1946 Chief LH tank emblem and rear brake bellcrank

[agreeneone]

I'm looking for a used 1946 LH tank emblem and good used rear brake bellcrank. If you have either please let me know.
Thank you!
agreeneone@hotmail.com

[pisten-bully]

Aaron, can't help you with those two items sorry, but I've wondered about the tank emblems myself for a while! I think I have one original and two re-pops and the only difference I can find is the re-pops have a screw on the bottom in lieu of the indented "nub" on the original. Otherwise I can't tell the difference...both are non magnetic and the details are quite fine on both. But I know how satisfying it can be to have the real thing...even if you're the only one who knows about it!

[agreeneone]

Hi Harry,
Thanks for the reply. The RH emblem I have came from a reliable source and said to be original. I have not questioned it's originality because of it showing signs of wear and age. However it has a screw hole on the top & bottom and the screw hole on the top has worn thru to opened up. I believe these emblems were also used on some 1942 models? Is it possible there was a design change on the emblems between the two years?
Thanks,
Aaron

[Green Indian]

No, the emblems are the same from 42 - 46. Nub on the bottom side with screw hole on the top. The originals do have more detail than the repops, if you can compare them side by side you'd see the difference quite clearly.

[pisten-bully]

First off, really hard to take a pictures of shiny things... but here's a shot at it. One I purchased as a re-pop, the other came with the bike and it could be original:

[agreeneone]

Hi Harry,
Thanks for posting the pictures! Definately a noticable diffrence.
Aaron

[Green Indian]

I'll try to dig out my right side original and my Michael Breeding repop tank badge this weekend for a side by side as well they are very different.

[pisten-bully]

...and here you see why I wouldn't make a good AMCA judge! The repop one versus the possible original looked really good to me....until now!

Dang it Aaron....now I gotta go find an original LH tank badge, too!

[Green Indian]

Harry's right side emblem looks like a super nice original. Here my reproduction and original right side emblems, sorry about the quality of the photos they are a real bugger to get right with a crappy camera and poor lighting, any way you get the idea. The real ones have great detail in the headdress, across the front of the war bonnet. The reproductions are not a clear or crisp in detail. I'm going to keep looking for a NOS set myself, I'll keep my original one and probably mount it to the wall of my garage, the reproductions I'll sell on ebay once I find my originals.

[PRG]

Howdy chaps,

Delving further into trivia, original 46 tank badges are not mirror images of each other. There are noticeable detail differences between left and right where the side feathers originate at the rear of the forehead band. The left has a noticeable pimple type protrusion whereas the right does not.