Discussion: Would you consider buying a painted repro?

[stanier]

No issue wearing a painted jacket at all, in fact they’d be my preference.

They’re very cool and on the 40’s and 50’s scenes you see a few about as you might expect.

I don’t get this earning it thing at all. Most folk don’t understand the significance and of those that do they also are well aware that it is highly unlikely(!) the wearer was actually part of the original crew, unit etc. We can keep these items alive and a topic for discussion or let them be forgotten.

Just my tuppence worth.

Cheers

 

[A2 B3au]

Well said I'm with u and admire the artwork I'm all about the as aesthetics

 

[2jakes]

Many years ago I ran into "Tex" Hill, ace pilot
of the Flying Tigers.
He pointed out that my AVG patch on my
jacket was on the wrong shoulder.
Other than that, he had no problem with
me wearing a jacket with "something" to
which I had not earned. He was flattered.
I still have some repros with painted stuff.
I don't wear them because I like the ones
with no markings more now. No one has
made remarks about the painted jackets,
it's just that I have different taste than
when I was younger. If I see someone with
a painted jacket regardless of their age, if
it looks good, great!

 

[dmar836]

No. I don't care what others think but I've been tempted to paint one. Just a little too much attention for me.
Dave

 

[Miles]

There’s more offensive things shown on TVs and billboards today than any WW2 leather of those days. Let’s get painting [emoji1320]


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[johnwayne]

Whatever ones thoughts or views are Avirex obviously thought there was a market, wonder how many they churned out?

 

[A2 B3au]

I wonder who does the art work on the reproduction A2s that real McCoy and the like employ or are they all customers jackets that have been bought plain and painted after. They all seem historicaly accurate not just for fashion, personally I'm a big fan and will be getting one for my growing collection and new found hobby that's taking up a lot of my time ..
Nice one Art

 

[Miles]

I wonder who does the art work on the reproduction A2s that real McCoy and the like employ or are they all customers jackets that have been bought plain and painted after. They all seem historicaly accurate not just for fashion, personally I'm a big fan and will be getting one for my growing collection and new found hobby that's taking up a lot of my time ..
Nice one Art

https://www.instagram.com/joshs_flight_jackets


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[A2 B3au]

I'm currently in discussions with Josh but thanks for that ..Nice one Art

 

[Pilot]

IMHO Josh is one of the best. I had an A-2 RW painted by him. Sold it.

 

[Miles]

Without Freedom & Liberty, creative expression would not exist.


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[colekwok]

I acquired a painted Aero a few years ago and I like it! I think as long as they are not some naked pin-ups.

FYI, one of the best places for jacket art in Japan, Custom King. Not sure if they are still in operation though.

 

[herk115]

Wasn't that why the Greatest Generation made the sacrifice they did? To preserve our right to self expression which includes wearing what we please? Anybody who claims "I Support Our Troops" but had a problem with me honoring them by exercising my right (which many of them died to protect) to wear one of their painted jackets or a reproduction thereof, would strike me as the grandest of hypocrites. Doesn't matter though; as I stated in another thread about patching and tagging jackets, it's no win. No matter what your intentions, no matter what you put on the jacket, there will be someone who won't like it. That's their right, too. I don't know how it is to be resolved.

 

[Greg Gale]

I definitely would.

1) They look bad@$$
2) They're beautiful works of art
3) They make your jacket unique, give it more personality
4) You obviously won't pretend to be a 90+ year old WWII veteran. If you're 90+ years old and have a painted A-2, well, that's more risky, but good for you
5) Offensive? Today anything can offend anyone, and if you turn on any music channel it gets 100x more offensive than any WWII jacket.
6) I never really cared about offending anyone, but that may just be my lack of manners.
7) ranks are a no-no in my book, but all the rest is just keeping history alive. Imagine a 15 year old kid sees you in your highly offensive and obscenely painted WWII jacket. He has no idea about WWII, but the jacket catches his eye, you start a conversation, and he ends up reading a lot about the topic, and thus the heroism of the Greatest Generation lives longer.

I have a beat-up old Avirex A2 that I patched up with R.Morgan's name tag, the squadron patch with the rabbit, and my talented girlfriend painted the Memphis Belle nose art on the back + 25 bombs. Every time it gets a compliment, I tell them about the story of the Belle.

 

[ausreenactor]

Josh is just filling the vacuum that Jerome created... for now... Very good though.. He gets to put the art on the high end repros so the canvas adds to the art. There are guys on Facebook doing just as well but they don't get the better repros to work on..

 

[DJS48]

It's a no for me. I have enough "trouble" wearing the B-10 with the winged star decal.

 

[Teddy]

Just personal opinion here. Don't mind the paint or the patches on any jackets but I would probably not buy them because they're often not cheap.

I've always wanted a patched A2 with 506th airborne on the left chest, but I recently decided I wouldn't patch any jacket as I did not earn the patch. It would feel as if I had pinned a medal I did not earn on my uniform. My desire to have a jacket patched is more out of respect for the historical figures I read so I could try to emulate them in my daily life instead of decorating a jacket.

 

[Technonut2112]

I have a Morgan Productions A-2, which Col. Morgan and his widow authorized a Japanese company to produce back in the 90's. I've become friends with Linda Morgan, and actually asked her about patching one of the A-2's I purchased from her to create a 'Memphis Belle' tribute jacket. Linda had no issue with it, and went on to say "Bob would have been pleased to have a younger person remember the 'Belle' and his crew". I purchased the leather patches, and will proudly wear that A-2 for many (God willing) years to come when they're sewn-on. I look forward to keeping the 'Belle' and her crew "alive" to all who may ask me about the jacket in the future.

 

[herk115]

I have to agree with the pro-paint people: it's your jacket, so wear it the way you want. If I can ever afford to have a jacket painted, I will, but it will be a C-130, not a B-17, because the Mighty Herk was "my" airplane.

Several years ago I commented on this forum about painted jackets. My concern was that people with spiffy paint jobs didn't understand that flying in combat wasn't about strutting around in a jacket looking cool. Your overriding concern was being alive at the end of the day. I have a friend who is as A-2 happy as the rest of us, and he was astonished when I told him that during the Gulf War I didn't give my A-2 a second thought. It seemed to be beyond his capability to understand I just wanted to be alive when it was all over, jacket or no jacket (and to keep the record straight, I served during the Gulf War but not in it). But once the folks on this forum assured me they understood what wearing an A-2 was all about, I had no problem with painted jackets.

This whole "earning" thing, especially when it comes to rank, bothers me. Okay, some someone doesn't want to wear rank because they didn't earn it. But we keep forgetting that the jacket itself had to be earned; patches had to be earned; wings had to be earned. We seem to wear a lot of that stuff without batting an eye, so what's the difference? If you put rank on your jacket you're just making it more historically accurate, i.e., "This is a reproduction of a jacket a B-17 pilot in 1943 would have worn." I'm a USAF vet and I couldn't care less what YOU put on YOUR jacket. Personally, I don't understand why someone would spend $1500 USD on a jacket and insist on stitch-for-stitch historical accuracy, but then fail to finish the job by stopping short of nametagging, patching, winging, and ranking the jacket.

One last word about rank. How many times do I have to say this? The U.S. Air Force does NOT wear rank on the modern A-2. Never has. So if you put rank on the jacket it's obviously done in a historical sense for historical accuracy and there is no way you can be accused of impersonating a USAF officer if you throw a pair of 2nd lieutenant bars on the shoulders. As a vet I have no problem with wearing rank if, as long as when asked, you tell the truth. "No, I'm not in the air force. This is a reproduction of a WWII jacket from 1943." Then, as stated above, give a small lecture about history. In that regard, I think you're doing far more good than harm if the jacket is adorned with rank and the other emblems and badges of the WWII aviator.

 

[2jakes]

The original post relates to the question regarding a painted image of a woman
on a leather jacket in which the buyer feels comfortable wearing it only at a
military events and not in general public.
He expressed that wearing it to other places would brand him as a male
chauvinist.
There’s no mention whether he has or hasn’t earned the right to wear it.
I would answer that if I like something enough to buy it,
I would have no problems wearing it to most places.
To each his own.