Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 07-24-2013 01:19 PM               

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This has been a very long project but I'm pleased to announce that my Apollo 11 Crew Patch replica is finally available for pre-order.

The key to the quality of the original Apollo 11 crew patch was a combination of fine detail and the use of an exceptionally large palette of subtle color variations to reproduce the mission artwork accurately.

Trying to replicate this 40-plus years on has not been an easy task for myself or the artists at AB Emblem and I have to thank Kati at AB for her patience during this challenging project.

This design uses 13 distinct colors of thread versus a maximum of 8 colors used in most embroidered patches. It wasn't always possible to find a perfect match for each of the original colors in the modern thread range so it often came down to choosing between one thread that was a little too light and one that was a little too dark. Also, it's simply not possible for the artists to get every stitch in the same position and the same thickness as in the original so the design is not identical to the original.

These kind of differences are unavoidable but I think that the end result is pretty close in overall appearance to the originals.

Please note that this patch has been manufactured in the USA. This is a very expensive option but many US-based collectors expressed a strong preference for this. Hopefully those who felt strongly about this will help support the US economy by actually buying some of these patches.

If you want to pre-order one of these patches please go to my CrewPatches.com site and visit the Store page.

Note that the other patches on the store page are not currently available because I will be traveling. I will process the Apollo 11 pre-order on my return around August 5. If you wish to order other patches please wait until this date when I will make the store fully-operational again.

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From: Denver, CO
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posted 07-25-2013 10:11 AM               

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quote:

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Originally posted by J Blackburn:
What will the shipping cost to the U.S.?

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Chris includes mailing in his web store pricing. Incidentally, these Apollo 11 patches are cheaper than I expected based on earlier conversations here...US$35 for three!

Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 08-04-2013 03:14 PM               

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For those of you that placed pre-orders please note that I'm afraid I will need an extra day to prepare them so I will be shipping them on Tuesday.

Regarding the pricing, I was indeed planning to price them closer to $20 as this is the most expensive patch I've had produced so far. In the end though I decided to stick to my normal price level so as not to put off buyers.

It may be a long while before I break even (if ever) but that's okay.

Posts: 596
From: Lansing, MI, USA
Registered: Mar 2012

Posts: 640
From: Syracuse, New York, USA
Registered: Oct 2009

Posts: 596
From: Lansing, MI, USA
Registered: Mar 2012

posted 09-03-2013 07:16 PM               

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This is a least the third one I've seen on eBay. There was one listed within a couple of days after Chris started shipping them. They've listed anywhere from $18.99US to as high as $75+. None have sold that I've seen.

It's just like his LEM patches. They list all the time. And some do sell. Why anyone would pay $25-$40 for one (although I happen to believe they are WORTH that much) is beyond me when you can get them directly from Chris for $15.

Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 09-04-2013 04:34 AM               

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Regarding the issue of people reselling my patches - I can understand the comments above but as far as I'm concerned once someone has bought something it's theirs to do with as they want. If they can resell it for more than they paid then they're free to do so.

In fact the guy selling my Grumman LM replicas on eBay does so with my agreement. These replica patches are available from my site store but of course they will not be seen there by that many people. I have listed them myself from time to time on eBay but they don't always sell.

The thing is that a lot of US-based eBay users have an automatic filter active that means they only see items that are located in the US. For this reason even though I list on eBay.com there are a lot of potential buyers who will never see my listings.

Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 09-20-2013 04:17 AM               

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For those of you who were waiting for these patches to be available again, please note that I now have the full delivery in stock.

You can order the patches direct from the Store page of CrewPatches.com.

Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 12-06-2016 03:51 AM               

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Just thought I'd mention that I'm down to around a dozen examples of this Apollo 11 crew patch replica now.

This was an epic project to work on and I'm very proud of the end result but it would not be economical at present to produce another run of these replicas.

When the last examples are sold, that's it, although hopefully someone else will have a go at a replica in the future.

Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 12-06-2016 05:05 PM               

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8 left and counting...

Use the Store page of my site to order them, with direct payment via PayPal.

Postage worldwide is free and multiple patches are at a discount.

Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 12-07-2016 03:54 AM               

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The Apollo 11 crew patch relicas are sold-out.

All orders are going in the mail today.

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From: England
Registered: Feb 2001

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From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Jan 2014

Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 03-09-2018 12:58 PM               

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Almost five years on from the original release I have bowed to popular demand and produced another run of my Apollo 11 replica crew patches. This was the most challenging replica I ever tackled and the one I'm most proud of so I'm happy to make it available to collectors again.

Once again these have been manufactured in the USA by AB Emblem, using the double run through the machines required to incorporate the exceptional 13 distinct thread colors used by this complex design.

The patches are available from the Store page of my CrewPatches.com website. Worldwide delivery is free as usual and there is a discount for multiple purchases.

Note that you now have the option of paying in Euros on the store page by changing the selector at the top of the page. US Dollars is the default setting.