Which Pilot Badge is considered the best design?

[wrongplanet67]

Which neusilber or tombak Flugzeugführer-Abzeichen should I be looking for?

CE Juncker, Wilhelm Deumer, Friedrich Linden, Berg & Nolte, ...?

Thanks for the suggestions!

[kefru177]

Tombak Assman or J1 Junker

[jacquesf]

Juncker J2 or Assman

[Wim Vangossum]

My dreampiece is the Deumer. Love the agressive look of the eagle! But they don't grow on tree's.

[Jean-Claude]

Very subjective, its a matter of taste but personally I love the Deumer & Juncker 1st & 2nd pattern Pilots for their beautifully designed eagles. I also love early Assmann birds too but I have yet to find one that still has good enough head details to be worth the investment. Notwitstanding design though if you plan to get a pilot badge its unlikely you will stop there so you might as well go for a variant from a maker that made the entire set like Juncker or Assmann

JC

[DouglasDwight]

Nice group photo, Jean Claude.

[kevin john]

Juncker for me.

[jlga]

J1 or J2 for me

[wrongplanet67]

Thanks all for your answers, but keep your preferences coming.

It seems that Juncker is in the lead. Is it the name or also the quality?
In second place stands Assmann (but Jean-Claude still hasn't found an example "that still has good enough head details to be worth the investment").
One valuable vote for Deumer (which as Wim mentions aren't "growing on trees").

Very subjective indeed.

[AndyC]

My vote goes for a J1.
Here is mine.


Andy AC J1 front.jpg

[AndyC]

2 AC J1 back.jpg

[wrongplanet67]

Is something "wrong" with a Neusilber/Tombak J3 compared to a J2 ?

[S1991]

For me after looking at Sebastién Talbot's book on the Pilot and Pilot-Observer Badges. It is definitely Assmann, Juncker, Deumer and Gebrüder Wegerhoff.

But after all, it is all up to your own preference.

[Jelle M.]

That's a difficult question as i like them all. The fact that they are so different from eachother makes them interesting to collect.
I love every early pattern, they are elegant badges with stunning detail. The later thick wreath badges like the J2 & D2 have a mean expression
and are quality wise also very good. The more common badges like Assmann, B&N L, BSW,FLL,GWL are nice too and they have the advantage that they are more cheaper.
For me every badge can be nice but always strive for untouched pieces, from mint to worn, doesn't matter. Go for quality! Best advice i can give you is compare every maker and choose one you really like. In the end all tastes differ.


Jelle

[wrongplanet67]

Thanks for the advice. I'm not planning to collect more that 1 Pilot Badge so I'll probably start looking/waiting for a nice Juncker (or Deumer or Assmann).