Articles: M-1951 Nasty Japanese Fakes Hit The Market !!
Copyright fishtailparkas.com 2006...
With the consistently rising values and increasing rarity of Genuine M51 parkas, it was only a matter of time before reproductions hit the market and guess what? They are here.
Being knocked up in japanese and chinese sweatshops these grim looking fakes are often being peddled as genuine to unsuspecting buyers.
The majority are made in Japan by a company called union casual but these are clearly being marketed as "reproductions" to the ever growing japanese mod market., who don't seem to care about originality. Basically, they are doing nothing wrong as they are telling no one these are genuine US Army Issue M51's.
However, the problem arrises when tossers then attempt to resell this repro rubbish as genuine to unsuspecting buyers for a tidy sum. There are a number of german ebay sellers peddling this fake parka as genuine so be warned.
So how good a fake is it? Well so far I have actually found two main fakes knocking about. One, the above mentioned japanse job which is actually quite good except for the lining. The shell is the right colour (Olive Drab/Oxford Green Shade 107), the material is the right mix of cotton and other fabircs, the cut is good, the hood is good, the only give aways are the lack of a conmar zipper, instead we have a shiny brass looking thing and fishtail press studs are not present on the bottom fishtails. Apart from that and the fact that is looks brand new as oppose to 55 years old, it's frighteningly good. However, you will be pleased to hear that the "good" stops with the shell, the liner is way off using an entirely different setup to the original M51, instead using an elastic cuff padded liner similar to the N3B parkas. Imagine a later m65 nylon liner with elastic cuffs as oppose to the buttons and you are somewhere near.
Next up is the Germans of fishtailparkas.de with thier "streetstyle M51" which is a direct attempt at ripping off the M51. Now, the website in question does say that it is a repro however, according to some, they don't like to make it too clear, if you know what I mean. And as for the current ebay auctions being ran by german sellers (same people behind fishtailparkas.de) claiming to have constant stocks of Brand New M51's....you have to ask a few questions....Brand New AND 55 years old ??? a constant stock of one of the hardest to find items out there?????.....
Plus the pictures in question look startling similar to the very same pictures used by the japanse makers of their M51 repro ???
So having heard a few dark stories about these german "streetstyle" fakes, I went out of my way to obtain one. Sheesh, I should not have worried it's so obvsiouly fake its painful. Sadly it is not always so easy to tell just looking at a crappy digital photo being used on an ebay ad or a website so be careful. Look at the picture above, what do you think ? its a terrible fake, wrong in every respect, yet in the picture it dont look so bad does it !!!
This "streetstyle M51" as it gets called is the wrong colour, it's the wrong material, it's the wrong cut and I really aint sure what is worse, the pathetic attempt at a repro M51 Mohair Freeze Liner or the equally pathetic attempt at an M51 Shell. Bottom line, none of it is right and you might as well go to millets or any other high street shop and pick up anyone of the glut of "lookalike" fishtail parkas knocking around...
So be careful people, call the seller, speak to them, ask if you can see the parka and try it on so you can check it out yourself. If they have a genuine parka, they won't mind one bit if you ask to see it or try it one. Be careful on ebay especially and watch out for them germans.....they are a dodgy bunch, ask anyone living in coventry 50 years ago :)....
Or you can just give me a call, most of you know me by now and that I deal only in authentic US Military parkas, you can come and see me, I will put the kettle on and you can try your parka on. Simple.
Happy hunting.....
