gregg1960 Posted March 28, 2013 Author Share #26 Posted March 28, 2013 Great info thanks. As these are fairly common patches I guess the area is not currently blighted by fakes? I imagine there are market stalls in Vietnam pumping out all kinds of reproductions for the tourists….. In answer to my own question, I have found this example in one of the pinned topics “Sampling of fake insignia…..”. I hope the original forum member doesn’t mind me re-posting the image here too. Is this really a fake or an original US patch that just happened to fall in with a stash of other fakes? I wouldn’t of thought there would be much of an incentive in reproducing common insignia…. If it is, it would definitely fool me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted March 29, 2013 Share #27 Posted March 29, 2013 I'd say this one is good as well. There are, unfortunately reproductions being made of the partially embroidered subdued on twill patches. Typically they are made on OD cotton cloth that is a bit thicker, the border stitches are uneven, and the design details are typically missing or poorly defined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintageproductions Posted March 29, 2013 Share #28 Posted March 29, 2013 In my opinion, this is one of the hardest to find subdued on twill pieces from VN era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted March 29, 2013 Share #29 Posted March 29, 2013 In my opinion, this is one of the hardest to find subdued on twill pieces from VN era. That's one some of the boys of the 2nd Squadron 1st Cavalry wore, member Tanker 1 talked about this if a can recall, he was an original member of this unit you know when it left Ft Hood for the RVN in 1967. They spent most of there career attached to the 4th Inf Div, but I believe he said it was worn by some, most of the time if a patch was worn it would be the Ivy Div. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted March 29, 2013 Share #30 Posted March 29, 2013 In my opinion, this is one of the hardest to find subdued on twill pieces from VN era. One actually showed up on eBay about six months ago... I believe it sold for over $100. Per McDuff's book, there is also a 1st Armored version as well. Believe it or not, some of the ones for the Transportation commands are tough to find anymore as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefighter Posted March 29, 2013 Share #31 Posted March 29, 2013 In my opinion, this is one of the hardest to find subdued on twill pieces from VN era. Nice patch Bob.Is it for sale?I have a 1st Armored but missing the 2nd? I think the 1st & 2nd AD's and Capital Military are the hardest ones to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintageproductions Posted March 29, 2013 Share #32 Posted March 29, 2013 Not yet. I bought a huge patch collection yesterday and this was in it. As soon as I am done sorting the collection, this will probably end up on the website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregg1960 Posted March 29, 2013 Author Share #33 Posted March 29, 2013 I'd say this one is good as well. There are, unfortunately reproductions being made of the partially embroidered subdued on twill patches. Typically they are made on OD cotton cloth that is a bit thicker, the border stitches are uneven, and the design details are typically missing or poorly defined. I would really like to se a few of these known repros compared against genuine US examples, as a benchmark… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted March 30, 2013 Share #34 Posted March 30, 2013 eBay is our friend...search on there for Vietnam Subdued Patch... http://www.ebay.com/itm/VIETNAM-WAR-SUBDUED-PATCH-US-1st-AVIATION-BRIGADE-/310641737697?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4853b0bfe1 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vietnam-War-US-196th-LIGHT-INFANTRY-BRIGADE-Hand-Sewn-Subdued-Patch-/350719187987?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51a87e1c13 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vietnam-War-Hand-Made-Subdued-Patch-US-196th-Light-Infantry-Brigade-CHARGERS-/370784881035?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item565480498b http://www.ebay.com/itm/PATCH-Subdued-82nd-Airborne-Division-Patch-82nd-Airborne-vietnam-war-/321081528584?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac1f35108 http://www.ebay.com/itm/VIETNAM-WAR-SEMI-SUBDUED-PATCH-US-173rd-AIRBORNE-BRIGADE-/310504816956?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item484b87813c http://www.ebay.com/itm/NAM-WAR-SUBDUED-PATCH-US-23rd-INFANTRY-DIVISION-/130708470491?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e6ed4fadb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefighter Posted March 30, 2013 Share #35 Posted March 30, 2013 Wow.Most of those are ugly.A couple look somewhat ok from the front but turned over, nasty.It's amazing the work they put into a $10 - $20 patch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted April 3, 2013 Share #36 Posted April 3, 2013 If anyone is actually looking for some well made reproductions, these can be had from Moore Militaria. http://www.mooremilitaria.com/ The period made original is on the left... the Moore Militaria version is on the right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted April 3, 2013 Share #37 Posted April 3, 2013 And a couple more... The originals are a bit stiffer than the reproductions, but sewn on a uniform, it would be hard to tell the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefighter Posted April 3, 2013 Share #38 Posted April 3, 2013 Thank you for showing and comparing the original with repros .I don't know why somebody would want or make repros of these patches.There really not the rare version and the originals are not that expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted April 3, 2013 Share #39 Posted April 3, 2013 At first I thought this 20th Eng Bde was the one I used to have as described in the earlier post, but it isn't, the one I used to have was on OD twill, real ribbed twill, this one is on sateen, the bobbin threads unlike this one, were darker, I would say Army Green 44, the Black backing was I don't know, like a course like cotton woven/weave material, this Black backing here looks like shiny sparkley Crepe paper. Don't know the origins of the one I had, Vietnamese, Japanese, could of even been South Korean made, made for wear by Vets in the late 60s to early 70s serving in Korea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NobleLoyalGSD Posted April 3, 2013 Share #40 Posted April 3, 2013 I've always liked the brown fireball variant of this patch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanmc1114 Posted April 3, 2013 Share #41 Posted April 3, 2013 I've always liked the brown fireball variant of this patch Me too. When it's just black, it's hardly noticeable. Another favorite of mine is the 196th Infantry Brigade with the brown flames. The same color structure was used with some of the early 9th Infantry Division subdued patches where the upper portion of the octofoil was done in brown or a different shade of green than the base material. I posted a couple of these earlier in this topic. Of course there were also the 4th Infantry Division patches with the green ivy that have also been posted here. I assume at some point when subdued patches were first being officially adopted, the decision was made to limit them to two colors - olive green and black - even if the full color version was composed of more than two colors. To me one of the oddest of the early subdued color choices was the version of I Field Force Vietnam second from the right. It makes no sense to me why anyone would make both the band and the upper portion of the shield black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted April 4, 2013 Share #42 Posted April 4, 2013 Your second from the left 1FFV patch might actually be Thai made. There were a batch of similar patches that popped up on eBay within the last few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted April 4, 2013 Share #43 Posted April 4, 2013 These are from an earlier post, Vietnamese Machine Embroidered 196th Inf Bde patches, they professionaly done and are almost identical to their U.S. made counterparts, the only thing differant between the two I can see is the outwardly and downwardly curled flame protruding on the inner top parts of the flame, and of course the use of newspaper for backing material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregg1960 Posted April 11, 2013 Author Share #44 Posted April 11, 2013 A couple more variations, 1st Logistics. Hopefully these are good. I think the one on the left is US made on twill and the one on the right is local VN with velvet panel. I noticed on another topic this guy who is wearing an interesting reversed type patch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted May 9, 2013 Share #45 Posted May 9, 2013 I think I found a match for that somewhat Glittery/Shiny Black backing used in making the repro Vietnam War 20th Eng Bde. It appears to be the same modern backing found today on some Army Shoulder Patches which I gather is somekind of thin Poly Felt. The Back of the 20th Eng Bde. The Back of a recent Army Reserve Medical Command. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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