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AMCRAFT or American Metal Crafts Co: examples and patterns


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I did post this wing once before, but I thought I,d stick it on again to see if any more info has come to light. It is an AMCRAFT snowfake. Die struck from brass. It appears to have the last remanants of gold plating near the R/H wing tip. I have been unsure of this wing but I am leaning towards it beeing OK.

Any oppinions would be welcombe.

 

Graham

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Graham, from the photos that you have provided, it appears to be a nice early Flight Surgeon Wing. Snowflake pattern appears to be crisp and the pin looks right. I would keep it. Gregg

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Thanks for your comments. I had always associated the snow flake back with the 1930s and as the gold F/Surgeon came in I believe Feb 1943, had been suspicious of this wing. In fact the caduceus is not snowflake. I suspect Amcraft took the opportunity to use up some old stock, only having to produce the caduceus and plate it. I also have a CPO cap insignia with the straight USN introduced in about 1950 which is an Amcraft snow flake back, proving the snowflake back was used well past the 1930s

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  • 11 months later...
John Cooper

Here is a recent addition of a very nice senior pilot which does not come up all that often and a more common pilot which I just had to keep since it was in such minty condition.

 

Enjoy.

 

Cheers

John

 

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The Amcraft Senior Pilot is a tough one but one of my favorite senior pilot patterns. I got mine at Show of Shows in 2005 and I smiled the entire drive home. I had been looking for that one for a long time.

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John Cooper

Thanks guys!

 

Bob you are right you really do not see many of these which is odd given that the standard pilot is omnipresent. Now need to find the command pilot!

 

Cheers

John

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Very nice, John!! :love:

 

I am a bit low on funds (for collecting that is) so I am actually not supposed to read the WING BADGES sub-forum. :pinch:

I am beginning to show signs of heavy addiction!!

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  • 4 months later...

Hello everyone,

 

Well it's now official, ALL of my collection is packed away for a hopeful move, I already feel light-headed and disoriented. Hopefully my house will sell quickly and we'll find another that they one day "be carrying me out" of <---yes, ending my sentence in a preposition, my apologies. My point is no more moves after this one!

 

I do still have quite a few scans, so I'm going to try and keep posting!

 

Here are a WELL worn set of wings, almost all of the silver wash on the front is gone, still a lot remaining on the back.

 

I just really like them, as worn as they are. I like to think that I'm giving this old "vet" a good home full of care and respect.

 

Best wishes to all,

 

Joe

 

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Joe - from the photo a brass wing in a older pattern and a sunburst reverse and a TO wing... I am interested. I have a pilots wing in the same pattern but dont recall seeing in this or any other. maybe someone else has photos to share?

 

Cheers

John

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I just really like them, as worn as they are. I like to think that I'm giving this old "vet" a good home full of care and respect.

 

Joe,

 

These are great wings! They definitely have a good home. I am glad you can keep showing pics even though everything is packed up tight.

Thanks for sharing your great collection.

 

....Kat

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Joe - from the photo a brass wing in a older pattern and a sunburst reverse and a TO wing... I am interested. I have a pilots wing in the same pattern but dont recall seeing in this or any other. maybe someone else has photos to share?

 

Cheers

John

I thought there was a discussion about these earlier this year. I do remember posting the pics of my Amcraft TO wing, yet I can't seem to find the

thread after a quick search.

Here is the same wing in cluchback, with Amcraft marked top hat style fasteners.

 

Best, John

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Hello everyone!

 

I ask your pardon for my tardiness in thanking you for your comments, lots going on here getting the old homestead ready to sell.

 

John C, it is an interesting wing, a very sharp strike, some evidence of the "silver wash" or VERY thin silver plate are still evident on the front, much more left on the back. I really like the extensive wear on this one though since it looks as though the wear was from quite some time ago. The brass core has a natural patina that only year of exposure could produce. Thank you for reading and replying!

 

Hi Kat! Always so nice to hear from you. I hope to keep posting from my scanned archives during this whole "move thing". I guess I'm addicted to this wonderful stuff since I can definitely feel the pangs of withdraw having my collection (safely) packed away. Thank you for your kind words.

 

JS! I'm truly flattered by your gracious comments. Sometimes I wish I could focus on one or two areas, but I really love this stuff, so in all honesty I'm just being self indulgent :blushing: It's collectors like you who make this forum feel like family. Thank you for your support since my first day here.

 

John B-17, Great pics! Thank you for posting and your insight into these wings, it's nice to see a clutch version with the Amcraft top hats! Thank you again.

 

My best to everyone,

 

Joe

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  • 5 months later...

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This wing shines like a current issue USAF wing. I would say it has an applied finish to the front of the wing which is partially on the reverse here and there. The front looks plated but I assume it is not as the plating prosses would have covered the back as well.

The wing matches my other AMCRAFTS in other respects.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

 

Graham

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I have a pair that were buffed to no end, very Shiny .

Yours difinitly have had a substance applied. Still very nice wings.

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I have seen a number of Amcraft wings in this fashion, with a silver wash

on the front of the wing.

Here is a recently acquired Command Pilot with the same finish.

Best, John

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Greetings to all,

 

Over the years I've seen similar applied finishes on several different types of wings and other insignia that, except for the finish, looked 100% correct. I think there was a phase/fad (perhaps right after the war) to have war-time insignia nickel plated to keep it shining brightly. This might be one of those cases and is only based on my observations.

 

Best wishes!

 

Joe

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