This is something that I have been planning the entire summer- a trip to the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum off of Van Reed Rd and Route 183 in Reading, PA. The show is touted as the best WWII re-enactment show in the world, as well as a fabulous collection of aircraft privatly owned and generously flown out and displayed at the museum. As my first show, I thought that it was absoloutely fantastic. In fact that does not sum up the show- the event gets you that much closer to the history of World War II. I thought I liked WWII stuff, now they have bumped me up another level of extreme!
I took some photos at the air show and I will be putting together some video on the event. Once that is up and finished I will post it. I got to do a lot of things, I met a lot of people and saw a lot of spectacular and a lot of "rare" pieces. I was able to pick up and hold a German STG 44, a Thompson 45, a Garand and a BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle). They are a lot heavier then I thought!
It was very encouraging to listen to the special guests talking about their war experiences. For most of the day the temperature soared to about 103 degrees farenheight (about 40 degrees celsius) and it was VERY VERY HOT. Luckily, there was a nice wind blowing and it was not as humid as Saturday. The event runs Friday Saturday and Sunday, since my mother had to take care of medical business she was not able to go Saturday, then later on I found out I would have to go alone on Sunday. It is a lot more fun to go with someone else, but I enjoyed myself thoroughly. At one point they hooked up fire hoses and began running sprinklers for people to run in.
The flea market and militaria scene was just unbelieveable. You name it, they more than likely have it somewhere in that section. I saw GI Helmets, patches, German daggers, replica guns, replica explosives, bayonets, and one thing that caught my eye was a Japanese Officer's sword. It was at a good deal too at $300, but I simply could not afford it. I inspected the blade and I would determine with 80% accuracy that the blade was genuine. I could see a hint of a hamon, but the blade had another special process done to it where clay was added after firing to give it a unique texture like that of a geological map- you 'll know what I mean when you read one. The kissaki was not a chi, and I would have preferred to see the tang before a final purchase. The scabbard appeared and felt to be genuine. The blade was also semi-sharp and appeared to have some wear beginning to it, thus I would say it appeared to be genuine- because if it isn't it is a VERY good fake. I didn't like how some swords next to his were chinese wall hangers though.... but they were priced nowhere near this one. Oh well, maybe next year. There is always a market for WWII militaria if there is interest.
My heart nearly took a drop when I saw that they were selling out of production model kits! They were expensive and I could not afford them, plus I have so many projects right now that it isn't even funny. To me it seems like they arn't selling odds and ends there- it is good and legitimate stuff. The blades I got to hold and inspect, whether knives, bayonets, daggers or swords all had wear to them and were not "razor" sharp, but sharp enough, and were not polished to a mirror sheen. The best way to evaluate the authenticity of a japanese blade is to look at the tang (the section inside of the handle). It is very easy to tell, with experience whether or not weathering/damage was intentional. If the tang is shiny and brand new- I won't buy it. If it looks like a rat tail, I won't buy it either.
This was a fantastic show! I am definetly going again next year and I am considering donating some of my time during the school year volunteering at the museum (I get to help restore things, promote heritage, preserve history, and it fits the bill for philanthropy).
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