Best Tunic on the mart.. on a budget..

[feldman]

How is the wool in his M43 trousers ?

How is the wool thickness in these.. if you order them today.. compared to originals ?

[Moller]

There was one picture of a Gavins tunic....for all the discussion about his tunics.... Can we see other pictures please... I am asking as I am too contemplating of getting one..
cheers

Moller

[John Wilson]

Not got a wool tunic from Gavin, RAU or any others mentioned, I'm not in a position to comment on them.
But I will say, if it's a cheap and cheerful knockabout denim/hbt,(class it how you want) tunic then Hikishop is well worth the measly few quid it costs.
It's maybe not the best material for the purists but it is herring bone weave, it is a nice shade of green and it is perfectly usable for rolling about in the mud, if that is your forte.

[POA1944]

Gavin militaria's german tunics are the best out there as far as "imported" german feldblusen.

Some of Sturm's stuff is pretty good too.And some is crap

Here is a photo of my M40 Heer Infanterie Feldbluse and it is very good quality and compares with originals...Which i believe is a sturm.The wool is nice,Cut is good,Correct Heer pattern lining and material.

[ShaneH]

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[Steiner]

Plenty of photographic evidence of bottle green shoulderboards on tunics with Feldgrau collars, and Feldgrau shoulderboards on M36s.

[Gebirgsziege]

Yes I agree that the shoulder boards look black in the image posted. Yes, that would be incorrect if they are so.

But, I have to agree with Steiner [at least partially]. I have seen a large number of photos where bottle green shoulder boards were being worn on M40 and later model tunics. I have even seen a number of portraits where soldiers are even wearing the pointed pre-war boards on M40 and later tunics. I just have yet to see [or maybe I just can't recall seeing] grey boards on an M36!?! If the pendulum swung one way, I am sure it wen't the other.

[POA1944]

They are Bottle Green heer infantry boards.And They were seen till 1945..It is just my camera that isn't showing they are green.....I know what i am doing,Peiper....

[POA1944]

And another thing is,this tunic is set up for early war..Incase you can't tell by model and insignia set....And there was M40's with early war insignia worn in 1944....You should learn more about how EVERYTHING was issued during the late war years...

[POA1944]

I am going to be replacing the insignia soon to the late war setup.Generic Grey litzen,M43 Breast eagle,Feldgrau shoulder boards.Since i portray a late war unit...But overall.Early war stuff was issued till the end from old stocks.I have seen the green shoulder boards worn on Late war M43 tunics as well.And another thing i meant to add...The M40 tunic isn't exactly a "early war" tunic...They were made until 1943 (Mid-War)and were the most issued throughout the war...Peiper,I suggest you research the uniforms the Heer was wearing in 1944 before you call my stuff "incorrect"...Just a friendly suggestion dude.And you will see EVERYTHING...I have seen M36 tunics in the Battle of the Bulge in late 44...And other early war items used....The list goes on...I don't mean to sound so harsh but i have to let you know...

[m1steelpot]

I am going to be replacing the insignia soon to the late war setup.Generic Grey litzen,M43 Breast eagle,Feldgrau shoulder boards.Since i portray a late war unit...But overall.Early war stuff was issued till the end from old stocks.I have seen the green shoulder boards worn on Late war M43 tunics as well.And another thing i meant to add...The M40 tunic isn't exactly a "early war" tunic...They were made until 1943 (Mid-War)and were the most issued throughout the war...Peiper,I suggest you research the uniforms the Heer was wearing in 1944 before you call my stuff "incorrect"...Just a friendly suggestion dude.And you will see EVERYTHING...I have seen M36 tunics in the Battle of the Bulge in late 44...And other early war items used....The list goes on...I don't mean to sound so harsh but i have to let you know...

If you correlate numbers of conscripts with german production and industry figures, the M42/3 series would probably have been most plentiful. There are no primary source documents to tell what was the most plentiful or most common. The best we can do is infer information from photos and so on. Photos of my unit show them wearing primarily M43 series uniforms in the post-Stalingrad refit in 1943. Then again, the photos of my unit in Italy have them with Geb. pullover anoraks and italian camo trousers, coupled with tropical uniforms. Weird stuff. One photo of a guy from the unit I reenact as (Heer) was wearing an FJ helmet and smock in a 1943 dated photo of him in Italy. Too weird to recreate.

I have a photo of a guy from 9/G.R. 8 in 1945 wearing bottlegreen boards with direct embroidered boards. I feel a mix of boards is A-O-K in a post 1939 scenario. You sometimes still see the bottlegreen pointed boards in photos from 41-42.

Since you're wearing the M40 Feldbluse, I'd go with what was most common to wear on it. M38 (rounded, bottlegreen) or M40 boards, generic "green" litzen, and the grey on green breast eagle. Study untouched original examples and see what they have. To date nobody really does the latewar Litzen right anyway.

Then again, tunics were reconditioned and reissued throughout the war. You could see weird late insignia on an M36, sometimes people put the early stuff on late things (like backed tabs on M44 tunics and so on)

[Steiner]

I just have yet to see [or maybe I just can't recall seeing] grey boards on an M36!?! If the pendulum swung one way, I am sure it wen't the other.

See the picture in the Brian Davis book showing the M36 tunic, worn by a guy with an MG on his shoulder...
[edit - plate 237]

[geoffpara]

You also have to factor in not just the supply and availability at the time but the group and individual factors that might determine what an individual might decide, or is being encouraged, to wear during the war.

FJ were hanging on to their step-in smocks to show their status as "old hares". That changed later in the war as jump school smocks used with trainees on their initial para course were being re-issued To front-line units which then suggested not an older experienced status but that of a recruit. The same with Brit paras in the late seventies when the dennison smocks were being exchanged for the new DPM smocks, people wanted to hang on to them for as long as they could; faded denims trousers and smocks as opposed to brand new ones. Same as in the fire brigade in the seventies when people wanted to wear the older gear or rank markings because there was a status associated with it. At some stage we get to a 'tipping point' where everyone changes to the new kit for mdifferent reasons. We see something similar within SBG where some of the more 'exotic' bits of kit that could have been worn is reserved for SNCOs and above as in their supposed 'years of war-time service' they are more likely to have obtained this type of kit, held on to it and were still using it outside the period of issue.

So although we might expect to see the field-grey boards individuals may have obtained the older style bottle-green, which in the culture of their unit may have suggested an older more experienced status. Plus they may just have just simply thought the bottle green shoulder boards looked better than the ones they were issued so they went about obtaining a pair. It's the culture that is prevalent that one battalion might have a preponderance of one type of board whereas in its sister battalion it's another style. As much as we see reenactors wanting to be a "little bit" different the same happens in the military itself. Hence we see pictures of the different badges being worn on the side of M43 caps such the Meindl or Schimpf badges with two of the FJ divisions and similarly with the gebirgsjaeger divisions.

Some reenactment groups like to show the differences whereas others prefer uniformity. If it's a full dress parade then the latter would be more appropriate but how many reenactment groups do that? Not many I would suggest.

The colour of the tunic in question looks more like that as if it had been made from the Italian wool. The wearing of SS shoulder boards with a Heer tunic is so basic that it would suggest the colours in the picture are deceptive. In a subsequent post the poster tells us that is what the issue is. Therefore the choice of picture and in the context of what was being asked might be questioned. Is it a good tunic? Not based on the colours being shown in that picture but we now know it's more to do with the pic colours than the tunic. My only comment would be along the lines of it not being the best picture to have used. Let's not be so quick to be judgemental.

[dagda]

dont worry about it Pipes, **** the begrudgers

[POA1944]

This is at Peiper.

My tunic's pockets are fine.I have seen original example's of the M40 feldbluse in person and it is just like it.Correct internal Heer pattern lining,Cut,Pockets...The works....And i have been studying & collecting ORIGINAL militaria for years.