Greetings.
I hope this finds anyone reading this getting ready for a relaxing, enjoyable Christmas and New Year's. Thank you for your interest and support in 2012. It was a great initial year for FCR, with a lot of "firsts." I am looking forward to 2013. Speaking of that...
My work on new products continues. I am progressing on the knapsack, and writing a new edition of ITR detailing life for the 8th Air Force bomber crewmen. The knapsack will be ready by summer, and the book will be very far along by that time. And, I am preparing a new run of Type I forage caps for early 2013.
Since the bulk of my most recent work has been on 8th Air Force research, I want to recommend one of my favorite WWII-era item vendors: OTRCAT.com.
OTRCAT.com is a one-stop seller of ANYTHING old time radio. If you like The Shadow, Superman, The Lone Ranger, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, The Whistler, Amos 'N Andy, or anything else, you can find it here. In quantity.
Check out his OTRCAT.com WWII collection. His disks are loaded with mp3's which are NOT playable in standard CD players. But they will work just fine on a computer or iPod/iPhone.
They are great. Since I am in a 1940's frame of mind lately, I thought I would pass that on.
Bring on 2013.
NE
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Saturday, December 1, 2012
My next product: U.S. Model 1855 Double-Bag Knapsack
So for the time being I will stay in the Civil War era. The model 1855 knapsack is something that I can make entirely by hand, and according to at least one of my potential retail clients, something the hobby needs. So let's go on it.
The pattern I have is based on at least one knapsack in a private collection, coupled with observations and notes made on several others. It will be very similar in appearance to the one pictured in the bottom right of the examples on pg 213 of Echoes of Glory: Arms and Equipment of the Union. Detailed schematics for three different ones can be found in The Columbia Rifles Research Compendium 2nd Ed. (and may also show up in "ITR 2: U.S. Army Infantry, 1861-1865"[?]).
Currently, there is one being auctioned off here and another being sold here. They were both made by a contractor named "E. Robinson". Early in the war, they were issued with wooden frames, which were usually promptly discarded by the troops. And to my knowledge, none of the current suppliers of these packs sell them with this wooden frame. The dork in me wants to make a frame just to see how it would change the nature of the pack and justify spontaneously taking it out, breaking it up, and burning it in a campfire to the amusement of my messmates!
Now I will make NO claim that my knapsacks will be constructed of materials replicating the originals 100%. I use some modern components for both safety, integrity of the originals and durability. But I also will NOT release a product for sale that will not look and presumably perform as much as possible like the originals. That's my commitment to the folks who spend their hard-earned dollars at FCR. I am well aware that you could easily spend your money elsewhere--that's why I appreciate your business and your support. That's also why I want to make the best quality product I possibly can. My Model 1855 knapsack will be no exception.
Construction of a prototype is in the works right now. I am constantly gathering data on my products and using it to improve the quality and the backstory on each one. So as I learn more, I will post it in future blog entries here at Rally 'Round the Flag.
The pattern I have is based on at least one knapsack in a private collection, coupled with observations and notes made on several others. It will be very similar in appearance to the one pictured in the bottom right of the examples on pg 213 of Echoes of Glory: Arms and Equipment of the Union. Detailed schematics for three different ones can be found in The Columbia Rifles Research Compendium 2nd Ed. (and may also show up in "ITR 2: U.S. Army Infantry, 1861-1865"[?]).
Currently, there is one being auctioned off here and another being sold here. They were both made by a contractor named "E. Robinson". Early in the war, they were issued with wooden frames, which were usually promptly discarded by the troops. And to my knowledge, none of the current suppliers of these packs sell them with this wooden frame. The dork in me wants to make a frame just to see how it would change the nature of the pack and justify spontaneously taking it out, breaking it up, and burning it in a campfire to the amusement of my messmates!
Now I will make NO claim that my knapsacks will be constructed of materials replicating the originals 100%. I use some modern components for both safety, integrity of the originals and durability. But I also will NOT release a product for sale that will not look and presumably perform as much as possible like the originals. That's my commitment to the folks who spend their hard-earned dollars at FCR. I am well aware that you could easily spend your money elsewhere--that's why I appreciate your business and your support. That's also why I want to make the best quality product I possibly can. My Model 1855 knapsack will be no exception.
Construction of a prototype is in the works right now. I am constantly gathering data on my products and using it to improve the quality and the backstory on each one. So as I learn more, I will post it in future blog entries here at Rally 'Round the Flag.
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