FAKE!, Fantasy & Reproduction Wing Examples

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Available on eBay for $350 is this modern restrike of a very rare LGB/Balfour Technical Observer wing. It is pretty close to the original since it has been restruck from LGB dies. It is not a period manufactured wing. The tells are the overall finish of the badge, the pebbly finish on the back and the LGB STER hallmark. LGB wings were never marked STER. Compare to an original example here: http://ww2wings.com/wings/usaaf/technicalobserver/rwlgbto.shtml

 

[5thwingmarty]

These can be really deceptive because they used cammed pins with drop-in catches that give them the appearance of being vintage items.  Someone had a box with a bunch of these "dazzle-pattern" LGB wings at the SOS a few years ago.  They were all the rare wings like the TO and balloon wings.  They said who they had gotten them from (I don't recall who), but they knew the wings were not WWII vintage and were not offering them for sale.  I believe Russ was there and his memory may be better than mine on this.

 

My box of tears has an example of one of the Balloon wings I picked up a few years ago.  It was in a grouping with some good wings and some bad ones and didn't cost much so I didn't cry too much over it.

[rathbonemuseum.com]

While we are on the subject of spurious LGB wings, here is a related piece. Made from the post WWII dies with pelican beak pattern and the rounded square indent in the back. Terrible "trophy style" engraving style of LGB hallmark. For sale at $529.99. I hope no one who spends time here is fooled by these.

[Tolzer]

Several lots of these wings were sold on 21 July 2024

 

https://centurionauctions.hibid.com/catalog/558417/wartime-collectible-and-military-memorabilia-auction?q=wings

[pfrost]

Perhaps the quickest way to ID these restrikes is the extra long pin in the back.

 

A good wing with proper spaced pin, correct hallmark and finish.

 

 

Compared to a non-vintage restrike wing:

 

[pfrost]

5 hours ago, rathbonemuseum.com said:

Available on eBay for $350 is this modern restrike of a very rare LGB/Balfour Technical Observer wing. It is pretty close to the original since it has been restruck from LGB dies. It is not a period manufactured wing. The tells are the overall finish of the badge, the pebbly finish on the back and the LGB STER hallmark. LGB wings were never marked STER. Compare to an original example here: http://ww2wings.com/wings/usaaf/technicalobserver/rwlgbto.shtml

 

 

This EXACT wing has been discussed before.  Way back in 2011.  So over a decade ago! 

 

 

Do not fear the "Search" button in the forum! Chances are someone has already talked about, discussed, argued about, cried over, cussed at, and moaned to the forum about these wings in the past.  The knowledge is there at your fingertips.

 

 

[rathbonemuseum.com]

It was due for a comeback.

[pfrost]

Like herpes!

[5thwingmarty]

We will defer to your expertise in that area Dr. Frost.

[cwnorma]

I haven't seen this one posted here yet:

 

 

I believe this Dallas-type badge is related to recent CAD fakes of the various British-made badges.  Like those, the feathering is very precise and perfectly symmetrical--both wings are exact mirror images of each other.  The parts all appear to be die struck.  Note that the gold-color US does appear to be separately applied.  It is unknown if the materials used are sterling silver and gold or some other content.

 

Reasonably effective when seen from a short distance, like the Angus & Coote CAD fakes, the better-than-original precision of the details actually serves to indict this badge.

 

Caveat emptor.

 

Chris

[jeff41st]

Some fake Flight Nurse wings currently listed on eBay. Pretty poor quality. 

 

 

 

 

[Threewood]

Fake ACFC wing on ebay. There is a good write up HERE. I was curious on these so I did some research here. Glad I did. Hallmark is wrong. Should be: ATTLEBOROMASS

             STERLING

 

Sterling is in the wrong place.

 

[rathbonemuseum.com]

25 minutes ago, Threewood said:

Fake ACFC wing on ebay. There is a good write up HERE. I was curious on these so I did some research here. Glad I did. Hallmark is wrong. Should be: ATTLEBOROMASS

             STERLING

 

Sterling is in the wrong place.

 

 

I would encourage everyone to look sharply at all the wings this ebay account has listed

[Threewood]

37 minutes ago, rathbonemuseum.com said:

 

I would encourage everyone to look sharply at all the wings this ebay account has listed

16 bids between 4 different bidders. I really wish the bidders did some research here.

[rathbonemuseum.com]

From the same account. Cast version of WASP graduation wing. Soft edges and sloppy soft hallmark.

 

[rathbonemuseum.com]

 

WASP class wing with fake cast applied class shield. 

 

 

[Scott C.]

Yep, saw both the ACFC and WASP wing on ebay and thanks to previous discussions here on similar wings, I just passed them by. This site is a great depository if invaluable knowledge.

[4th Miss Cav]

I read this earlier and went to ebay to check a couple of auctions I was interested in.  I have saved the dealer secondhand collectibles as I like to see the latest fake junk they have on and imagine that, there they were.  I guess fake Civil War items are not doing well so they have moved to Native American and WWII.  All the wings have over 20 bidders and one is over $400.00 as of now.  What they are doing is absolute theft. 

[Threewood]

Someone bought the fake ACFC wing for $545.

[Mark I.]

If you look at the "ACFC" wing image in post 362 or 363 you will see another obvious problem.

The center piece has morse code with five letters   A - F - A - T - C  (red - blue - red - blue - red)

These are the letters for Air Force Air Transport Command, not Air Corps Ferry Command

 

That center piece is the first thing I look at. And of course the markings are wrong as was already stated.

[jeff41st]

13 hours ago, Mark I. said:

If you look at the "ACFC" wing image in post 362 or 363 you will see another obvious problem.

The center piece has morse code with five letters   A - F - A - T - C  (red - blue - red - blue - red)

These are the letters for Air Force Air Transport Command, not Air Corps Ferry Command

 

That center piece is the first thing I look at. And of course the markings are wrong as was already stated.

Thanks for pointing this out. I had no idea.,

[pfrost]

This is an excellent thread to read about the fakes.

 

 

Often (relatively speaking), you will find bad ACFC and WASP wings (for some reason, they like to put groupings with the classing) lumped together as part of a "grouping:  The fact is that the ACFC predated the wasps by a couple of years.  Only about 30ish women were acting as ACFC ferry pilots, and it is doubtful any prior trained aviatrix would have had to go back into the WASP training program to re-qualify again (as she would have already been a pilot allowed to ferry aircraft).  Also, training as a WASP would have happened a year or two after the ACFC was disbanded. Some of the more senior members of the WASPS (who were involved in the precursor ferry wings), like Jackie Cochran or Nancy Love, may have worn the Shield of Athena wing (AKA lozenge wing), but they probably not the class wings.

 

We tend to overlook that since WWI, there had be a vibrant (if small) community of well trained and active women pilots. Women like Ameila Earhart, Poncho Barnes, Jackie Cochran, etc... There were any number of women aviation clubs (i.e. the 99s) who were active in aviation WELL before the WASPs.

From a write up about the ACFC I did on another thread. 

 

"The ACFC was started in 1941 as part of the Lend/Lease plane to ferry US made aircraft to Canada/England although the RAF had to (literally) drag the planes across the boarder from the US to Canada to ensure compliance with rules of neutrality.  The ACFC was modeled after the RAF's Ferry Command and like the FC, initially had recruited about 20-30 qualified American women pilots to fly planes in the US.  IRCC, the ACFC was primarily using civilian pilots, but under US military oversight (again, for reasons of neutrality, USAAF military pilots couldn't be directly involved in ferrying combat planes to  our allies). These pilots in the ACFC delivered aircraft to the various allies and theater of operations and included civilian pilots from various commercial airlines (see PAA Ferries).  However in the summer of 1942, Hap Arnold recognized that the ACFC needed significant expansion to meet the needs of the war effort and the ATC was set up--also, we had entered the war.

 

It should be noted that the women flying in the ACFC (which was a very small number) WERE NOT WASPS.  Prior to the WASPs being organized 1943, it was preceded by the Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD) and the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadrons (WAFS). Both of these were organized separately in September 1942 (after the formation of the ATC, and were seen as a way to alleviate the strain of taking men away from the war effort to ferry aircraft. The WASPs were formed in 1943 by the merger of the WFTD and WAFS under the leadership of Jackie Cochran.  By the end of 1944, the WASPs were disbanded with about 1100 trained women pilots.

 

For some reason (probably because much of the history early in the war is a bit murky) these ACFC wings are often linked to WASPs.  In fact only about 30 women pilots were part of the ACFC in 1941.  As for WASPs wearing these wings, out of the ~1000 women pilots trained by the WASPs, its likely that only (at most) 2% would have also been part of the ACFC and had those wings (~28/1100). There are a few women who had been involved with both the ACFC and WASP organizations, but they are very rare and hard to find.  By the time the WASPs were set up the ACFC was long gone."

 

It is very hard to find vintage photographs of ACFC wings being worn, but here is one of the civilian pilots.  You can barely see the wings. Most of the ACFC were men, with only a few women having been recruited, as I said before.

 

 

 

[bschwartz]

Based on feedback from the thread I recently posted regarding the Denmark's hallmarked balloon pilot badges it was determined that these were made sometime in the 1970s and modified to appear to be made during the war. The scratched out area underneath the Hallmark used to contain the letters NY and the zip code of the company. Removal of that line made it appear that these were contemporaries to the LGB & Amcraft badges of a similar design.  
 

 

[Threewood]

This one is currently listed on ebay. The base wing is a Meyer restrike, but it is hallmarked Amcraft. It is stamped, with large sterling. Amcraft never made this pattern wing.