Repro "In Country" made 'Nam insignia

[usmcski]

Greetings all,

 

Hope this has not already been covered, but I came upon a site today while surfing that produces repro "local" made insignia, here's the link:

 

http://www.in-countrypatches.com/index.html

 

 

I'm no expert, but they just might fool someone!

 

Semper,

 

Ski

[vintageproductions]

I believe the owner of that website is a member on this Forum. He also marks all of his copies.

[usmcski]

They do place a disclaimer on their site, however, so if you know what you're looking for, you can recognize them as repros. Glad to see that they are aware of "E-Fakery"!

 

"All our patches have distinct stitching and thread color

variations sewn into them, or are marked in ink in order to

identify them as reproductions and to discourage misuse..."

 

Seem like a stand-up company!

[usmcski]

I believe the owner of that website is a member on this Forum. He also marks all of his copies.

 

Yes, I did notice that they link to this site, I'm certainly not trying to bash them in any way! I think it's an interesting concept, they certainly have found a niche. Out of curiosity, does anyone know how they "mark" their stuff?

 

Semper,

 

Ski

[gwb123]

Typically Jeff will do a row of red reverse stitches along a section of the border to mark them as his. This may sound simple, but it does stand out.

 

Jeff has a strong clientele among reenactors who want their patches, including name tapes, to look just right for the period. He also gets the occaisional veteran who wants a unit patch "made the old way."

 

I've seen his work first hand, and it is the closest I have seen to period made stitching.

 

Jeff charges a fair price for his work, but his patches do not come cheap. That is the biggest reason that you not be seeing them resold anytime soon.

 

I'm glad we have him on this forum. Since he has studied this stuff so closely, he's provided some pretty sound advice in sorting out the fake from real.

[kken]

i have bought patches from Jeff as well and he does mark his patches to show they are reproductions. he is the last person who would want them to be resold as originals.

[usmcski]

What I found interesting was how closely his "font", replicates what I've seen overseas. In some of the "mom and pop" embroidery shops in Japan, Korea, Thailand, etc, I've seen some handiwork with hand-embroidered nametapes and patches, and he's got it spot-on. You're also seeing some of the same type stuff in Iraq now.

 

Bravo!!!!

 

Ski

[Tonomachi]

This stuff is scary. The ranger scrolls in particular looks like the real stuff. This is sort of depressing as I'm going to be really wary now of bidding on these types of scrolls on eBay. I know the smart thing is to buy from a reputable dealer or get provenance but with me at least I have only so much money I can spend on this hobby. I can't always buy from the "reputable dealers" because their prices are so high. You can get bargains on eBay but you have to look a lot and take chances and what I have found is that you get a higher percentage of good stuff vs bad stuff and you get more pieces and save money in the long run. However in my opinion people who make stuff like this that is so close to the original pieces ruin the hobby in the long run. Fewer and fewer people get into the hobby as they can't tell the real stuff from the copies. This happened to those that collected Nazi stuff as most people couldn't tell the real stuff from the bogus stuff and have had to change what they collect or gotten out of the hobby altogether. Am I the only one who thinks this way? Does anyone have a close up photograph of the front and back of these ranger scrolls with the reverse stitching to educate us? I've copied the photos of some of the insignia on this site and blown up the scans but don't see this reverse stitching along the border. Maybe you can't see this reverse stitching unless you have it in hand which means trying to determine if it is real from a photo on eBay is going to be next to impossible. This kind of reminds me of what has happened with Civil War uniforms made for reenactors as they want stuff made exactly like the original uniforms were made back in the 1860s. I had posted a possible civil war uniform on this forum that I found at a flea market. A number of members posting responses felt it was an original uniform and others thought it might have been made for a reenactor. I mean if the experts can't tell without holding the unform in their hands what chance do we have. So it would appear that the same thing is happening with Nam made stuff. Just my 2 cents.

[tredhed2]

This stuff is scary. The ranger scrolls in particular looks like the real stuff. This is sort of depressing as I'm going to be really wary now of bidding on these types of scrolls on eBay. I know the smart thing is to buy from a reputable dealer or get provenance but with me at least I have only so much money I can spend on this hobby. I can't always buy from the "reputable dealers" because their prices are so high. You can get bargains on eBay but you have to look a lot and take chances and what I have found is that you get a higher percentage of good stuff vs bad stuff and you get more pieces and save money in the long run. However in my opinion people who make stuff like this that is so close to the original pieces ruin the hobby in the long run. Fewer and fewer people get into the hobby as they can't tell the real stuff from the copies. This happened to those that collected Nazi stuff as most people couldn't tell the real stuff from the bogus stuff and have had to change what they collect or gotten out of the hobby altogether. Am I the only one who thinks this way? Does anyone have a close up photograph of the front and back of these ranger scrolls with the reverse stitching to educate us? I've copied the photos of some of the insignia on this site and blown up the scans but don't see this reverse stitching along the border. Maybe you can't see this reverse stitching unless you have it in hand which means trying to determine if it is real from a photo on eBay is going to be next to impossible. This kind of reminds me of what has happened with Civil War uniforms made for reenactors as they want stuff made exactly like the original uniforms were made back in the 1860s. I had posted a possible civil war uniform on this forum that I found at a flea market. A number of members posting responses felt it was an original uniform and others thought it might have been made for a reenactor. I mean if the experts can't tell without holding the unform in their hands what chance do we have. So it would appear that the same thing is happening with Nam made stuff. Just my 2 cents.

 

So, you buy one from him, carry it around in your wallet to shows; if you decide to buy from an Ebay seller, or at a show, only buy from someone who offers refunds...there is nothing inherently wrong with buying inexpensive, marked or known repros, as a teaching device. You buy it, carry it around and compare future purchases to it. If still in doubt, walk away. Anyone who relies solely on images on the computer, or who is afraid to buy because they may get burned shouldn't even bother to collect. Everyone has been or will be burned. It's not possible to know everything about every single insignia, or painted helmet, or piece of equipment ever worn or used.

[kken]

Jeff used to have a section on his website to tell his repros from originals. I think he's currently redesigning parts of his website. However, I again reiterate that he is the LAST person who would want one of his repros sold as originals. Aside from reverse back stitching and ink marks to denote that, what else can he do to stop unscrupulous dealers from selling his items as legit originals? As a reenactor who has no interest in chasing down originals to wear on my uniforms, the products that Jeff/In Country provide are INVALUABLE.

[NobleLoyalGSD]

I make every effort to mark my replicas as such without compromising the quality of the construction or integrity of historical accuracy. It's very tough, however. The trick has always been to find ways that one can know for sure if it is a copy even after it has been sewn to a uniform. Then I have to do it in such a way that it makes it difficult for someone else to eliminate the evidence.

 

For quite some time it has been my intention of creating a thread strictly for posting and identifying my wares. It's long overdue.

 

Consider this the beginning...

 

The following are scans of some recent work I did for a veteran. They are, three each, pocket patches for the 191st AHC "boomerangs" and "bounty hunters".

 

They are constructed as closely as I know to authentic period construction. Most importantly, observe that on the backs there is a purple return thread on the entire left edge. This way it is possible to lift the edge and see the coloration if they have been sewn to a uniform. This is not completely tamper-proof but I am constantly looking for ways to improve the marking system.

 

Some of my previous patches used red return thread on one edge, instead of purple. Problem was it was sometimes difficult to distinguish if the top thread was also red. When space provides, I write "R" along with the two-digit year of manufacture on the reverse side.

 

I'll try to get a dedicated thread up in the next couple weeks as I'm busy with many other things as well as reorganizing my Web site.

 

Kind regards,

 

Jeff

[NobleLoyalGSD]

boomerangs

[NobleLoyalGSD]

bounty hunters and boomerangs reverse

[usmcski]

Jeff,

 

AWESOME WORK!!!! Have you ever done any "period" USMC patches? If so, do you have pics??

 

Semper,

 

Ski

[NobleLoyalGSD]

Jeff,

 

AWESOME WORK!!!! Have you ever done any "period" USMC patches? If so, do you have pics??

 

Semper,

 

Ski

 

Only once, but there's not as great a demand for USMC stuff since the Marines didn't authorize or condone the wearing of provisional or unauthorized patches to the degree that the other branches did. Unfortunately I don't have an image of it available.

 

Jeff

[gwb123]

This stuff is scary. The ranger scrolls in particular looks like the real stuff. This is sort of depressing as I'm going to be really wary now of bidding on these types of scrolls on eBay. I know the smart thing is to buy from a reputable dealer or get provenance but with me at least I have only so much money I can spend on this hobby. I can't always buy from the "reputable dealers" because their prices are so high. You can get bargains on eBay but you have to look a lot and take chances and what I have found is that you get a higher percentage of good stuff vs bad stuff and you get more pieces and save money in the long run. However in my opinion people who make stuff like this that is so close to the original pieces ruin the hobby in the long run. Fewer and fewer people get into the hobby as they can't tell the real stuff from the copies. This happened to those that collected Nazi stuff as most people couldn't tell the real stuff from the bogus stuff and have had to change what they collect or gotten out of the hobby altogether. Am I the only one who thinks this way? Does anyone have a close up photograph of the front and back of these ranger scrolls with the reverse stitching to educate us? I've copied the photos of some of the insignia on this site and blown up the scans but don't see this reverse stitching along the border. Maybe you can't see this reverse stitching unless you have it in hand which means trying to determine if it is real from a photo on eBay is going to be next to impossible. This kind of reminds me of what has happened with Civil War uniforms made for reenactors as they want stuff made exactly like the original uniforms were made back in the 1860s. I had posted a possible civil war uniform on this forum that I found at a flea market. A number of members posting responses felt it was an original uniform and others thought it might have been made for a reenactor. I mean if the experts can't tell without holding the unform in their hands what chance do we have. So it would appear that the same thing is happening with Nam made stuff. Just my 2 cents.

 

Your concerns are valid. But there are very few reproductions on the market that are to this level of quality. The majority are not made with this level of care and detail, almost all of them are flawed in one way or another when compared to the originals.

 

That said, anyone who is going to collect Vietnam era patches or uniforms would be well advised to become familiar with the fakes that are on the market. For starters, we have quite a few of them documented right here on this Forum.

 

As far as collector's copies and repros being made, that started before the Vietnam War was even over.

[marentius]

Jeff,I do really appreciate as a collector the honesty and integrity of your job and not only its high quality.

Our world would really be much nicer and safer if all the sellers-producers would adopt such clear and straight politics.

Bravo!