Recent content by birddog

Leather Care The German Lederbalsam mentioned earlier is excellent. It contains beeswax & other organic materials that do an excellent job restoring leather's pliability. I never used Picard, but have heard alot of positive things about it. Never use anything with silicone or petroleum in it...

It's a bummer, but a common occurance when one progresses from his 20's through his 50's. Funny, I know a lot of people that have had the same problem! Ugarte

Baron, I have the same coat, in a short version! It's a German police coat from the '60's & possibly earlier. When I arrived in Germany the first time in 1978, I bought one in the flea markets for about $10. They were cheap & plentiful back then The short & long versions were essentially...

Nice jacket - Great Find! I do not believe it's WW2. First, German leather from 1940 on got cheap, thin & ugly due to deteriorating industrial supplies for tanning & increased quantity requirements. Yours is too quality looking. There are no provisions for apulettes. Luftwaffe flight personal...

I wonder how Raffles makes them now? When you order one at the Long Bar, They pump them out of beer tap, meaning they're made somewhere else & in large commercial quantities. The hotel's Slings are OK, but not the best. Try some of the trendier clubs & bars in Singapore. Last year, the...

Post some photos with comments! Birddog

FedoraL, I think your jacket looks just fine; relaxed sleeves & good torso fit. If WW2 clothing issue was anything near like when my first Navy flight jacket was issued to me in 1973, then it was not a precision drill. A2s were just issued, & with thousands being made there had to be...

I stand corrected on the canopy mistake. I mixed it up with Lindberg's Lockheed Model 8 Sirius "Tingmissartog", that was one of the earliest, if not the first, airplane to use a sliding canopy. birddog

Hughes H-1 The canopy was rolled back into the aft fuselage & the forward windscreen moved several inches forward to accomodate cockpit entry. Both windows were operated by cockpit handcranks. Bird Dog

I bought an A2 from them with the inside canvas pockets. This is the best quality jacket I've seen, & the inside pockets are very practical for wallets, mobile phones etc. Outside pockets are too small for anything modern, other than keys. The jacket is expensive, but considering you'll only...

BMW Restored Greetings to All Motorheads, While not really a classic vintage motorcycle, my 1965 R69S BMW has just completed a ground up restoration. For the 1960's the 69S appears older than it really is. See it at: http://mjstone.smugmug.com Ugarte

There's an excellent WW2 uniform repro internet business called "At The Front" (Google it). Look under U.S. items, Field Gear and Assult Vest. The assult vest is a copy of those used in Normandy, as worn by Hanks & Co. in "Saving Private Ryan". It has lots of large pockets, front &...

I'm a guy, but have trained women to work as aircraft mechanics in the Navy and in civilian life as well. Overall the experience was positive. My speciality was electrics, and I found most women were beter suited to electrical work than men. Many men don't have the patience it requires to spend...

As soon as I figure out how to post photos, I'll get some of me in my artillery officer flying gear with my German based Piper L4. It's going to be featured in a historic aircraft magazine in the next months. Ugarte

For an excellent account of the average Russian soldier, read the recent book "Ivan's War". It's available in paperback at Borders, etc.. The author gives a good account of equipment issued, training (if any!), equipment, etc. It's an excellent & easy read on any account. Ugarte