BelligerentBlue Posted November 12, 2012 Share #1 Posted November 12, 2012 Hey guys, I have an opportunity to possibly get a set of wings to complete a WWI uniform I have that had them at one time. I know NOTHING about these wings and tried to do some homework by looking at some threads, but it appears there were a few variations and I'm not comfortable with my own judgement and the amount of $$ I'll have to spend to get a pair. Any help is greatly appreciated. I apologize that I don't have the greatest pictures, but it's all I got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juvatwad Posted November 12, 2012 Share #2 Posted November 12, 2012 The one top right looks good. I'm not familiart enough with the other patterns to be of any further assistance. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nack Posted November 12, 2012 Share #3 Posted November 12, 2012 I too do not know enough to help on the merits, but I can tell you that I suspect these are all repros. First, they are brand-new looking. Second, they are all similarly photographed, which leads me to believe these are from the same seller. I find it highly unlikely that one person could possibly have 5 stone-mint WWI wings for sale. They are rather nice-looking, so I suspect these are from Joe W. Also, the heavy hitters are probably not going to comment, as you can't do any real authentication from one small pic of a wing. Just a FYI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted November 12, 2012 Share #4 Posted November 12, 2012 I would stay away from all of them! I will agree with Nack.......repros! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted November 12, 2012 Share #5 Posted November 12, 2012 Actually, they look spectacular to me. One can never be too careful with WWI wings, and your level of caution should closely match your level of investment. From what I can see, these wings look 100% to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted November 12, 2012 Share #6 Posted November 12, 2012 Patrick, You DA' MAN, and while I'm NOT going to disagree with you......I am surprised!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJohn#3RD Posted November 12, 2012 Share #7 Posted November 12, 2012 BBlue, No expert but I believe you should post pictures of the back of them; and have you had a chance to black-light the material and switching on the back? Are you buyting them directly or via online what is the return policy? Regards, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted November 12, 2012 Share #8 Posted November 12, 2012 BBlue, No expert but I believe you should post pictures of the back of them; and have you had a chance to black-light the material and switching on the back? Are you buyting them directly or via online what is the return policy?Regards,John Thank you, John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffP Posted November 12, 2012 Share #9 Posted November 12, 2012 Actually, they look spectacular to me. One can never be too careful with WWI wings, and your level of caution should closely match your level of investment. From what I can see, these wings look 100% to me! Gotta go along with Patrick on this but also agree with John that the seller show you the back of the wings before making a final decision on any of them. Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted November 12, 2012 Share #10 Posted November 12, 2012 I have one like the top wing. It is sometimes attributed to an English maker, but I doubt it. These wings are made of 3 separate pieces (usually put together as a single badge, but sometimes seen like this one, mounted on a plate). All the ones I have seen are screw back and just marked sterling. The hand chasing on these wings is wonderful and ironically is something that is very hard to see in a scan or photo, but is readily apparent in hand. The second wing is one of the classic Dallas wing badges and more than likely made by BB&B. We have discussed and seen enough Dallas wings on this forum enough for you guys to have a pretty good feel for them! Sheesh. After a while, you get a pretty good handle on the Dallas wings and the Dallas wing fakes. This one is almost a no-brainer, I think. The third wing is one of the classic "hand made" wings of Humrichous Jewelers, Memphis, TN*. They have a number of variations and sizes but this is one of the classics. To be honest, this one is frequently faked (because it is hand made) but this one looks good. I saw one go on ebay last year for well over 1500$. The fourth wing is made by Dibbs. It is an interesting wing because I think it is one of the few CAST wings that are legit. A beauty of a wing and rarely seen, I think. One I have been lusting after for some time. The fifth wing is made by Dan S Dunham. A super rare military aeronaut wing. I have seen a few cast fakes of these, but this doesn't seem to be one of them. Apparently (or so I have been told), the Dunham dies were purchased by Duncan Campbell at some time and he had a few examples "made" to give out to friends. Some of these ended up in the Norm Flayderman auction a few years back and had to be pulled. I don't know if Mr. Campbell had the dies for the aeronaut wing or not, but frankly, this wing looks to be a good one. Super rare and HIGHLY sought after. All of these wings are illustrated in either Duncan Campbell or Terry Morris' book. Also a few of them also appear in the Pinks and Greens book. Additional photos of all of these wings (some with pictures of the back) can be seen on Bob Schwartz fantastic website (http://www.ww2wings....wwi/us/us.shtml) You do have to take photos with a grain of salt (and photos of the backs would help), but I don't see a single red flag--other than the fact that 5 rare and highly sought after wings are coming out at the same time. Someone is either selling off an old collection OR has come up with some really stunning fakes. In any case, I suspect a few of the collectors on this site may be combing the internet looking for these wings as we speak (I know I am! ) to see what the deal is with them. But, this is of course, just a humble opinion offered on the basis of some photos. * fixed the spelling--its Humrichous not Homirichous as I had it originally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelligerentBlue Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share #11 Posted November 13, 2012 Hey Guys, these were in an auction out in Hatfield PA, and were being auctioned the day after I posted the thread. There were a lot of wings, German helmets which all looked authentic through the pictures and a lot of other militaria that looked right too. The pictures I got were off their website so I wasn't able to see any more than what I have pictured. Just due to my lack of knowledge and not being able to see them in person, I didn't bid so I wasn't stuck with a reproduction with a 20% buyers premium on top of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintageproductions Posted November 13, 2012 Share #12 Posted November 13, 2012 Whomever won these at auction should be very happy.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted November 13, 2012 Share #13 Posted November 13, 2012 Well.....I must say, I'm not used to seeing such nice wings and so many in one place and at one time, except in a collection. I am sorry to have doubted you, Patrick, but my pessimistic attitude won out! Sorry to say....it happens a lot these days!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelligerentBlue Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share #14 Posted November 13, 2012 I hate doing the proxy bid because I'm curious to know what they sold for. All their estimates for items seemed to be very reasonable though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted November 13, 2012 Share #15 Posted November 13, 2012 This looked like a pretty good auction of pretty high end stuff. I doubt it went cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted November 13, 2012 Share #16 Posted November 13, 2012 This looked like a pretty good auction of pretty high end stuff. I doubt it went cheap. I'm sure that they didn't, as Patrick said. I would have liked to have had a chance.......now that I know they are good!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nack Posted November 13, 2012 Share #17 Posted November 13, 2012 ...and that's why I don't collect these things. I can't distinguish good from bad On the bright side, I am pretty sure my skepticism has saved me money over the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Burkey Posted November 14, 2012 Share #18 Posted November 14, 2012 Just checking in. Yes, These are all real, all in exceptional condition, all are great pieces for ANY collection, and some are extremely rare. Obviously this was someone's collection: you don't find wings of this caliber all at once! The 2 bottom wings are the best, followed by the middle, then the top, then the Dallas coming in as the least rare of the batch. If anyone finds out where they went, I'd be especially interested in obtaining the Balloon pilot. One interesting note, the Dibb wing, one of about 7 I know of, is only the 2nd one I've seen with the small US. Most have the larger US as shown in Terry Morris' book. Happy Hunting, Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintageproductions Posted November 14, 2012 Share #19 Posted November 14, 2012 What, Ron Burkey is finally making an appearance? Say it isn't so...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted November 14, 2012 Share #20 Posted November 14, 2012 OLD AGE........he's weakening!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim B Posted November 16, 2012 Share #21 Posted November 16, 2012 The prices realized are posted for those that are curious. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffP Posted November 16, 2012 Share #22 Posted November 16, 2012 The prices realized are posted for those that are curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted November 16, 2012 Share #23 Posted November 16, 2012 I'm sick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted November 16, 2012 Share #24 Posted November 16, 2012 That seems about right. The Dallas wing is rather low (retail that is a 1000-1500$ wing) and the aeronaut wing could/should have brought much more if a bidding war erupted. Still, I think these prices reflect pretty close to what the auction of Duncan Campbell's collection brought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-17Guy Posted November 16, 2012 Share #25 Posted November 16, 2012 Wow, I'd be REAL happy to get those wings for those prices. Best, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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