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What is this Glider Wing?


HOF
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This looks like an unmarked LGB Wing sold by American Military Stores and someone added LGB Sterling. What do you think it is? They are asking $529.99 on Ebay. Actually the shape of the back of the shield looks suspect too!

Glider f.jpg

Glider b.jpg

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5thwingmarty

This looks like one of the ones struck from the original dies well after WWII by someone who worked for Balfour, but someone else later added the LGB Sterling marks to this one.  This looks like the marks were engraved and not struck into the wing.

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Tonomachi

Your suspicions were correct as It is a known LGB fake.  Below are photos of the back of LGB glider pilot wings.  The top one is the copy and the bottom one is the genuine wing.  The shape of the rear hollowing is different and when they first appeared my guess is that they fooled a few collectors.  

 

 

LGB Fake (10).jpg

LGB Pilot Wings (3).jpg

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rathbonemuseum.com

Terrible “bowling trophy” engraving. 

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pfrost

Engraved by Larry G's Bowling  Awards and Trophy Emporium of Sterling, Pennsylvania, using a Dremel!  LOL.

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Outtair

Larry G's is a stand up Bowling Alley, he always cleans and disinfects his rental shoes. And Friday is date night special, 3 games for the price of one.

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Phroger46

I don't have much to contribute but do the fronts of the real wings and the ones determined to be a fake match pretty close?  Basically, would one be able to tell the difference if they didn't have pictures of the back as well?

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5thwingmarty

The fronts are the same as they were made from the same dies.

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pfrost

Another difference is the placement of the hinge and catch. The "restrikes" have the hinge and catch more towards the tips of the wings, while the vintage ones have the hinge and catch more centered and farther away from the wing tips.

 

LGB made wings post-war (more in the KW time period) and used a slightly different front on their pelican beak wings.  They also had a kind of pebbled finish. THey sometimes used the B-1 mark (or 1-B, I can not recall).  They also used a STER mark rather than STERLING in some of these post-WWII/KW/early-mid 50's wings.  Not "fakes" so much as they can be confused by collectors. 

 

Then IIRC, about 10-15 years ago some restrikes of LGB wings started showing up.  Apparently made from the original dies, the differences can be subtle (listed above).


Finally, there are a number of fakes in which someone used a Dremel bit to engrave LGB on the wings.... like the OP.

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Phroger46
19 hours ago, 5thwingmarty said:

The fronts are the same as they were made from the same dies.

Thank you.  I guess that would make sense.

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