Should I Bid on Star 55J14 with Possum(?) Collar?

[OperationCoffee]

Not Yank possums but I used to get paid to shoot (introduced) Aussie brush tailed possums on my family's farms on school holidays when I was a nipper. I had a Ruger 22 high velo carbine with a long mag (now very illegal back home) for the job.

Used to make a packet doing it.

I hear that feral cats are a menace in Oz and peeps shoot them. If so….cat fur jackets?…..

 

[Smithy]

I hear that feral cats are a menace in Oz and peeps shoot them. If so….cat fur jackets?…..

Shooting foxes is a bigger thing in states like VIC, NSW and SA.

I was shooting possums in NZ where it's virtually encouraged. I would have been arrested in VIC for doing that!

 

[bgrant570]

Well, it's on its way to me as we speak. Got it for $225, which works out to about $250 with tax and shipping. I'll post more pics when I get it.

 

[mulceber]

Good buy. Once it gets rid of its possum infestation, it should be a great jacket.

 

[Dumpster D]

Do you suppose the possum collar was only tacked on woth loose hand stitching? You might get lucky and who knows, it might just come off with a thread picker and the original one is still intact underneath? Or was it deconstructed and the original mouton is long gone?

Interested to see what's going on with that collar. Please, if you're able to post up some photos when the jacket arrives and you can see what you've got to work with?

Glad to see someone here picked this Jacket up. It's very nice, apart from that hideously abominable collar of course!

 

[OperationCoffee]

Fit pics are required. With that collar, before you replace it

 

[bgrant570]

Interested to see what's going on with that collar. Please, if you're able to post up some photos when the jacket arrives and you can see what you've got to work with?

Me too.

Fit pics are required. With that collar, before you replace it.

Lol. Absolutely!

 

[petermack09]

Wear a scarf during the try on, looks more porcupine than possum,,,

 

[Spitfireace]

I saw more problems than that. Looked like a lining problem and a zipper problem.

 

[FlakMagnet]

Shooting foxes is a bigger thing in states like VIC, NSW and SA.

I was shooting possums in NZ where it's virtually encouraged. I would have been arrested in VIC for doing that!

Ha! My mates and I used to hunt possums with pellet guns at a friend’s farm in Matamata. Fun times.

 

[Spitfireace]

Should be allowed to hunt feral rabbits with pellet guns around here. Out of control easter bunnies.

 

[Spitfireace]

Rabbit meat is good meat. Could be used to feed the homeless. If not I'll eat it. Stew yum, kind of stringy tastes like turkey.

 

[B-Man2]

Aww……..

 

[bgrant570]

Well it's here. Let me get some fit pics up right away and get into the details in a seperate post. First off, I was a little disappointed to find out that the seller's measurements were off a little bit. He had two important measurements as: P2P - 23 and Shoulders - 19. Also, he stated that it was like a size M. To me that sounds an awfully lot like a 42. I measured the shoulders as 20 and the P2P closer to 25. A tag in the right pocket confirms this as a 44. Maybe not a dealbreaker, but I like my jackets to fit and I'm not really a layerer. I'll let you help me decide. Below are shots of the new aquisition along with shots of my Dad's 42.

 

[OperationCoffee]

The fit is actually good and the collar is exactly as atrocious as expected. I mean it looks like it could wake up at any minute and bite you.

 

[B-Man2]

Ok … the fit …. It actually isn’t much different than the fit of your dad’s jacket. We have a tendency to go for the trim fit look in our jackets but as we’ve talked about before , a lot of these guys jackets look trim because all the clothing , wool shirts , long underwear, sweaters and flight suits that they wore under their jacket . If they had worn just a t shirt their jacket would be one or two sizes too big in their photos .
So yours is ok …..
Now the collar? ………

 

[Chandler]

The fit is actually good and the collar is exactly as atrocious as expected. I mean it looks like it could wake up at any minute and bite you.

Yep. I was going to say those pics really tell a story!

 

[bgrant570]

So the Jacket...well the collar speaks for itself. Still can't believe someone thought this was a good idea. I think it is most likely fox. It's good quality for what it is.

The good: The leather seems pretty amazing to me for probably being over 70 years old. It's very supple, not a trace of dryness, very minimal scuffing. Looks to me like the waist knit is OG, the cuff may have been replaced. Except for a small tearaway from the collar, the lining is in good shape. From what I've read on the fantastic "A better fighting garment..." doc this seems to be what the tag says it is - a 55J14 (AER) Star Sportswear from 1950 or 51 (experts please chime in).

The bad: Well there's not much bad here actually. The collar, obviously. The leather hangar was sewn in wrong. probably with the addition of the fur. Fairly certain the zipper is a replacement, as are the cuffs. A couple of mends on the waist knit.

That's really about it. I wouldn't really call any of those things a big deal, with the exception of the collar and the separation of the lining up there.

This weird patch is covering a separation of the lining from the collar.

Loop sewn in wrong.

Inside pocket is a heavier material than my D or E series. Like a light canvas.

Note the lighter thread at the cuff.

 

[bgrant570]

Single ply waist knit with mend. No light colored thread here.

Think this should be a Conmar or a Talon, and blackened.

Backside of zipper. Looks like it's been replace to me.

This wayward stitch is unfortunate. Probably done when the collar was replaced.

 

[MikeyB-17]

Hello Possums!