Heads Up: Denim Tank Suit news

[Jim Burrill]

Thanks for the kind words!!! Hope the Denim AFV suits project has fewer (to zero) blips with sizes as the Pixies did. Thanks everyone for being so understanding. Got about two Pixies to finish sorting the size rebuilds so everyone is whole with swaps and shipping and all.

Cheers,
Jim

[Jim Burrill]

This is a picture taken yesterday of the prototype Denim AFV Crewsuit.

Irfan is sending it to me to review and I should get it Monday or Tuesday.

I will compare with the one I had made from an original about 10 years ago, and also the ones Das Adler was making. Irfan had an original to copy from for this project.

I just learned that Soldier of Fortune is selling their own copy of the Crewsuit, but reports are that they are shite.

If anyone has one, and can state the flaws, I will make a point of comparing that against Irfan's version.

[Robert Bergeron]

Jim, now that is a nice crewsuit !

[Bob Carriere]

.....following the thread with interest.

Thanks for taking the time to make it happen.

Cheers

[tankbarrell]

Originally Posted by Jim Burrill

Thanks for the kind words!!! Hope the Denim AFV suits project has fewer (to zero) blips with sizes as the Pixies did. Thanks everyone for being so understanding. Got about two Pixies to finish sorting the size rebuilds so everyone is whole with swaps and shipping and all.

Cheers,
Jim

Not quite everyone! My friend still has his to sort. Other than buying a whole new one from Irfan, I'm not sure what else he can do.

[Jesse Browning]

This is the suit I bought from SF. I am very happy with the workmanship. It is very well made. As for it’s accuracy, I don’t know. I’ve never seen an original, and did not study them to a great extent.

[Jesse Browning]

I will try to list the positives and negatives from my experience with this suit and SF.
The positives: Like I said, the suit is very well make; very heavy duty. It was at my house (in the Midwest USA, from the UK) in 3 days after ordered. The size 4 fits me well with tee shirt and shorts under it (I’m 6’ 200 lbs). The buckles are all the same and machine made (I have one of Irfans Pixie suits).
The negatives: The sizing with SF was a problem too. According to their size chart, I needed a size 5. When I first tried it on, the sleeves were 6” past the end of my fingers. Likewise the legs were 6” too long. The actual waist measurement was 62”. SF didn’t want to take responsibility for the error, sending me a picture of someone they said was my same size wearing a size 5. They said he looked fine ( even though his shoulder seam was half way between his shoulder and elbow. After many emails and phone calls, I didn’t hear from them again, and had to have my credit card company reverse payment. I’m still out the $80 it cost to send it back. The suit was 80 GBP and about 60 GBP shipping to the US. My son ordered me the size 4. As I said, I don’t know much about the accuracy. Someone with more knowledge on the subject can critique that.

[Tim Bell]

Irfan has one of my original 1950s denim tank suits to use for reference.

Tim

[Jim Burrill]

Jesse... That fabric doesn't look like denim, but simple dyed cotton twill.

Look at the insides of your bluejeans... Denim is woven with the warp a previously dyed color thread, and the weft is white. Both are cotton threads. So the woven fabric is all cotton, like twill. But twill as used by What Price Glory and other firms as they couldn't get denim of a wartime color.

Irfan and I received an order of 3,000 meters from a mill in Pakistan he had a relation work for.

I have the advance notice from DHL that I should have the prototype this Tuesday. I will give it a close scruitiny for proper construction and details and report here.

Adrian, PM me your friend with the problem with the Pixie. I am tryign to guide Irfan in resolving the remaining issues. A bit tricky... I am not a business partner with him.More of a B2B consultant. I have put in money to help buy the denim, but will not see any back. I will eventually receive some private order items - BREN Ammo boxes, pouches, BESA tool roll, and Wireless covers as repayment for my investment to buy the denim.

But I want everyone to be whole for trusting my "source" of buying the pixies.

[Ed Storey]

Why are these things being clearly marked as reproductions on the inside of the clothing? It is a difficult and challenging task already to document the story of most wartime clothing without an infusion of similarly marked reproductions to muddy the waters. Taking the responsible approach of clearly marking these garments as reproductions has no effect on how the items look when being worn by today's hobbyists and is respectful to future enthusiasts who will be left trying to sort out the copies from the fakes.