usmcski Posted August 5, 2014 Share #1 Posted August 5, 2014 Greetings All, I don't know if this has been discussed previously, but I came across a company that makes repro crusher caps for reenactors. Well, they apparently also make Bell Crown caps by custom order, and the photograph made me look twice: http://wwiihats.com/hats/customhats/ With the proper amount of "breaking in" or aging, one might be fooled into making a pretty high-end purchase if these were maliciously sold by somebody as authentic. Thoughts? Semper, Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David D Posted August 5, 2014 Share #2 Posted August 5, 2014 That is scary good, the owner is a member here. -Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmcski Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share #3 Posted August 5, 2014 I think they look great, too, and by no means am I trying to slander what he's doing. Just wanted to bring awareness to the masses that they existed (I seem to remember a thread from way back about some blue fireman's caps being used to fool folks into thinking they were Marine bell crowns). I'd love to know if he makes USMC hats as well, as they might prove to be an affordable alternative to the real McCoy, if only to fill a hole in a collection somewhere.... Makes me wonder, though; they look SO good (to me, anyway), I wonder if they're marked as "REPRODUCTION" somewhere? I know Juan at WWII Impressions started doing that on his HBTs... Semper, Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suwanneetrader Posted August 5, 2014 Share #4 Posted August 5, 2014 When I first started I bought one of the older blue Fire Dept Bell Crowns (the FD side buttons were removed) and it was made by a company that also made USMC bell crowns, Reed I think. I would hope all the speciality manufactures of Military headgear, and USMC camo and other high ticket items would mark as replica or at least their company name. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmcski Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted August 5, 2014 Completely agree, Richard. Besides, if I saw a nicely done repro somewhere, I'd surely want to know who made it so I could get one for myself! It seems that good condition USMC bell crowns are getting harder to find, and more expensive at that. Not my collecting area, but if it was, I might be tempted to fill the gap in my collection until I could find (or afford) a good authentic one! Semper, Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VladimirBerkov Posted February 24, 2015 Share #6 Posted February 24, 2015 I've been looking for an original forever in my size, this would be an even better alternative for reenacting for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suwanneetrader Posted November 26, 2016 Share #7 Posted November 26, 2016 I bring this back up as one of these "very accurate repros" surfaced at a Central Flea Mkt awhile back. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67Rally Posted November 26, 2016 Share #8 Posted November 26, 2016 Bad link that goes to a spammer site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suwanneetrader Posted November 26, 2016 Share #9 Posted November 26, 2016 One of our long time USMC collectors posted that over 2 years ago so hard for me to believe but maybe why I had computer problems about then?? Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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