out, particularly on F&BLs

[Steve Conway]

Hi Patrick,

You can bend it between fingers and thumbs, without straining, even at its thickest point around the track area. The badge itself looks good and the reverse set-up is fine, but it is very easy to bend.

It is easier to bend than the broad zinc retaining pin on the back of a late war KVK1.

I am at work at the moment but I will post some pictures of it tonight.

Regards

Steve

[Tom Yanacek]

As Patrick says, some original late war badges can be bent when some pressure is applied. Especially some of the very late Kriegsmetall alloys that may have even contained a small amount of lead in the mixture. But when it bends easily with mere pressure between two fingers, or when you can write with it like a No.2 lead pencil, then you have got a problem.
Best regards! Tom