Finnish uniforms

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saddler
Posts: 176
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2007 9:22 pm
Location: Edinburgh area
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Re: Finnish uniforms

Post by saddler »

byf44 wrote:
kelp wrote:http://stores.ebay.com/hikishop/WWII-Fi ... 1718734010

Hi the discussion about Hiki uniforms above are a few years old now.
Can anyone comment on the quality of M36 they are currently selling?
I'm still waiting on mine. But the straight leg stone grey trousers they sell are decent. The prong-style equipment belt appropriate for Continuation War is OK too...very light and needs a lot of mink oil or brown dye.

I'm curious if they've improved their M/36 caps, myself. I have tried to order one of Varusteleka's Sarma repros but I can't seem to make a payment to them from the US to complete the transaction. They don't use PayPal; Hiki does. If Hiki's hats are of better quality now, I'd probably grab one from them just because I haven't had any transaction issues like I have with Varusteleka. But if they still don't look right, I won't waste the money.

Any input on the Hiki M/36 caps?
Maybe see if you can do the payment another way than PayPal?
One of my US based customers put me onto Xoom.com as an alternative. It's worked without any issues for quite a few transactions & means I can continue avoiding the negative PayPal "experience".

I'd love one of the new German made M/36 caps from Varusteleka too, but at 40 € ea. & 20 € P&P they're a little pricey.

My plan to attend the February arms show (Tamarms) fell through as the airline costs were excessively high compared to what I paid this time last year. A pity, as with another 12 months of research behind me I'd have been more aware of what to look out for & the going rates for items. Hoping to get back to at least one of the Swedish shows this year too! Airline route changes have a lot to answer for!
Have put the some of the airfare saved to good use today though, as I just bought some more Finnish reference books (a 3-volume set, for 265 € posted!). Saw the sets at the show last year, but swmbo was keeping tabs on me & I was dying of man-flu so neither of the brain cells were fully operational that day. Been kicking myself since that I never bought the books (& several other items) hence the NEED to return.

Anyway, give that Xoom thing a try.
Royalecosse
Posts: 75
Joined: Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:13 pm

Re: Finnish uniforms

Post by Royalecosse »

agree about the belt - I used leather stain to colour it! I bought one of his early caps and ditched it. I got two from a Finnish company that is now out of business (again I think from a film set surplus) and a decent cap from a Finn who heads up 5th Division. I note Hiki seems to have a more appropriate cap but do not intend to purchase that item.
byf44
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Apr 25, 2014 1:33 pm

Re: Finnish uniforms

Post by byf44 »

saddler wrote:
I'd love one of the new German made M/36 caps from Varusteleka too, but at 40 € ea. & 20 € P&P they're a little pricey.
My plan was to order one with an original breadbag from their re-enactors section, until I corresponded with a representative and found out the breadbags are all 1968 vintage or thereabouts. Totally off topic, but I found a guy here in the states who repros WWII Finnish breadbags (here's the link -- http://www.richardsreproductions.com/mo ... neous.html -- just in case anyone on here is looking for a breadbag with strap).

What I've found with axis repro headgear is that, in terms of authenticity, you get out of a hat what you pay for it. I have a Lost Battalions M43 cap for my Heer impression and it was worth the cost, wait, and the hassle to get. IMO, the M/36 cap is the most "iconic" component of the Finnish uniform, so I believe it's worth the cost. If only they weren't making it so hard for non-Finns to pay for one!
saddler wrote:
Maybe see if you can do the payment another way than PayPal?
It looks like wire transfer or an international money order's going to be the only way. I'll definitely check out Xoom but I've already been back and forth with Varusteleka reps and they correctly identified the problem: here in the US, banks and CC companies put fraud restrictions on purchases to Finland for some odd reason. I have already asked to do a potential deal via Transferwise out of the UK/Estonia as it is recommended on their site. We'll see what happens. Thanks for the recommendation.
Last edited by byf44 on Wed Feb 04, 2015 10:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
byf44
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Apr 25, 2014 1:33 pm

Re: Finnish uniforms

Post by byf44 »

Royalecosse wrote:I note Hiki seems to have a more appropriate cap but do not intend to purchase that item.
Any particular reason you wouldn't buy one?

I'm having second thoughts now that I'm able to view the Hiki page.

http://www.hikishop.com/ww2-finnish-em- ... p-491.html

For me, I look at their reproduction and it seems too "boxy" compared to the Varusteleka product. Also, I'm not so sure about the wool color, as I flipped through my copy of Asepuku M/36 a few minutes ago and didn't see an EM cap that wasn't dark or stone grey in the color plates section. The German-made caps just look "right" to me contour-wise, whereas Hiki's seem slightly off. Maybe I'm way off base here...I've only been studying the Finnish Army uniform closely for about a year now.

Interested to hear your opinions on the issues you see with the current Hiki product, if you care to share...
saddler
Posts: 176
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2007 9:22 pm
Location: Edinburgh area
Contact:

Re: Finnish uniforms

Post by saddler »

byf44 wrote:
saddler wrote:
I'd love one of the new German made M/36 caps from Varusteleka too, but at 40 € ea. & 20 € P&P they're a little pricey.
My plan was to order one with an original breadbag from their re-enactors section, until I corresponded with a representative and found out the breadbags are all 1968 vintage or thereabouts. Totally off topic, but I found a guy here in the states who repros WWII Finnish breadbags (here's the link -- http://www.richardsreproductions.com/mo ... neous.html -- just in case anyone on here is looking for a breadbag with strap).

What I've found with axis repro headgear is that, in terms of authenticity, you get out of a hat what you pay for it. I have a Lost Battalions M43 cap for my Heer impression and it was worth the cost, wait, and the hassle to get. IMO, the M/36 cap is the most "iconic" component of the Finnish uniform, so I believe it's worth the cost. If only they weren't making it so hard for non-Finns to pay for one!
saddler wrote:
Maybe see if you can do the payment another way than PayPal?
It looks like wire transfer or an international money order's going to be the only way. I'll definitely check out Xoom but I've already been back and forth with Varusteleka reps and they correctly identified the problem: here in the US, banks and CC companies put fraud restrictions on purchases to Finland for some odd reason. I have already asked to do a potential deal via Transferwise out of the UK/Estonia as it is recommended on their site. We'll see what happens. Thanks for the recommendation.
Let me know if you get stuck with the payment transfer...it may be the motivation I need to order a cap for myself if I also haev them send yours to me. Shipping from the UK to the USA for is not that high - it may even work out as the cheaper option for both of us (given their 20 € P&P flat-rate)

Appreciate the pointer for the breadbag repro's too. Have dropped him an e-mail to order one.
byf44
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Apr 25, 2014 1:33 pm

Re: Finnish uniforms

Post by byf44 »

saddler wrote:
Let me know if you get stuck with the payment transfer...it may be the motivation I need to order a cap for myself if I also haev them send yours to me. Shipping from the UK to the USA for is not that high - it may even work out as the cheaper option for both of us (given their 20 € P&P flat-rate)

Appreciate the pointer for the breadbag repro's too. Have dropped him an e-mail to order one.
Hmm...Interesting idea to do a bulk order, considering the Varusteleka flat-rate to the US is a bit over € 28. I will certainly let you know what happens if I attempt this again tomorrow...but if you want to order one for you and one for me, I can send you a PayPal payment for the cost of a cap, half the shipping for the hats to Scotland, and the full shipping cost for you to send one cap to me over here.

You can PM me if you want to discuss this further.

The breadbag guy is a little backlogged, but he should answer you quickly and tell you where you'll fall in the queue to have him make one.
saddler
Posts: 176
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2007 9:22 pm
Location: Edinburgh area
Contact:

Re: Finnish uniforms

Post by saddler »

byf44 wrote:
saddler wrote:
Let me know if you get stuck with the payment transfer...it may be the motivation I need to order a cap for myself if I also haev them send yours to me. Shipping from the UK to the USA for is not that high - it may even work out as the cheaper option for both of us (given their 20 € P&P flat-rate)

Appreciate the pointer for the breadbag repro's too. Have dropped him an e-mail to order one.
Hmm...Interesting idea to do a bulk order, considering the Varusteleka flat-rate to the US is a bit over € 28. I will certainly let you know what happens if I attempt this again tomorrow...but if you want to order one for you and one for me, I can send you a PayPal payment for the cost of a cap, half the shipping for the hats to Scotland, and the full shipping cost for you to send one cap to me over here.

You can PM me if you want to discuss this further.

The breadbag guy is a little backlogged, but he should answer you quickly and tell you where you'll fall in the queue to have him make one.
If I can sort out the M36 caps for both at 20Euro P&P to me, that will then mean the P&P from here will be about $8.
It's not down to the shop...it's due to the Finnish Post Office rates being so high...even worse than Sweden, which is saying something!
The Post Office here can be a bit !?!?!?!? too. I've sent identical packages in the past & have paid a lower fee if the package is sent to Europe instead of going within the UK.

I stopped using PayPal due to the politics of the firm & I know a few people that deal in gun accessories that have recently had their accounts frozen by them, even though they were initially advised that firearms accessories would not fall foul of the PP anti-firearm policy.

No rush to get the cap money to me...I just need a few days to juggle some funds around here before I order from Varusteleka as it's been a "spendy" week/month & I'm due to collect a very expensive leatherwork machine next week so need to keep cash aside for that.

Chances are I'll be ordering the cap(s) in about 10 days; but this may change as a couple of my spare shotguns may have buyers, so as soon as more cash is freed up I will get back to you for your size requirements & then sort out the order to Finland from this end.
You could always put some of the saved P&P money toward a treat - I may add a can of Kalakalle (Fish Cock) to the parcel as long as it keeps the P&P at 20Eu

Will PM you with updates
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