At the Front

At the Front Supplying World War Two reenactors, historians, collectors, films and enthusiasts since 1992.
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Established in 1992, we offer an extensive line of top quality reproduction and original WWII militaria. Each item we sell is thoroughly researched, utilizing our large collection of original militaria, to ensure that At the Front reproductions are the best on the market. Sign up to the ATF email list here: shorturl.at/oRU38
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The US Boots have been here for a couple of weeks, but it's going to take us months to claw our way through them and get...
06/10/2026

The US Boots have been here for a couple of weeks, but it's going to take us months to claw our way through them and get them on the shelf. These were suppose to arrive ready to stock and go. Instead, the meatheads labeled all the boxes "service shoes" making every case a literal box of chocolates- any one of 5 styles could be inside. Or a mix. The sizes on the label are likewise often incorrect.

So all boots need to be re-labeled. Then we've found enough with cosmetic issues (can't have a scuff on a jump boot) or missing laces that we need to fully re-inspect them all. After the past week, I know that completing this job will require 400-500 hours of work. Not joking. Yeah, it's a s**t show. We cannot just shut the place down and only do on these.

On the upside they look & wear great. The roughouts I grabbed probably have 30 miles on them now and they're peachy.

No, these are NOT Corcorans- they look just like them, but they're imported. (Corcoran stopped making "special make ups" after 2020.) That was one of the most common questions at Reading.

Thus, they will be stocked in dribs and drabs as we get them checked and labeled.

ZERO estimate is possible on when this or that size or style will be stocked. If this is an outrage....just try having 14 pallets of them to go through.

Despite the previous 44 dot color test being a good match for the original swatch sent and approved, I prefer the darker...
05/13/2026

Despite the previous 44 dot color test being a good match for the original swatch sent and approved, I prefer the darker shades...

So I had them do another color shot on HBT using the colors found on original rayon parka fabric I have a few yards of. That test came in and is dead on to my original fat HBT dot pants.

This is likely the optimal color palette as it's a good match for several HBT, sateen and rayon originals. We may print some of both shades and mix them. Maybe.

When? Fall at best, end of this year or early next more likely.

(The colors look very different in the two photos- one was taken outside in the shade and the other in fluorescent light with an iphone.)

I approved the final adjustment to a new run of Palm today. It's the "black" variant. For the color standard, I had some...
05/12/2026

I approved the final adjustment to a new run of Palm today. It's the "black" variant.
For the color standard, I had some original fabric from a horribly made fake cap from Italy. A pity their pattern was a joke.
Dye is reactive, feel is soft etc..
If the tone of the green or the saturation of the brown isn't pleasing, tough s**t. Any change = 2-3 months of delays and there's no guarantee they'll get it anyway.
When? Who knows.
Fall at best, could be much later. This camo printer moves at speeds that would embarrass a glacier- plus there could be another outburst of tariffs, a new war or an outbreak of rat virus....
Regardless, it's inching along.

Hand screened Lateral test print- it looks decent, but it's not yet in my hands (the pics are from the contractor.) They...
05/05/2026

Hand screened Lateral test print- it looks decent, but it's not yet in my hands (the pics are from the contractor.) They're waiting on a splinter rotary test print and then they'll send them both to me.

IF they pull this off, I'll send them a numbered planetree design to try out and IF they get THAT right, then we'll hit the others. There are still too many "if's" to count on anything, but it looks like some progress. Maybe someday...

The grave of Lt. Marcus is across from my grandfather's- and I've always been curious about him. Next to nothing comes u...
04/30/2026

The grave of Lt. Marcus is across from my grandfather's- and I've always been curious about him. Next to nothing comes up on Google searches aside from some family info on find a grave. I know some of you are good at such research...

This planetree on vinyl we had printed out looks so good I think we'll just use it. It's windproof, waterproof and won't...
04/21/2026

This planetree on vinyl we had printed out looks so good I think we'll just use it. It's windproof, waterproof and won't fade. Once we find which thread works best and figure out how to cement the fall & spring sides together we'll get cutting. Don't worry about the gloss- as the Teflon leaches out it will kill the shine.

Progress? Maybe. Yesterday I received the table top test (about 15" x 15") from the hand-screen printer. It looks promis...
04/21/2026

Progress? Maybe. Yesterday I received the table top test (about 15" x 15") from the hand-screen printer. It looks promising- unlike the Chinese, these guys didn't f**k with my artwork, overlaps are right, it's nice and soft, they used fiber reactive dye w/o a big fight and overall colors could be better but are tolerable.

They claim a full size test with several meters is underway. I'll believe it when I see it. (This took 10 months and every week since November it's been "next week".)

I attached a crop from one of FJM's pics of the original smock showing the relevant area of the pattern. (Much of it wasn't visible due to how he took the pic.) Yes, it matches up.

Last, I have a pic showing the test piece with the 2 original swatches I'm going to send to the printer to try and match to have multiple shades.

IF this works out, then I'll send them a numbered planetree along with a full sized print out and cross a lot of fingers.

Why lateral? Because it's hand screened but far simpler than the numbered patterns since it's 1/3 the size and it's just one screen set- no right/ left triangle crap to make their heads explode.

Misses? Runs? Bleed throughs???? Baby steps here. And don't get any hopes up yet. In other words- the answer to "When?" is "hell if I know".

As to the reason why MG's on Lafetten are sometimes seen without their stocks in wartime photos, there are quite a few t...
04/01/2026

As to the reason why MG's on Lafetten are sometimes seen without their stocks in wartime photos, there are quite a few theories being put out there, some logical others less so.

Yesterday a customer who worked at Aberdeen provided an answer that I find to be the most likely explanation. He was told by the old hands there that it was for "sight picture alignment".

To check, I hauled the toys out and put them on the mounts. Note, this doesn't photograph very well at all- so pardon the poor illustration. When using the gun sight (as opposed to the MGZ scope) the stock can slightly interfere with one's depth perception and thus sight picture.

It's very minor and depends on exactly how the shooter holds their head as well as body position (standing, kneeling, or prone). The stock does not bother me, but I can see where it might annoy others. It obviously came down to the preference of the individual gunners. This idea is the most obvious, it's easily demonstrated, makes perfect sense, and came from the place in the US most likely to know.

03/25/2026

Saturday afternoon in south central Kentucky.

Trying a new angle with the idiot camo printers. I had the artwork printed at full size- maybe this will show the chuckl...
03/18/2026

Trying a new angle with the idiot camo printers. I had the artwork printed at full size- maybe this will show the chuckleheads that I really do want it to look just like THIS rather than how they THINK it should be.

I'm likely wasting my time and $447 (plus freight)-but I'm still trying.

The infuriating thing is that they CAN do it. The ONLY hold up is them continually making "improvements" to the artwork that f**k it up. If they'd just do the way I ask, we're there. Maddening doesn't come close to describing it.

Seven years trying to get this crap printed.

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430 Rose Lane
Columbia, KY
42728

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