WWIIReenacting.co.uk Forums

http://classicpartsltd.com/goggles/clas ... ggles.html

I dont know how accurate they are as a repro but they are on sale at the moment.

Oooooooooh, they look nice. Might purchase a pair of them myself if they're OK They certainly look the part compared to a few images I just googled.

Not bad at under £67 including laminate glass and UK postage though

My dad always wore those kind of goggles when he rode his motorbike. I couldn't tell you what mark they were or whether they were the real thing or not. But knowing my dad they would probably have been the real thing.

Good Afternoon all.

The frames do look very good on these, and the leather work. The strap, however looks like a single piece of elastic.

NOS straps are available for around 35 GBP, so for around 100 GBP, a very useable replica could be produced. Unfortunately this is around the price of originals. The Mk 8 goggle is probably the most prolific of all the RAF goggles and was in service from 1943 until the 60s, so there are quite a few about.

Paul, very likely that your dad used a genuine pair of these. It was only when supplies of originals started to dry up that Stadium produced the copies.

Regards.

AJ.

Just an update on this. I ordered a pair of these and a first I was impressed, however, after a couple of days the faults were glaring. The frames have Halcyon and the BS number stamped into them, the way the strap fastens to the goggles is completely wrong and the shape of the frames above the lenses is off. Also, the leather part is one piece and doesn't have the separate central part attached with elastic. I sent them back for a refund. Considering that you can get originals for around £100 in very useable condition, and boxed ones for a bit more than that, they aren't such a bargain after all. Saying that, another site sells them for £35!

Ric, if you know of anywhere selling original replacement lenses, let me know. I'm after a spare pair so I don't have to use the ones that came in the ones I picked up at Stoneleigh.

Does anybody know if they can replace lens glass? I fancy getting a pair of delaminated lenses replaced.

Hi Baggy,

You can replace the lenses, even if you have a pair that is 50 years old and with a Stadium stamp instead of a Halcyon. I work for halcyon (I'm Not ad-spamming this forum) just thought you guys might be interested in some information regarding the Halcyon RAF, Battle of Britain goggles.

They have been manufactured in England for decades but not always by Halcyon, we were doing some of the press work for the goggle parts for a company called "Stadium", then one day Stadium decided they no longer wanted to make the product any more. It had always been a niche product and they didn't feel it was in that much of a demand. So at that point we bought all the tooling from them (most of it was in our factory already) and we continued to manufacture the product, and have done ever since.

All of the original tooling and production methods are still being used today and it continues to be 100% made in England (I can hear the presses pounding away right now through the office wall) So no matter how old the goggles are, our lenses should still pop right in.

I admit that they are not the cheapest goggles in the world, but they are hand made, and hand stitched in the UK which is something that is becoming more and more rare these days.

The laminated glass lenses are available here - http://classicpartsltd.com/goggles/classic-goggles/halcyon-goggles/goggle-replacement-parts/goggle-lenses.html (please remove this link if you think its spamming)

And if you guys would like me to introduce a Promo code for your forum members to give you discounts on our products, please let me know and I will happily add one.

Have a nice Day

Simon
Halcyon

Hi again,

looking at your feedback regarding the RAF model has been very interesting, and I'm really confident that I can make improvements to make them far more in keeping with the originals.

1. Halcyon and BS Stamp - This is the final operation in the production of the goggles, and I can have a batch made without being stamped.

2. The clip that connects the headband to the goggles - They were reformed to allow the goggles to fit over open face crash helmets (which is currently the best market for the goggles) however we do still have the original smaller C-Clip tooling that we could use to produce the original clips with

3. The frame shape - I believe the form of the frame at the top is not as close a curve and tight as the originals, however I introduced a "compact" goggle frame recently and comparing that to the original , it appears to be almost Identical (and they don't have Halcyon stamped on them either, because there wasn't room for it)

I could get the compact google frames powder coated in RAF Blue when we next do a production run.

4. The central Elastic - hmm, this feature must have preceded the "Stadium" model as I have not come across this, however if you guys can post some pictures showing the original nose elastic, I could look into this for you, I'm sure the old dears in a sewing room would love a new project.


Let me know if you guys would like us to do some product development and get the RAF looking more like the originals.

Regards

Simon

That's a pretty good offer.
Could you mock up a prototype and get some pictures?
Then the anoraks could offer their opinions before you spend real money on a production run?

Thanks for posting, Simon. I do think you're goggles are very nicely made indeed, so please accept any criticisms as a symptom of our being complete stitch nazis with regard to detail. I will take as many detailed photos of my originals for you as you would like. In the meantime, I'm going to order a pair of replacement lenses, but I have a feeling they won't be a direct drop in fit. After comparing the photo of yours to the spare tinted lenses from mine, the upper inner curve looks to be wrong. It's quite sharp on the originals, and more curved on yours. Anyway, I'll give it a bash to see

Bryn

Baggy, I'm confident they will fit, but if they don't you can return them and get a full refund.

I will post some pictures of the original clip and the compact frame shape (without the Halcyon Stamp) and if you could post some images of your originals that would be fantastic

It's actually very good timing for us to work on a more authentic RAF replica, as we are having a feature done in a new magazine called "Aviation Classics" to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain later this year, so it would be nice to develop a Replica goggle.

I look forward to getting the anorak's certificate of approval

Here you go, Simon. Note the shape of the outside of the frames (it rounds off more than yours), the webbing that joins the leather at the top (not elastic, my mistake), the frame colour (more grey than blue) and the strap details (notably the colour, fittings and the way the D ring is shaped under the leather end pieces:












If you need any other photos, let me know

Bryn

WOW!

Those images are perfect! Thank you, I've shown the pictures to our sewing ladies and they are confident they can stitch the webbing in the nose bridge area, which is good news, I can certainly match the shape of the frame, I will speak with the director about possibly allowing our toolmaker to knock up some tools to reproduce the clip that connects to the frame, as that definitely differs from what we have made in the past.

As for the frame colour, as you say, it is more of a grey, and I should imagine I could get pretty close to that, although rather than a standard powder coated finish, we probably would have to opt for a wet spray method for a low run, although I should imagine that the original goggles were finished using that same method.

Do you know what the L O O L 5 stamp refers to on the inside of the face mask, and what does it say on the headband adjustment clip on the other side from the patent number?