Dressing Up In Period Uniforms At Airshows – How?!

Probably because it’s more glamorous, looks better, and doesn’t require wearing as much wool!

Oh, and gives an excuse to wear as many guns as possible….

And medal ribbons. The Canadian forces being like ourselves (not giving a medal for everything) always reckoned the Americans got a medal for being housetrained. I do know that they get a medal for serving overseas (not even in a combat zone) and for passing their annual weapons qualification. Huh? I always thought being able to use a weapon effectively was what a soldier was paid for, not something they got a medal for. Although I was in a technical branch of the army I still had to pass my weapon qualification every year. As we were always told “A soldier first, a tradesman second”.

Wow! Thanks for all the info guys.. i figured there was a whole world of period dress up groups out there somewhere!! 😀 All these websites will keep me busy for some time! …now i know where to look, i can start planning my new appearance! :p

Sorry but for me too, its going to have to be 8th AF, you would never guess from my avtar huh?!:D …plus i already have an A2!:p

The quality isn’t particularly good, especially when such higher quality stuff is available from the likes of Pegasus Militaria for not a great deal more, plus their original items (webbing etc) are much more expensive than elsewhere

[QUOTE=Rlangham;1315569]Wouldn’t touch their British stuff, QUOTE]

Why – I’m intrigued………..

I recommend WhatPriceGlory:
http://www.whatpriceglory.com/
I have some of their stuff and it looks spot on. The quality is very high.

Probably because it’s more glamorous, looks better, and doesn’t require wearing as much wool!

Oh, and gives an excuse to wear as many guns as possible….

…and medals: water-boiling, toast-turning, shoelace-tying, hat-wearing, handwriting..you know, all the important military stuff.

Hi All,

well I was involved in re-enactment for many years portraying WW2, but I have not done it for a few years now, the Kit is quite easy to get and “Sometimes” not all that expensive, However it can get addictive ,with members of groups buying more a more equiptment, especailythe WW2 period.

ne thing I did notice was at the time Most people in re-enactment seemed to go for the “German-American” groups due to basicly ,the nicer looking uniforms, I do remember a group who used to dress as Luftwaffe fighter pilots, the kit they wore at shows was very impressive,and extrememely expensive the one thing with re-enactment is you can land yourself in debt very quickly when you get immersed in the new hobby, that is one reason i chose to get out of it,

However it can be very rewarding and lots of fun, most uniforms and equiptment have now been replicated for the re-enactment groups, and is a very lukrative business for some,
one such dealer is “Soldier of Fortune” who has a massive stock of copy equiptment ,and some original.
You will find Most re-enactors trawl through as Many Militaria fairs they can to find that elusive Item, Just like yourselves with aviation parts at aero jumbles, and then there is the many Deactivated weapons for display that many buy to take to these living history events,and quite often a good group will be involved in Film Work from time to time ,
I was lucky enough to be involved in filmwork near where we live thanks to Mr Paul Dudbridge ,a up and coming film director ,
Here is a link to a snippet from one of the battle scenes from “Katies mission”
Not bad for a student on a low budget, and he is getting better with every short film he makes;) (incidentaly I am the one on the MG34 MMG in the Hay rick)
This link takes you to the main page and if you scroll down to “Katies mission”have a look at that and then find the “Short clips” Link where there are about 4 snippets from the film, the Battle and Covering fire” just shows how re-enactors pulled together to help Mr dudbridge get this filmwork done
the cost for a film company to buy all this kit for actors etc is very expensive, hence why re-enactors from all ages in our past are a god send in some ways to the film industry .

http://www.hanoverpictures.co.uk/index.html

here is a few links to dealers etc

http://www.sofmilitary.co.uk/reenactors/index.asp

http://www.milweb.net/classifieds.php

Hope this is of help to you ,and might give you a idea of prices etc, if you so wished to start in such a hobby 😉

Why does it seem that most reenactors in the UK dress as US servicemen?
Are the uniforms easier to acquire?

Or is it something more basic…
Hershey bars? Better luck with the ladies? 😀

A bit of both really.

Years ago, (15-20 years ago) they were easier to get and they are infinitely more comfortable to wear than itchy serge wool of British BD….and the ladies of today still prefer in the same way their Grandmothers did…;)

Also, back then, with a lot more British veterans about, they were often very touchy about people wearing British unless you were absolutely spot on with look, bearing, attitude etc. So, a lot of people new to it just wanted to dress up, rather than learning a bit more about living history and respect for those that wore the uniform for real….and in respect of British uniform that means highly polished brasses, bulled footwear, correctly pressed BD, a bit of drill knowledge etc.,etc.

Now, while there are a good number of groups that correctly portray US units and do all that as well, it’s easier for someone starting out to do US. Economies of scale also mean repro kit are a bit more accessible and cheaper as a fall out of the kit made for Saving Private Ryan etc.

Back to the OP’s question, use that link from anneorac to the WW2 Living History forum or go to this one below and click on the USAAF threads. There is a new ‘super’ group USAAF unit starting up so you would be more than welcome to post there and you’ll get enough help.

http://www.wwiireenacting.co.uk/forum/

Eastman is good for flying jackets, shirts and pinks, but ebay is best for genuine service dress uniform jackets and accessories. Flying kit is v.expensive and collectable.

the German stuff I took today was for Tarrantino’s new film ….

Kill Hitler, Vol 1?
No, wait. that’s Cruise.

the German stuff I took today was for Tarrantino’s new film and looked amazing to me, i dont know about the British stuff though.

Wouldn’t touch their British stuff, no idea what their American/German stuff is like quality wise.

Fantastic if you want some cracking Nazi memorabilia, such as ‘Adolf Hitler Speeches volume 1’ or an SS poster to inspire you in the morning….

I went to this place today to pick up some Nazi uniforms for a film being made in Germany and they have a large range of things.

http://www.sofmilitary.co.uk/

hope that helps

Probably because it’s more glamorous, looks better, and doesn’t require wearing as much wool!

Oh, and gives an excuse to wear as many guns as possible….

Why does it seem that most reenactors in the UK dress as US servicemen?
Are the uniforms easier to acquire?

Or is it something more basic…
Hershey bars? Better luck with the ladies? 😀

Here’s a link page from one of these groups.

http://soldierblue.homestead.com/links.html

Or you could ask here.

http://www.livinghistory.co.uk/forums/

Anne

Suppose you don’t fancy doing Royal Flying Corps do you?

I’ve done it a couple of times for RFC, there’s a few forums for WW1 living historians and WW2. Generally do it for free, however have been paid a few times too (and also for other things leading from it, such as the Hovis Advert).

As for uniform, a mix of reproduction and original stuff, no idea about WW2 but WW1 is fairly easy to source if you know where to look. Not cheap, mind….

You could always ask Max Moseley……! :diablo: