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FAKE!, Fantasy & Reproduction Wing Examples


pconrad02
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This flight of fancy flew out of Indiana yesterday for about $205. Looks like a marriage of a 9M Meyer Aircrew and an old EAL button of some kind. Actually, I'm kind of amused over the steady illustrations of P.T. Barnum's axiom, although like most of us, I weep for the constant loss of innocence such stuff represents.

:rolleyes:

 

Nicely said Paul. That calls for three cheers and a well deserved toast to a very wise and conscientious friend.

 

cp :wink2:

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  • 1 month later...
John Cooper
Since I know that some of you wing guys never leave this section...

 

 

Hey now I resemble that remark ;) It's not my fault... they wife only lets me colect small things. :lol:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here is another bad Flight Surgeon Wing, currently listed on ebay.

 

Front looks great, second pattern Meyer, nice patina.

Back of wing is a different story....Ouch!

 

Best, John

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John Cooper
Here is another bad Flight Surgeon Wing, currently listed on ebay.

 

Front looks great, second pattern Meyer, nice patina.

Back of wing is a different story....Ouch!

 

Best, John

 

 

$280.57! I hope they post it here withingthe 7 day window!

 

BTW the back looks like it was filed down maybe to remove the Meyer mark so it would be made into an Amcraft.

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  • 8 months later...

Another pretender on the scene:

 

Has anyone ever seen a legitimate silver wing badge made overseas for an American World War 1 pilot? Yes, it was common practice for WW1 pilots in the continental United States to wear US made silver wings but it was against all regulations to wear them while in Europe.

 

This balloon pilot badge has USA style Eisenstadt type wings but sports an array of design characters commonly associated with other fake badges made across the pond. Check out the free balloon gas bag that is identical to that of a WW1 Austrian Air Service collar insignia; a non-US jeweler hallmark; the 900. silver content marking, and a unique foreign type locking device.

 

The vendor said he would bet that these are pretty rare. Is it any wonder why?

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Here is another interesting fake. It looks like some one took a casting of a WWII vintage observer wing, lopped off one of the sides and then carved an "US" into the center.

 

Patrick

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  • 3 months later...

WW1 Bombing Military Aviator (BMA) wing badge.

 

Collectors should be on the alert to watch out for this recent fake that is now making the rounds.

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Real vs. Repro Blackinton hallmarks ~ here is (1) example of the repro hallmark on a Blackinton Bombardier wing vs. a period original Blackinton Bombardier wing with the correct "Sterling by Blackinton" hallmark.

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Unfortunately Duncan Campbell is no longer with us to defend himself; however, Craig Martin with Butterfields is and it was after a telephone call by me to Duncan that he contacted the auction house to inform them of the oversight. :dry:

 

The Smithsonian never had the badges made.

Having been on the staff at the National Air and Space Museum and specicically responsible for fundraising for a number of years, I can tell you we never reproduced wings or any other objects of this type. Even the trinkets sold in the shops stand out as inexpensive reproductions. Keep in mind that the Air and Space Museum has over 6 million visitors annually, if it were an item being sold in the shops, it was produced in great volume. The same applied for fundraising. Another urban legend that probably sounded good, but not grounded in reality.

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  • 4 months later...

Hello all!

 

This is a great and very informative thread!

 

I'd like to add to it to show an example, and also hope to have those that know add some information to this post in the thread.

 

First I'll say I knew these were not genuine when I bought them for $5.00 out of a flea market "big-box-o'-junk" several years ago. But they looked quite nice and I didn't mind having them as an in-hand example of a modern reproduction. I've seen a slew of questionable AMICO marked wings (the rarer ones that is) for sale over the years...all suspicious at best, most outright obvious fakes, even with my limited experience in this field I could tell!

 

My question about these is: did AMICO ever reproduce and sell wings like Meyer? Since I'm far from a wing collector I stay away from Meyer in general. These are so nicely made I've wondered about that possibility.

 

I'd guess that the example in my post isn't too recent of a repro, there is light verdigris evident in the feathering, so...shooting in the dark...maybe 1970s?

 

Any info on this example would be quite welcome. Generally I don't (or at least try my BEST) to keep repros away from my collection across the board. On the other hand I believe that sharing information such as this is just as important as seeing genuine examples.

 

My best to you all and my thanks for all of your help and kind support in the past.

 

Joe

 

post-48324-0-06959000-1383427227.jpg

 

 

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Been a while since I posted to this trend but this horrible fake balloon wing I saw today on eBay inspired me, it's a "Balfour" LOLOLOL , No really it is ...

 

post-182-0-51766900-1423077728.jpgpost-182-0-95011200-1423077736.jpgpost-182-0-61322600-1423077749.jpg

 

Just to explain for the new members/wing collectors. This is a Meyer restrike, right down to the telltale die flaw on the right wing, the Balfour stamp is totally wrong, and the hardware is modern.

 

Listed as:

BALFOUR STERLING 1940s WW2 UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCE BALLOON PILOTS WING

 

 

Paul

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