My first NVA Flächentarn/Blumentarn set

Since the prices for NVA Flächentarn are exploding in the same way as for the
BW splinter stuff, I'm glad that I found this cool set.

A very nice one indeed!!  Here's some info for you in case you want it

Your jacket is from what I've found to be the most common year of production (1963).  It has the very common modification for shoulder rank, which indicates it was used (or at least intended to be used) after 1965 when shoulder rank was adopted for field uniforms.  Production of this type of uniform ended in early 1964.  Yours is in top condition, well ahead of the average condition.  

Your trousers are from 1962, which is by my estimation the 3rd common year of production (1964 is the second).  Matching size and colors with the jacket, which is great!  Even with the soil on the knees the condition is towards the top end of the examples out there.

Each year of production had very minor differences, with the 1958 and 1959 versions being very different.  Sometimes these differences spanned more than one year.  Advanced collectors care about these things, the normal people do not because soldiers were issued mixed years and not matching years (i.e. a 1963 jacket and 1962 trousers is 100% OK!).  I have examples from every year 1958-1964 and some of the cross over ones because I am not normal  I also have several spares because of color variations.

This means that prices can sometimes be affected by the year as well as condition, colors, and size.  The 1962 jackets are difficult to find in good condition for some reason and so they go for more money than something like 1963 or 1964.  Obviously the 1958 and 1959 items go for much more.

Steve

Hi
is there any chance you could post some of these various types , I remember when you could buy a set of these for £50 I wanted a set of these but couldn't afford the money then.

Good score for Alex,and good info from Steve...

I have lone trousers with absolutely no markings (that I can find) ...



S

dee222 wrote:Hi
is there any chance you could post some of these various types , I remember when you could buy a set of these for £50  I wanted a set of these but couldn't afford the money then.

Yup, they used to be much less expensive, however if you are patient you can pick up sets for reasonable prices. You just have to be patient!

Some day I'll get around to documenting all the tiny variations. But until then, you can get a lot of information (pretty much all, in fact) from this great website:

http://www.flaechentarn.de/index.htm

And then there's this thread here about equipment:

https://iacmc.forumotion.com/t9943-documenting-flachentarn-blumentarn-equipment

ripcord wrote:Good score for Alex,and good info from Steve...

I have lone trousers with absolutely no markings (that I can find) ...

I've never seen an unstamped example, but I have seen ones with the ink effectively completely washed out. There's basically 4 types of trousers (plus the obvious FJ type) so at least you can narrow down the date range based on style.

Steve

Turned these babies inside out but could find no data.

Perhaps these were damaged prior to inspection and never stamped because trousers were rejected ?

They have definitely seen use, but colors remain vivid..Looks like some sort of encounter with bleach..

Despite the bleach encounter, it is still a very cool piece of camo ...that need a mate..


                                                         


                                                       





S

The trousers are worn enough to have the ink stamp totally gone.  The colors are what I would consider "good" or "solid", but significantly faded.  You can see it most with the brown color.

Black light might show some remains of the stamp.  It should be on the left front pocket interior (I think it's always? on that pocket).  Usually toward the waistband, but it can be pretty much anywhere on it.  I'm sure it was there at some point.

It is odd that you don't see any signs of it.  Generally speaking the stamps marks are pretty durable.  I do have a pair of 1959 trousers in front of me that have no obvious signs of a stamp. But I'm pretty sure I found some trace of one with good lighting and maybe even black light.

What you have could be late 1959 through 1964.  Unlike the jackets there aren't any significant features to tell what is what as far as I know.  The colors + odds say it's probably 1963 or perhaps 1964.

Steve

Thanks for the link Steve good one.

And thanks for the info as well...





S

Found another nice Flächentarn jacket. Guess its from 1963 or 1964, the red stamp is
already washed out even if the colors are still strong. The size tag in the collar shows a 1.










The quality control tag and the cord was in the pistol pocket:

Good colors ...and great condition..

Nice score Alex,



S

Another very nice one! It looks like a 1963 stamp. One way to know (or at least be pretty sure) is to look at the lower hem adjustments. If it has the same exact system as your other 1963 jacket then it's pretty sure to be 1963 production. The hem adjustment is one of the things that varied from year to year (metal buckle, wood peg, and cloth are the three variants i can remember).

Steve

Thanks guys, yes its a another nice example. Does somebody have an idea for what the
cord could have been?

i seen there use to be reproduction blumentarn been trying to find it but i guess they don't make it anymore.

Yes, Miltec/Sturm made a repro set from the 1960 variant some years ago. But I guess they stoped producing it already.

There was also a copy nearly identical in cut to the 1960-1964 type. The cloth might have been from Sturm, I don't remember. I bought a set for a friend of mine when they came out. Hmmm... 10 years ago? They show up on German eBay every once in a long while. Just enough that collectors have to be careful.

Steve

Excellent pieces.
I've had a chance to buy a friend one of the ones made by Strurm and there's a lot of difference in the fabric and colors, but it's a good start for someone who does not want to spend a lot of money on an original one.

Usually I don't collect gear but since the prices for Flächentarn-stuff are exploding I thought
I should grab any piece I can get. The NVA stamp is still readable.

Magpouch for 3 AK magazines:

That's a really nice looking pouch Alex!!!..collectable in its own right!!!

Indeed, nice piece Alex. I have also seen field packs, canteens, shelter halves, and drum-magazine packs in this pattern. Was there ever any other type for AK magazines?

As far as I know there also was a 2 mag pouch in the same style as the 3 mag one and a 4 pocket pouch in the same cut and style as the later Strichtarn pouches.
They made a lot of stuff in this pattern. Here is a link from the nice thread Steve made:

https://iacmc.forumotion.com/t9943-documenting-flachentarn-blumentarn-equipment

Thats also a nice site which shows some of the gear.
Just in German but the pics are good.

http://www.tierfreunde-luebben.de/113501.html

Thanks for the link.

Very nice condition 3 cell pouch! Nice crisp colors. Often they are the more muted variants.

Thanks also for the link to my thread. If anybody is looking for a Blumentarn mine detector, I have a spare with only minor issues.

Steve

Finally some Blumentarn pants that fit me:

Congratulations.