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CBI Theater made Chinese and India wings


Jack's Son
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Russ,

I have noticed on some CBI wings (especially Indian wings), that the shoulder area is without feathers.

 

Please look at the origonal example that I posted. Notice that the left shoulder tip has feathers, while the right shoulder tip does not. This is not camera angle or distortion, I have used a 20x loop and there is just no feathering in that area.

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Cliff, In the sixties I recall seeing those little sellers' booths frequently in the various R&R ports on the other side of the Pacific. As a kid I was challenged to determine values of stuff I'd never seen before, most all of it handwork. Finally decided on a criteria consisting of a question....if I could do it, would I do it for the price? Then start bargaining from there. Point being, those folks knew to focus on the servicemen who were regularly trooping through their turf so you had about everything imaginable for sale, including some imaginative military inventory as your pictures clearly show. As for quality and artistry, that could vary from mundane to superb from one booth to another.

 

Terrific examples, Russ.

 

PS

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At the risk of 'reclaiming' my thread :lol: ........here are a few pix of my Liaison Pilot Wing.

While I still favor China as their source, I'm beginning to believe it may be better to call them "CBI Theater Made Wings"

 

post-8213-1309107717.jpg

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J.S. your Liaison Pilot wing is a very nice piece! I wonder if this particular theater-made style wing was ever produced for Glider Pilot rating? If so, that would be one highly desirable piece for both wing collector and airborne collector alike.

 

Regarding your Pilot wing depicted at the start of this thread, I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of symmetry in the feathering. As Paul S. described, the artistic abilities of the local jewelers varied from mundane to superb. It seems every CBI made wing has its own unique characteristics. As off-balanced as it may be, it's still an authentic period piece and worthy of collecting.

 

Russ

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John, Cliff & Paul, thank you for your favorable comments. In another effort to hijack J.S.'s thread, here are few CBI-made wings similar to the Liaison Pilot posted above.

IMG_2507_crop.jpg

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As for quality and artistry, that could vary from mundane to superb from one booth to another.
As Paul S. described, the artistic abilities of the local jewelers varied from mundane to superb. It seems every CBI made wing has its own unique characteristics.

Pictured below are two examples of unauthorized duel-wing Air Transport Command (A.T.C.) wing badges made in Tezpur, India back in 1943.

 

One is for an ATC Flight Engineer and the other is for an ATC Flight Radio Officer. Both badges are biographical and the two men who had them made just for the fun of it were part of the same flight crew. The Navigator in that crew also had an unauthorized duel-wing ATC Navigator wing badge made at the same shop but I was unable to get him to part with it for any price. :(

post-4542-1309129851.jpg

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......... In another effort to hijack J.S.'s thread.......

I Knew it :mad: ........I JUST KNEW IT!!............ :w00t: :lol:

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The thread has been quite informative. :thumbsup: Can't imagine what we would do without forums and pictures! :think:

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John, Cliff & Paul, thank you for your favorable comments. In another effort to hijack J.S.'s thread, here are few CBI-made wings similar to the Liaison Pilot posted above.

 

I love the Bombardiers wing Russ! :twothumbup:

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We're incredibly lucky to be able to view Cliff's CBI made ATC wings! Talk about top-shelf rarities! Cliff, thank you for posting.

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I believe these two-inch Pilot wings were made in India as well. Some CBI made wings, with their unusual feathering detail, are really eye-catching.

Russ,

This one looks similar to yours at post #20

post-3515-1309495885.jpg

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John Cooper
The thread has been quite informative. :thumbsup: Can't imagine what we would do without forums and pictures! :think:

 

 

I can't agree more!

 

Cheers

John

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rustywings

Paul,

 

Those are beautiful full size Bombardier wings! They certainly do appear to have similar feathering characteristics compared to the two-inch example. The pin and catch look near identical. Thank you for posting.

 

Russ

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Beautiful wings.

 

I don't have nearly as nice a set of Chinese/Indian made wings as some of the "big dogs", but I do have a few modest beauties.

 

Russ has seen this one in person and can attest that it is very heavy and finely carved oversized wing. I have seen only one other like this in another collection.

Patrick

post-1519-1309546930.jpg

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Not that CNAC wings are especially common, but it seems that this 2 inch wing is relatively more commonly seen amongst the CNAC wings.

 

The base of this 2 inch wing is also "relatively" common in the realm of "CBI-made" wings.

 

I actually found this wing pinned on a GI Joe doll at a flea market!

post-1519-1309547181.jpg

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This is the same style wing but in an aircrew pattern. Somewhere, I think I may have the pilot wing in this pattern as well.

post-1519-1309547304.jpg

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rustywings

Patrick's theater-made CNAC wings are truly spectacular! They're oversize, exceptionally thick, and much more detailed than the image portrays! Thank you for posting.

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JS -To keep this excellent thread going, here's a recently acquired 3" CBI-made Air Crew wing. Appears cast from a U.S.-made badge. Marked 'SILVER' it has the typical 'commonwealth' type pin. The catch, which is an open type, is applied upside down. Most unusual is the blue enameling on the shield.

There are some REALLY NICE Wing Badges posted here. Thank you all for sharing them.

Bobgee

 

 

 

Air_Crew_Wing___CBI_Made_OBV.JPG

 

Air_Crew_Wing___CBI_Made_REV.JPG

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Bob,

Those are beautiful examples, I really like the enamel work. They are a casting and some detail has been lost, but I think they not only fit this thread, they have a great appeal! (At least they have for the two of us!)

Can we see the inverse clasp?

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