Doubt about tropical tunics feature

[Alex Ciavaglia]

Hi Gents,
as i have written in the title, i've a little doubt (but immensely great for me) about a feature on the tropical tunic.
Eachone i have seen before except the last one i've bought, they have just 4 of the regular 5 stamped sizes; infact the trop. tunic has the open collar feature so 'that' size is perfectly useless. I know, existed some maker that stamped '00' on the collar sizes places, but it's obvious what the maker want to say: "The size of the collar is zero centimeters only because the tunic has the collar open!!"
In my M42 tunic and in that one of Juan (read his thread) there is the presence of 5 real sizes that make me down. I've recognized that both tunics have the same maker, so the same greenish color and the whole same characteristics.
Because i haven't seen many tropical tunics so i can't to know their deepest characteristics, could you tell me your knowledge about?
Hoping you resolve my doubt, i thank you in advance.
Alex

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Alex, here is my tropical tunic size stamps.

Cheers, Ade.

[Mark Gibson]

Here are the markings which Alex is referring to as the tunic was previously in my collection.
As for the difference between these tunics by the same manufacturer and other tunics which I have seen, handled and have been in my collection I can only say that it is possibly this manufacturers variation. Agreed that many would mark the neck as 0 or 00 and even leave it blank but these differences are differences between manufacturers.

Mark

[Mark Gibson]

Here is another example of a tan tunic in my collection. This is a different manufacturer and just a simple 0 has been used.

[Mark Gibson]

And another different manufacturer who has used 00.
Obviously variations exist as can be seen by these two tunics and Ade's.

Mark

[derspiess63]

In my opinion this fifth number has a meaning even if the tunic can't be done up to the Adam's apple actually....and I don't want to sound irrespectfull towards anybody here,but such a fuss and feathers over such a detail is pointless!Some manufacturers may have deemed this size useless and left it blank(which thing I doubt and put down to another reason...after all the sizing methods are many and varied...and that's a blessing, for the less experienced"collector" will pass on an otherwise genuine specimen for the benefit of the more experienced,which thing I love and pray that will last forever!)...but the fact that others have "filled it in" with a figure should speak volumes,and that measurement musta been taken somehow...nothing a tape measure and a little time wouldn't solve methinks !
Further...I've recently bought a pair of M40 trousers from a forum member which had the sizes stamped the other way round....as sure as egg is egg I've sent them back to the previous owner because they weren't "genuine" with those wrong sizes and stuff right?Wrong!Looks like Mark's tunic on post #4 has no sleeves by the way....as the 0 where at least a 57/61 should go would suggest!
If I only had the time to post pictures of tunics whose sleeves,going by the sizes,would fit a giant squid for example, I think that that would put this debate to pasture!Imo a collector would be much better off focusing on the REAL details and then and only then, when there's nothing left to taslk about,start investigating on the sizes...after all he won't wear it for comfort inside a Tobruk foxhole!
My two cents
Manny

[Alex Ciavaglia]

In my opinion this fifth number has a meaning even if the tunic can't be done up to the Adam's apple actually....and I don't want to sound irrespectfull towards anybody here,but such a fuss and feathers over such a detail is pointless!Some manufacturers may have deemed this size useless and left it blank(which thing I doubt and put down to another reason...after all the sizing methods are many and varied...and that's a blessing, for the less experienced"collector" will pass on an otherwise genuine specimen for the benefit of the more experienced,which thing I love and pray that will last forever!)...but the fact that others have "filled it in" with a figure should speak volumes,and that measurement musta been taken somehow...nothing a tape measure and a little time wouldn't solve methinks !
Further...I've recently bought a pair of M40 trousers from a forum member which had the sizes stamped the other way round....as sure as egg is egg I've sent them back to the previous owner because they weren't "genuine" with those wrong sizes and stuff right?Wrong!Looks like Mark's tunic on post #4 has no sleeves by the way....as the 0 where at least a 57/61 should go would suggest!
If I only had the time to post pictures of tunics whose sleeves,going by the sizes,would fit a giant squid for example, I think that that would put this debate to pasture!Imo a collector would be much better off focusing on the REAL details and then and only then, when there's nothing left to taslk about,start investigating on the sizes...after all he won't wear it for comfort inside a Tobruk foxhole!
My two cents
Manny

Hi Manny,
many thanks for your input; my only problem is i don't know which other detail (which cut the head to the bull) i have to focusing, standard features apart! i have denounced this thing of the 5 sizes which i retained so strange.
If someone could help me to find any support point, is welcome.
Alex

[afrika]

I think the bottom line is that there are variations, even within a certain manufacturer, that lead to sizes being omitted and as Manny and Mark have shown, mixed up. Something a infallabe as ensuring that the stamps go on a tunic in the correct order is up to human error. We know how much confusion there is in this subject. Imagine working for a tailoring firm and having to stamp these things in bulk?

I think that the tunic in question is a Friday tunic and Marks was made on a Monday. One person was thinking about the weekend unter den linden and the other had a hangover from too much apple schnapps and bier.

Variations exist because humans make errors. Even in the third reich. Imagine throwing away a perfectly good tunic just because the sizes were stamped incorrectly?

JMO
Steve

[derspiess63]

You've hit the nail on the head once again Steve !As I've stated in my previous post, worrying about wrong/missing size numbers should be the last thing imo....a serious collector with a little experience should be able to tell a nice original piece at first glance,even if it ain't no markings at all!We all would recognize a Porsche (y'know the ones...those mass-produced air-cooled squashed Beetles on steroids looking like poached eggs !) even if we can't read the badge or if the latter is missing altogether....and even if somebody would write "SUBARU" on its side it would remain a Porsche!On the other hand, it's true that often fakers care a lot about sizes,borrowing kevlar tape measures and atomic steam-calipers from the local NASA lab,while I still have to find a GENUINE figure that PERFECTLY matches the actual lenght or width of that sleeve,leg or chest....if we'd start a thread titled "Post your odd size stampings on WW2 German trousers,tunics and coats" we'd have a dedicated bandwidth;but we should also have an all-new table on the e-stand,for some members to sell perfectly genuine pieces with "iffy" size stampings.....I'll take 9857 of those with M43s on the side please !
My two cents
Manny