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M-1948 parka


Undertoker
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hope you like it guys

took me a lot of finding, but mission accomplished !

 

Anyone who can tell me a bit about it, please do. I really don't know a great deal, other than it looks very nice.

I believe the liner has some sort of camouflage parachute material in it im told ?

I also think the red fur was a signature of the prototype EX-48 parkas, but again i don't really know a lot about it other than its pretty mint condition for its age.

 

id be pleased to hear anyone's thought on this parka and its origin etc

thanks in advance

John

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Who cares ?

its got a nice spring loaded zip .

 

Thats cool in any land by me .

 

Saber .

Wales is freezing .........all the time boy o

 

owen

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Ya struck gold with that find! It looks like a superb condition if not mint EX-48-1 with the fibreglass liner. It was the very first fishtail parka ever made. It was the prototype version of the M-48. There was a second prototype, the EX-48-2, with a poplin shell and quilted liner (far rarer). Both experimental parkas were made in extremely limited quantities. Never even seen pics of one in that good a condition!!!

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Yes I can't believe how fortunate I've been really.

 

Saying that I have been looking quite hard, spending time asking people all over the Internet and also you guys on here as well, who i might add have been very helpful.

korea-drab in particular, on here, has been a great help, I'm very grateful to him.

 

I've also been doing some research myself as well, to know what to look for.

But I've also been very lucky.

 

It was a pure chance enquiry i left with someone that led to someone actually asking me if i was interested and sending photos.

 

After doing a bit of research whilst looking I had an idea it was something as bit rarer than normal.

In honesty I didn't pay massively for it either really, a lot less than i was prepared to pay, I was very fortunate.

 

I am well chuffed. I was just in the right place at the right time.

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Holy-moly!! The guy who so badly wanted an M48 parka is now apparently selling one for £3.5k / $5,642!! :o

 

I hadn't planned to buy an EX-48-1 in honesty, that's just what turned up.

 

Having bought it from an asian buyer via photos, now its here, it's actually far too nice to keep.

For what I paid for it and what it's worth.

 

As i said initially, I really wanted one to be able to wear out and about, it's also a bit too big. I really need one in a small size to be able to wear.

 

I was surprised just how big M-48s are having tried this medium

 

It can't wear this one on a daily basis it's just worth too much money and is more a collectors piece really.

The liner alone is just too expensive, one of the wool liners would have been better really.

Also after seeing the price of them I felt obliged to make a killing and buy a regular M-48.

So that's what I decided to try and do.

 

This one will sell and I'll purchase a regular M-48 with the money I get for it. One I can wear and one that's fits a bit better. Although a reasonable fit, even a medium M-48 is just way too big on me.

 

I'm not desperate to sell it, as such I've put it on at silly money and we will see who's interested, if it sells, it sells if it doesn't ill drop it a bit next week. Meanwhile I'm still looking for a small one to wear out and about.

 

As Korea drab will tell you the fibre glass liners aren't overly comfortable as well.

 

So I'm gonna target a small size M-48 with the money I eventually get for this one

I'll get a small one with a nice comfortable wool or alpaca wool liner

 

Having had a good look on the Internet at the sort of money people are selling the EX-48-1 parkas with liner for and also speaking to the owner of the other eBay EX-48-1, this seems to be the around the mark to sell it.

I've actually turned down a great offer from an Irish buyer already so like anything in life, I guess it's worth what people are willing to pay and it costs me nothing to list it.

 

If it sells it sells, if it doesn't it doesn't , I'm not in any rush or panic, but I do want one that's fits me and that I can wear.

I assumed a medium M-48 would fit well, as I have a medium M-65. But it's way bigger

I'm quite surprised just how big these M-48s are.

 

I've got a lovely EX-48-1 Parka, I'm happy.

But as I said in the first place I do want one I can wear daily, I'm not a collector of them.

The one I've got really is a collectors piece

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Temps are sub-zero where I live at the moment. I wore my small M48 outside this morning to air the fur on the hood. Even with it unzipped...and nothing but a shirt/t-shirt underneath, I was still hot. People were looking at me thinking..."...why is that guy wearing a green tent..."... :P

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Lol

I actually wore my EX-48-1 to go out and pick my lad up on Friday from nursery

It was really warm and toasty.

 

It's pretty cold where I am as well at the moment, in fact they forecasting snow soon.

I had the M-65 on today for a trip to the zoo, that was also nice as toasty.

 

I've actually ordered a wool liner to fit into my M-65, it's out of an M-51. I like the feel of the extra weight, it makes you feel like you've really got a coat on if you know what I mean.

As far as I'm aware they fit straight into a 65, I'll be able to tell you all shortly lol

 

So where abouts are you based parka-liner ?

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I live in Europe B):P

 

 

By the way, an M-51 "alpaca" liner is only 60% wool/40% cotton in comparison to the 100% wool content of the M-48 liner. An M-51 "frieze" liner, despite being generally 100% wool, is much less dense (or thick) and so not quite as warm as the M-51 "alpaca" liner. Either type should fit into your M-65 shell with no problem....other than the usual annoyance of the buttons not quite lining up with the liner's button holes :rolleyes:.

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Here's a gratuitous and not terribly good pic of my two small M-48s. The one on the left is in unissued condition and is literally perfect except for the usual manufacturing defects. The one on the right is merely in good condition with lots of fade, blood stains and general wear and tear. I think given your height and weight, that a medium will also fit you. There's not a huge amount of difference between the small and medium shells...just a couple of inches pit-to-pit.

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http://m.pinterest.com/pin/472596554616892511/

 

Saw this EX-48-1 for sale this week.

I think it's one of the fishtail parka.com parkas collection

The medium EX-48-1 I got is just a bit too big for me. It's also made of the thinner poplin material.

 

I am def gonna target a small sized one with a wool liner and made of the thicker canvas type stuff

When you get fed up with tw mint small one give me a shout

Parka ;0)

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Thanks buddy

I have tried to PM him , but he can't be messaged, I'm guessing his message box is full

I have posted on the thread though, hopefully he will reply or get back to me

 

If I keep trying to find a small one, one will turn up buddy ;)

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Keep looking, that's all you can do really. But in the meantime, have you considered an M-51?? Frankly, I prefer them to the M-48s, because the hood liner with the fur can be removed allowing the parka to be worn in warmer weather. It's cold where I live at the moment and I've been wearing my first pattern M-51, size medium. As far as warmth is concerned, it's not far behind the M-48 and has a slimmer, longer cut...albeit by not much. Blurry-cam pic attached:

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Since we are on topic of purchasing a M-1948, let me ask a question. Does anyone have proof that the only M-1948 parkas without the wolf fur are the ones that the US government released for surplus sale? Below is a parka that I bought from a KW vet along with the other items that you see here. Now he may have been mistaken, but he said these were the ones issued to him. However, it has been brought up in another thread that the M-1948s with the wolf fur removed were actually the ones sold off as surplus by Uncle Sam.

 

I bring this up so when Undertoker buys one, he buys a correct one with the fur (if that's what he wants). Any thoughts?

 

 

 

post-203-0-26491600-1356011328.jpg

 

There have been some beautiful jackets posted here!

 

Does anyone have an answere about the missing wolf fur? Is there a source for replacement fur (other than me getting directly from the wolf!)? How hard is it to resew to the hood? Is it better for me to just look for an untouched parka?

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I've had fur replaced on some of my M-51 hood liners as well as one of my M-48 shells (the original fur on the M-48 shell was beyond saving...the M-51 hood liners had had the fur removed before being released to the public). The fur is real wolf, legally culled. I have to say it wasn't cheap, but I was able to choose much better quality fur than the US Army would have used. As for the difficulty in sewing it on...I cannot say. It was done by a professional. They also removed the wire...this makes the work much easier apparently, speeding things up. However, the wire can be retained if wanted. If authenticity is an issue, waiting for an untouched parka is the better option. But military vintage fur, even though may it may look OK, is probably unable to withstand cleaning unless it has really been well looked after.

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i have considered a M-51

the only one that tempts me is the first pattern heavy wieght sateen tho in honesty

 

im also not too sure about sizing on the 51s

 

for example a medium M65 fits me ok

a medium M48 is too big

so for a M51, what size to go for ? im told the 51s are a tad small, so id be better off looking at a large in a M51 ?

not too sure

 

To be honest id rather hold on really and get what im really after which is a sateen , small M-48, but you never know.. lol

 

My M65 hood has had new fur put on it, and i got to say they done a really good job, though id did cost me dear it was done far better than i could hope for and like you said parka, they took the wire out, it sits a lot nicer as the hood is just so big as well on the 65s

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For your height and weight...a medium first pattern M-51 will fit no problem. It's comparable in size to a small M-48. Just the cut is different. I've read that some consider the sleeves on the M-51 a tad too short. My medium M-51 fits me very loosely, but the sleeves are the perfect length. But then, I don't care about minor sizing issues. These coats were designed to fit over other kit as overcoats. They're never going to fit like modern clothing. Once you accept that fact, choosing becomes easier. Even a small M-51 fits me with tons of room to spare. The major difference in cut between and M-48 and M-51 comes in the width of the sleeves....the M-48 sleeves are incredibly baggy towards the armpits in comparison to the M-51. I'd estimate twice the width. It's all part of the fun! :)

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