Soon to be part of the Hero club!

[Texan Scott]

what did you order, WM?

[whiskyman]

A Hero jacket in a thin, very dark cowhide that Peter had a small batch of. He sent me a few samples of different dark hides and when I phoned him up again with my choice he had received even more hides so that he was unsure which one I wanted. I sent him the sample back so that he could match it up to that particular hide. Can't wait to see the resulting jacket!

[Canuck Digger]

I know I know, I owe y'all some pics. Sorry guys life's caught up with me and I don't have a moment in my day to take a pic, but I will try to ask a coworker to snap a few if there's a window of opportunity.

I will say this though, I ordered the goat and it's a thicker leather than I expected but probably more truck-worthy than thinner hides. It's getting some nice pleats in the arms, but I can't get used to the collar draping back on my neck -this may be a deal breaker for me... it looks great on film but bothers the f... outta me! I'm still getting used to the back "ridding up" and I catch myself pulling it back, like a young girl wearing too short a skirt for the first time... I'm always pulling the jacket down to get the collar to go up against the back of my neck and close a bit because it tends to flap open like an Elvis costume! The color is a nice brown in the sunlight but it magically goes almost black in darker areas! With a 26" back and 26 1/2" arms, the length is the one thing I am happy with. I could even have gone with 27" arms and with the pleats settling in and shortening the length a bit, it would have worked, but this is more street-wear length now instead of S-A (bu 1/2") so it's good with me.

It's a much roomier jacket than I expected! Everyone is always saying how it's a slim-fit and I find it very roomy. There is a bit too much space at the waist for me though, and I don't like the look of it when I pull the side straps too tightly because it creates these "pull-lines" around the straps that look like it's the wrong size...I gave them all my measurements and even some they didn't ask for and for me it would need to be a bit more tailored than it is right now... a bit more of a "V" shape if you will...

Now that I have this perspective on this jacket, I can talk with the rest of you in clearer terms which brings me to these questions; how do you (if it's even possible) fix/set the collar so the shape is a bit less out of the box? Is there a way to get the collar to NOT open up as much (without zipping it up of course)?

Pics coming as soon as I can manage it guys.

Franco

[Texan Scott]

Either work it with your hands, or wet both sides with leather lotion or hot water and mold it to the desired shape. Goat is tough an resilient, as you know, so it takes a great deal longer to break in. I've wet others I've owned a few times. Put it on a hanger when you are done wearing it, and mold it so it will dry to the desired shape.

...all this free advice and no photos....?

[moses]

Sounds like you would be happier with Wested's regular Raiders or LC pattern jacket.

[Texan Scott]

RoLA is not a bad idea, and you can spec it to suit. Regular run of the mill sizing in better, and you don't have to compensate for the quirks in the shoulders and back/collar, so your usual back and sleeve length, which would be about an additional 1" ~ 1 1/2" to the sleeves and 1 1/2" ~ 2" to the back. Since you have the Hero, you can adjust accordingly. SL is on the thick side and closer to the actual film jacket in terms of the skin and tanning method.

[Canuck Digger]

I know I know and I will post some ASAP but it's kinda grey today so what's the point yeah?


Franco

[moses]

Still no sun in Canada? What about some pics?

[Canuck Digger]

Right. Sorry everyone for taking so long. I still don't have sunshine pics to speak of but I do have these... Hope they'll suffice for now.

[indyhan]

wow, now that's a fine example of a hero jacket

the fit looks perfect !

[Texan Scott]

Looks to be a great fitting jacket, CD.

Now, to be drug by a truck, and then you'll forget all about that collar...

[Canuck Digger]

Ya the collar! Sigh...

[Michaelson]

Don't worry. It WILL relax with wear.

Fantastic looking jacket! You hit it out of the park!

HIGH regard! Michaelson

[Canuck Digger]

A few observations on the Hero jacket after having worn it quite a bit this summer and fall.

The side straps are way too long!

The collar still stands out a lot from the base of my neck, which is no biggy in summer, but in fall when it gets cooler, you WANT that collar closer to you to keep your neck warm, and it's really failing miserably at this. But hey, it's the Hero, not the Raiders so...

I'm a bit barrel-chested but relatively slim at the waist so the jacket is snug at the top bot loose at the bottom.

Arms are perfect!

The back rides up, which I find kinda weird...

Not having any leather facings o the inside of the zipper is not a problem at all.

The pockets are perfect.

The goat leather is very nice, though thicker than I expected and is a very tough to wear-out leather! I think in real-life, this is probably what Indy would have worn, as it would survive his adventures better, but I may still try a Raiders jacket in lamb one of these days, customized of course, just to deal with that collar issue and to try the lighter leather.

All in all, a nice jacket if you allow for the design's... eccentricities...

Once more, thank you all for your help and guidance throughout this process!
Cheers!