Some repro patches from my collection

[ausreenactor]

CBI looks really good mate!!

 

[Yardstick]

First up today is another service unit, the 597th Engineering Squadron, assigned to the 381st Air Service Group. It's a striking design incorporating the CBI shield and is fabricated in a mixture of smooth and pebbly goatskin.

Next because everyone is painting it now and I hadn't done it yet, is the painted 320th BS, 90th BG. It's a really bold design and I just had to add it to my collection.

And as a bonus this is my hand embroidered version of the same design (posted previously in another thread).

 

[ausreenactor]

What have I done... At least 'Moby Dick' and the 320th is on everyone's radar again.....

 

[Yardstick]

Some embroidered patches today. First is a version of the 78th FS, 15th FG - multi-piece felt with embroidered detail. To the right of that is a 22nd BG hand embroidered patch where the green border denotes the 408th BS - other squadrons in the group had yellow, white or red borders.

Next is a comparatively simple design and an easy patch to replicate, the 424th BS, 307th BG - The Long Rangers (I'll also post the group patch sometime soon as it is one of my favourites). On the right of that is a hand embroidered version of the 707th BS, 446th BG. This is a complex design and was tricky to replicate. It is also unusual in that it is one of the few patches to incorporate the colour purple (by chance the 78th FS patch above is also another, although I think that is just a quirk of the felt used in the multi-piece felt originals).

 

[Bombing IP]

Outstanding you capture the nievety perfectly with pizazz ,something a lot of makers just cannot seem to grasp .If you were to soak your patches in tea it would be near impossible to tell them from originals .A very well done my friend from someone who used to make patches I wish I could make them this good .

BIP OUT

 

[Yardstick]

Outstanding you capture the nievety perfectly with pizazz ,something a lot of makers just cannot seem to grasp .

BIP OUT

Hi BIP, thanks for the nice comments - I think it just reflects my lack of imagination

 

[Bombing IP]

I disagree you place yourself in 1942 and imagine to how they would of made them up basic material and skill no HI Tech .You are to hard on your self analysis and 100% wrong .

BIP

 

[ausreenactor]

Some embroidered patches today. First is a version of the 78th FS, 15th FG - multi-piece felt with embroidered detail. To the right of that is a 22nd BG hand embroidered patch where the green border denotes the 408th BS - other squadrons in the group had yellow, white or red borders.

View attachment 51069

Next is a comparatively simple design and an easy patch to replicate, the 424th BS, 307th BG - The Long Rangers (I'll also post the group patch sometime soon as it is one of my favourites). On the right of that is a hand embroidered version of the 707th BS, 446th BG. This is a complex design and was tricky to replicate. It is also unusual in that it is one of the few patches to incorporate the colour purple (by chance the 78th FS patch above is also another, although I think that is just a quirk of the felt used in the multi-piece felt originals).

View attachment 51070

Never knew about the 22nd BG borders being different colours! Like the 90th...

Both were Australian based units....

Learn something every time I come here...

Thanks much. Great patches!

 

[Yardstick]

Both were Australian based units....

The Australian made embroidered patches are some of my favourites. Although most of them are machine made, the stitching is nice and dense has a hand made look - that makes it comparatively easy for me to replicate. Many of the Aussi made patches are also hand finished (typically the black lining and detailing) and this means that each patch has little errors and foibles that gives them real character.

US made embroidered patches (particularly the later ones) are very obviously machine made, use a single thread in each stitch and are usually on twill (Aussi and UK made seems to use 2, 3 or even 4 threads with a felt base). The overall effect of the US manufacturing method is closer to that of modern patches and consequently they are my least favourite of all the fabric patches.

I've a nice collection of Aussi made replicas and will share some more pics over the coming weeks.

 

[ausreenactor]

The Australian made embroidered patches are some of my favourites. Although most of them are machine made, the stitching is nice and dense has a hand made look - that makes it comparatively easy for me to replicate. Many of the Aussi made patches are also hand finished (typically the black lining and detailing) and this means that each patch has little errors and foibles that gives them real character.

US made embroidered patches (particularly the later ones) are very obviously machine made, use a single thread in each stitch (Aussi and UK made seems to use 2, 3 or even 4 threads) and are usually on twill. The overall effect is closer to a modern patch and these US made examples are my least favourite of all the fabric patches.

I've a nice collection of Aussi made replicas and will share some more pics over the coming weeks.

Thanks mate!

 

[Yardstick]

I promised to post some more 'Aussi made' embroidered patches, so here goes. The first set is from the 307th BG. On the left is one of my favourite designs: the Group's Long Ranger patch featuring a cowboy cat, riding a bomb (I wonder if that was the inspiration for the famous shot in Dr Strangelove some 20 years later!). This was a particularly tricky design to work out, as the images I used as reference were of rather worn out originals - how the chaps, holster, gauntlet and saddle fitted together was not very clear but a better image luckily came to the rescue. There is also an alternate group design featuring a stylised LR, as carried on the vertical stabilisers of the Group's B-24s. On the right is the 371st BS of the same group (the 424th BS patch in my previous post was a sister squadron).

Next up is another 90th BG patch but something a bit different this time. This is a chain stitched example of the 400th BS version of the patch. One curious thing is the line of stitching around the skull. I have no idea why this was added but it is present on the two originals I've seen (see pic below), so I also included it on my example. If anyone has any thoughts on the line of stitching, please let me know. Finally to the right is the patch for the 400th BS. Apologies for the reflections but this one is currently in a frame.

Original 400th BS version of the 90th BG patch.

 

[ausreenactor]

I promised to post some more 'Aussi made' embroidered patches, so here goes. The first set is from the 307th BG. On the left is one of my favourite designs: the Group's Long Ranger patch featuring a cowboy cat, riding a bomb (I wonder if that was the inspiration for the famous shot in Dr Strangelove some 20 years later!). This was a particularly tricky design to work out, as the images I used as reference were of rather worn out originals - how the chaps, holster, gauntlet and saddle fitted together was not very clear but a better image luckily came to the rescue. There is also an alternate group design featuring a stylised LR, as carried on the vertical stabilisers of the Group's B-24s. On the right is the 371st BS of the same group (the 424th BS patch in my previous post was a sister squadron).

View attachment 51372

Next up is another 90th BG patch but something a bit different this time. This is a chain stitched example of the 400th BS version of the patch. One curious thing is the line of stitching around the skull. I have no idea why this was added but it is present on the two originals I've seen (see pic below), so I also included it on my example. If anyone has any thoughts on the line of stitching, please let me know. Finally to the right is the patch for the 400th BS. Apologies for the reflections but this one is currently in a frame.

View attachment 51373

Original 400th BS version of the 90th BG.

View attachment 51374

Awesome. Thanks for posting the pics!

 

[Yardstick]

I thought I'd showcase a different technique this time. This is my attempt at replicating silk screening on fabric. I do this by stretching wet canvas over an embroidery hoop and use very watery acrylic to lay down the colour with a brush. This bleeds a little to give the effect of a silkscreened original. The end result has a matt finish, with the paint soaked into the the fabric rather than sitting on the surface. I generally back these patches with a light cotton calico to prevent the cut edge fraying.

The first two patches are from the 587th BS, 394th BG and 556th BS, 387th BG respectively.

Next are a couple of group patches. On the left is the 5th Bomb Group, the famous Bomber Barons and on the right the 42nd Bomb Group, The Crusaders.

 

[ausreenactor]

These are awesome!

 

[Yardstick]

Back to the Assui made embroidered patches today with the 345th Bomb Group - 'The Air Apaches'.

First up is the Australian version of the group patch, which uses 4 threads per stitch for a very dense effect. In my opinion it is a much nicer patch than the more common machine embroidered on twill, US made version. On the right is a curious version of the same patch. To be honest I am not even sure if this replicates a genuine WW2 patch or even the 345th BG. However, the image I used as a reference is over 20 years old and that patch is attached to a suitably aged A-2, so it may have been a theatre made one off commission. Anyway it is an unusual (but not unique) construction mixing a fabric backing with multi-piece leather and embroidered detail.

Next are patches for the 499th and 500th Bomb Squadrons. Both are fully hand embroidered, while the originals are likely to have been machine embroidered with hand finished detailing. There is also an interesting (I think earlier) version of the 499th BS, featuring a pterodactyl and I'll add this to my collection at some point.

Next is the 501st bomb squadron. I've seen a lot of variations of this design, both embroidered and painted on leather. This however, is my favourite version - simple but clean and quite tricky to do the detailing accurately by hand.

The only patch missing from the 345th BG, is the 498th BS, which is a really striking design. Up until recently I have only ever seen the chenille version of this (below), which is beyond my abilities to replicate. However, I now have an image of a painted version that appears to be period. BTW if anyone does have an image of an embroidered 498th BS, please post it.

Finally this is the original image of the second of the 345th BG patches I flagged earlier - I'd be interested if anyone has thoughts about its province.

 

[ausreenactor]

More great patches...

Are you making much stuff currently?

 

[Yardstick]

Yes, I've spent the last couple of months almost exclusively doing CBI multi-piece patches. I'd been struggling to source the correct leather for a while and rationed my output of those patches to ones that minimised the amount of leather used (some multi-piece designs can use four 5 inch disks worth). Now I have restocked, I'm doing a number of designs I had in the 'to-do-pile' for a while.

 

[Yardstick]

I thought I'd post some patches from another Aussi based unit again today, this time the 43rd Bomb Group - 'Ken's Men'.

First up is the 63rd BS. This is the 'Sea Hawks' design that replaced the earlier winged castle / fortress design after the squadron transitioned from B-17s to B-24s. As with all these embroidered patches the difficultly is generally a factor of the number of stitches and this one has a lot of those.

Next up is the 64th BS.

Finally, we have one of my all time favourite patches, the 403rd BS, 'Mareeba Butchers'. Again a complex patch that took a far amount of concentration to pull off.

I haven't done the 65th BS yet as it is a less interesting design featuring 2 dice, flanked by 2 lightning bolts with some versions also featuring an aerial bomb. However, the completionist in me is going to compel me to make it at some time in the future

 

[ausreenactor]

Seriously dude! Make em and we will buy em.

403rd is really good. Mine arrived today..

The 63rd looked like a Navy patch when I spied one initially. Dismissed a BR B-10 until I took a Google dive. Bought it, shipped it and threw it in a vacuum bag with some BR Tankers....


Great work Sir!

 

[ausreenactor]

Here is an original Aussie made 63rd patch.

And the cheap reproduction 403rd Bomb/66th Troop Carrier patches.