Aldens help

Toldog07 · Post by **Toldog07** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:06 pm

Is the leather used on the current Alden Indy boot lighter in color than the original boot worn? if this is a stupid question in any way, please accept my apologies!

J_Weaver · Post by **J_Weaver** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:27 pm

No, its not a dumb question at all. Over the years the color of the leather used has changed a few times. As far as I know, the current color is a nice red-ish brown. At least thats the color of my boots when I got them about 15 months ago. Maybe someone with a more recent pair will chime in.

Toldog07 · Post by **Toldog07** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:29 pm

how does that compare to the on-screen boots?

J_Weaver · Post by **J_Weaver** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:31 pm

In Raiders, the color seemed to vary some from scene to scene. However, all in all I'd say it's pretty close.

obi-cpo · Post by **obi-cpo** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 6:12 pm

I just bought a pair of Aldens 2 weeks ago at the Madison Avenue shop in New York City. They are indeed a red-brown color (more on the brown side). I imagine once they receive some weathering through wear, dirt, and rain they will look pretty close to the "Raiders" boots.

These really are terrific boots and comfortable right out of the box.

Michael

J_Weaver · Post by **J_Weaver** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 11:53 pm

obi-cpo wrote:I just bought a pair of Aldens 2 weeks ago at the Madison Avenue shop in New York City. They are indeed a red-brown color (more on the brown side). I imagine once they receive some weathering through wear, dirt, and rain they will look pretty close to the "Raiders" boots.

These really are terrific boots and comfortable right out of the box.

Michael

Exactly. I've had mine for over a year now and they just keep getting better.

Also, I've been using brown Kiwi polish on them and they have darkened a bit.

LeatherneckJones · Post by **LeatherneckJones** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:03 am

I've had mine for almost eight years, and they came in a color that almost exactly matched Indy's boots when you see him operating the pedals in the German truck in Raiders. Mine have darkened a bit, and are now a nice brown, with just a hint of brick. Great boots!!

Rundquist · Post by **Rundquist** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 6:58 pm

The Alden 405 has changed many, many times over the years (the materials, not the design).

The most recent versions were “brick” colored, and then “pumpkin” colored, and now they are brown. What you get will vary depending on where you buy them. I’m sure some vendors are carrying old stock. And mind you, these three colors are of the last 10 years. When Alden’s current batch of leather that they use for the 405 is used up, you will probably get yet another color.

If you buy from Alden directly, I would think that the chances would be better that you get new stock. The current photo on the website is accurate for what you get today (if you happen to get new stock).

If you go elsewhere the chances are higher that you end up with the older colors. I would think that by now the brick color has pretty much gone away (unless you get a pair that have been sitting around for years). You would be more likely to end up with a pair of pumpkin colored ones than brick, since they were produced after the brick ones.

The Alden on the left (the brown one) is Last Crusade vintage. I got them from Fritz (the man that sold the originals to Ford). They had been sitting in his back room for at least ten years. Needless to say, you can’t get them anymore. The one in the middle is the pumpkin color. They tend to get darker and more red (though not quite as red as the brick colored ones) with age and pecards applications.

The current offering (top pic, brown) aren’t bad from an Indyfan perspective.

Cheers

Mola Ram · Post by **Mola Ram** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 8:21 am

is that black boot the 86?
http://www.aldenshoe.com/cat_ortho_trub_86.htm

how much did it cost?

Rundquist · Post by **Rundquist** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 2:46 pm

Mola Ram wrote:is that black boot the 86?
http://www.aldenshoe.com/cat_ortho_trub_86.htm

how much did it cost?

Yes, it's from the same family tree as the 405. I don't remember how much they cost. I think that they were roughly about the same as a 405. It's a dress boot. Cheers

http://www.aldenshoe.com/cat_ortho_trub.htm

Solo4114 · Post by **Solo4114** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 3:36 pm

I got mine during what I can only assume were the "orange" phase of Aldens, back in '02 or '03. I polished them with Meltonian Sandalwood polish (#93, I think -- I'll have to check when I'm home) and that got them to a more ruddy brown. It's still not a match to my Wested, but I suspect I could get a darker polish for that. I also don't wear them a ton, so they're not that worn in and haven't darkened from use. I may have some old pictures of how they looked before and after I applied the polish that may help. If I've got 'em, I'll post them later tonight.

--EDIT--

Just added pictures in the other Alden thread located here.

If you guys want me to post a pic or two in here to compare side-by-side with the "pumpkin" boots pictured above, I can. I figured we'd save a little bandwidth this way, though.