wwii axis reenactment forum

Has anyone bought from these people?:

http://www.luftwaffesupplies.com/

I was thinking of getting something from them, but had never heard of them before,wondered if anyone on here had any dealings with them? (I've done a quick search and can't find any reference to them on here....)

Cheers,

Ade

Most of the stuff looks like it's from Barry in Hong Kong...so, over priced...the Luftwaffe eagles on the caps I'm not too fond of...

Ulrich,

If by "most" of the stuff, you're simply refering to the Splinter B items, there's no use in trying to re-invent the wheel. There's a wide consensus on this forum and within many re-enactment groups, that Barry's Splinter B is actually amongst the very few patterns that is close to the originals.

Whereas for the statement of them being overpriced, I would like to give you a breakdown of the costs that we, as re-enactors in the EU, undergo. Let's take the Jump smock from Barry as an example:

• Item: $105
• shipping: $25
• total in USD: $130
• total in EUR: €105

Upon arrival, many a times we're faced with customs charges of 18-21% VAT and on average 15% Import tax (because the value is over €100).

• 21% VAT: €22
• Import Tax: €15

For a total of €142, compared to €125 + shipping from LWS. And the average duration of LWS from Checkout to receiving the item within EU is 4-5 Working days. You all know the duration of shipping and dispatch time from China.

These are the obvious costs. The non-obvious costs keep on increasing whenever the wrong size (or the wrong item) is sent. You either end up having to get a new product, or incur the costs of sending the stuff back, and possibly have to incur custom charges again.

The reason that I stock such items, apart from the ones which are made according to my specification, is to offer all the good products in a one-stop shop, and avoid such occurrences as above. At LWS, all items are checked for size before packing, because we believe that the customer should really get what they pay for and not having to hassle with the unnecessary stuff. We've all been there, done that. Do you think it's really overpriced now?

As I'm sure you will agree, the price is just a fraction of the overall story. And for non-regular sizes, custom tailoring is also available on many of the items because we want the best for the re-enactors, not having to make do with what's thrown at them.

christiandbn wrote:Ulrich,

If by "most" of the stuff, you're simply refering to the Splinter B items, there's no use in trying to re-invent the wheel. There's a wide consensus on this forum and within many re-enactment groups, that Barry's Splinter B is actually amongst the very few patterns that is close to the originals.

Whereas for the statement of them being overpriced, I would like to give you a breakdown of the costs that we, as re-enactors in the EU, undergo. Let's take the Jump smock from Barry as an example:

• Item: $105
• shipping: $25
• total in USD: $130
• total in EUR: €105

Upon arrival, many a times we're faced with customs charges of 18-21% VAT and on average 15% Import tax (because the value is over €100).

• 21% VAT: €22
• Import Tax: €15

For a total of €142, compared to €125 + shipping from LWS. And the average duration of LWS from Checkout to receiving the item within EU is 4-5 Working days. You all know the duration of shipping and dispatch time from China.

These are the obvious costs. The non-obvious costs keep on increasing whenever the wrong size (or the wrong item) is sent. You either end up having to get a new product, or incur the costs of sending the stuff back, and possibly have to incur custom charges again.

The reason that I stock such items, apart from the ones which are made according to my specification, is to offer all the good products in a one-stop shop, and avoid such occurrences as above. At LWS, all items are checked for size before packing, because we believe that the customer should really get what they pay for and not having to hassle with the unnecessary stuff. We've all been there, done that. Do you think it's really overpriced now?

As I'm sure you will agree, the price is just a fraction of the overall story. And for non-regular sizes, custom tailoring is also available on many of the items because we want the best for the re-enactors, not having to make do with what's thrown at them.

Sorry, I didn't mean to bash so hard, I'm just more fed up with other suppliers adding 200% to the price of which they bought it from China and it leaves me with a bit of a short fuse there. Or here in Switzerland, they buy a tunic from Zib for €70 and send it to a German border address, smuggle it accross and sell the tunic for CHF 180.-

I agree that the wait from China is long and there is the risk of import tax (doesn't happen each time on private orders). So the price is actually reasonable, I take it back.

As for most of the stuff, it just looked like a lot of the tropical stuff is in fact from Barry, but he does make some nice tropical items. I really do like his DAK tunics.

The tailor made made option of improving the uniforms is a nice touch as I find myself having to repair or correct some parts myself.

My apologies Kamerad

Just to add, since my original post starting this thread, I've bought from Christian at Luftwaffe Supplies, and got quick and efficient service - I would recommend them...

Me too! Good, fast service. Thanks, Christian.

I have one of his fliegerbluse and i like it!

No need for apologies. I am a re-enactor myself and I appreciate these concerns.

The heer tropical tunics on the website are not Barry's, reason being that the cut is not that accurate, especially the scalloping of the pockets. Compare that to the ones on LWS and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Oberleutnant Ulrich wrote:

christiandbn wrote:Ulrich,

If by "most" of the stuff, you're simply refering to the Splinter B items, there's no use in trying to re-invent the wheel. There's a wide consensus on this forum and within many re-enactment groups, that Barry's Splinter B is actually amongst the very few patterns that is close to the originals.

Whereas for the statement of them being overpriced, I would like to give you a breakdown of the costs that we, as re-enactors in the EU, undergo. Let's take the Jump smock from Barry as an example:

• Item: $105
• shipping: $25
• total in USD: $130
• total in EUR: €105

Upon arrival, many a times we're faced with customs charges of 18-21% VAT and on average 15% Import tax (because the value is over €100).

• 21% VAT: €22
• Import Tax: €15

For a total of €142, compared to €125 + shipping from LWS. And the average duration of LWS from Checkout to receiving the item within EU is 4-5 Working days. You all know the duration of shipping and dispatch time from China.

These are the obvious costs. The non-obvious costs keep on increasing whenever the wrong size (or the wrong item) is sent. You either end up having to get a new product, or incur the costs of sending the stuff back, and possibly have to incur custom charges again.

The reason that I stock such items, apart from the ones which are made according to my specification, is to offer all the good products in a one-stop shop, and avoid such occurrences as above. At LWS, all items are checked for size before packing, because we believe that the customer should really get what they pay for and not having to hassle with the unnecessary stuff. We've all been there, done that. Do you think it's really overpriced now?

As I'm sure you will agree, the price is just a fraction of the overall story. And for non-regular sizes, custom tailoring is also available on many of the items because we want the best for the re-enactors, not having to make do with what's thrown at them.

Sorry, I didn't mean to bash so hard, I'm just more fed up with other suppliers adding 200% to the price of which they bought it from China and it leaves me with a bit of a short fuse there. Or here in Switzerland, they buy a tunic from Zib for €70 and send it to a German border address, smuggle it accross and sell the tunic for CHF 180.-

I agree that the wait from China is long and there is the risk of import tax (doesn't happen each time on private orders). So the price is actually reasonable, I take it back.

As for most of the stuff, it just looked like a lot of the tropical stuff is in fact from Barry, but he does make some nice tropical items. I really do like his DAK tunics.

The tailor made made option of improving the uniforms is a nice touch as I find myself having to repair or correct some parts myself.

My apologies Kamerad

Ordered some custom made lufty officer trousers. they are fantastic, all i need to say!
Christian is a top bloke to deal with, communication was great all the time!

Kameraden,

Just to let you know that all Tropical uniforms are back in stock, ready to ship within 24 hours.

I am also happy to share with you some nice reversible blurred-edge camo smocks. This would be of great interest for a HGD impression in North Africa. Now in stock as well.




More pictures on the Blurred Edge Smock Page

Dear All,

I know some of you have been asking, especially a group of Luftwaffe and HG Re-enactors in the US wish to have a good replica of the Green HBT uniform, as used by all branches of the German Airforce.

I'm using a few original samples and you can follow any progress on my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 315&type=3

I have material for 15 sets and will be tackled on a first come first served basis. If these are a success, I don't see a reason not to make a few more batches, and hopefully even try to make the HBT uniform a reality!

Will share more details and photos once I have them.

Hi Christian ,
I'd no idea SS camo was seen in N . Afrika - I've seen Splinta on FJ , and I know the HGD wasn't SS - and was only there in small numbers as it was forming , before it surrendered . Did they really wear blurred edge smocks ?

Yes, the HGD was not fully deployed in Africa. But SS Camo was used by HG troops well before that. There are photos of them doing maneuvers in France and other photos of blurred edge still being used in Sicily and Africa. That means that this camo was not just used with Tropical uniforms, but also with winter uniforms as well, depending on the scenario.

The book "Fallschirmpanzerdivision HermannGoering", by Bruce Quarrie has some excellent photos of such examples. I have added some information about the history of its use on the product page as well.

Thanks for the info !

Osprey also has some nice examples in their books as well.

Last picture almost looks like a version of Liebermuster camo!