IMA Fake visors.. and how to spot them

[Spenwil73]

I just wanted to bring to light these poorly attempted fake visors that sold on IMA a while ago, So we can be mindful and watch out for items like these in the future. IMA continues to list all these hats as "M35" which obviously is false.

Here we see an attempt to replicate a rare M35 Soviet steel gray visor cap for that of a Tanker. I mostly want to note the awful visor replica that appears on both of these caps (I assume they came from the same place)




And here we a see a cap that is actually original, Belonging to an enlisted man of the Medical service. it would have made for a nice cap if it had not been tampered with being dated 1955 this cap theoretically could have been made with a squared visor as it was at the very tail end of their use within uniform regulations.



I want to note the poor fake visors here, as you can see the poor attempt at stitching (The likes of which would have never been accepted past military inspectors) This trait is common in visor caps that have had their visor replaced by a fake square bill. We also notice the "Ridges" that are present toward the edge of the visor don't even follow the full shape of the visor, ending off before the edge of the visor and it also does not have the correct shape. One last thing of note is that these appear to be made of plastic.

[Gerry C]

Spenwil73,

Thank you for the post. Highly informational.

Gerry C.

From the Still Warm... High Plains of the Midwest

[Spenwil73]

Thank you Gerry, you have always been my first responder

[abqpropguy]

Hey Spenwil73, very informative post. I have a friend whose father passed away and had a decent sized collection of Soviet items. Can I post some photos of one of the hats he had to determine if it’s legit?

[Spenwil73]

Hello, I’d be happy to help with as many items as possible. Go ahead and send me some photos my friend.