I bought a jacket from A.J. a few months back, and this review is
Murdock was, I believe, my very first crush way back when the show first aired in 1983 (?). My story is the same as everyone else's, I'm sure: like most of the other girls in my 2nd grade class, I wanted to be a Vietnam era combat chopper pilot... :confused ...
moving right along... I just adored him. In my tiny world, he was the coolest guy ever. I begged my mommy buy me a pair of black Chuck Taylor's Converse All Star hi tops just like Murdock wore. So. Yeah. Fangirl from the beginning.
With the new movie coming out (last year), my love was rekindled and it finally dawned on me that maybe, juuuust maybe, there would be someone out in the interwebs who finally reproduced Murdock's jacket. And that's how I found my way
back to this forum (long time lurker) and onto another forum where A.J. had posted. I finally got the courage to make contact, and after a bunch of emails and a little time, I finally got my jacket..........
Now, I've been painting various characters on jackets on and off over the last 10 years or so, as well as acquiring the bad habit of painting stuff on my Jeep. I also dabble in metal fabrications and jewelry making (
flickr site for my crap). So I humbly consider myself to be a teeny, tiny bit of an artist. In addition, I collect a lot of props and costumes, I buy a few replicas, and I make a few replicas. I like details and workmanship and accuracy - they're important to me. And because of all of that, I think I have fairly high standards. On occasion, I am disappointed with a replica I purchase. Either the pictures don't fully capture the thing, or I imagine it to be better than it is, or I simply hope that it will magically be the bestest ever. I think a lot of people can say that, at one time or another, they've been a little let down by both company reproductions and individual reproductions. It happens. It's not the end of the world.
Though sometimes it may feel like it and sometimes you may wish it was cuz zomg i just spent a metric f-tonne of money on this and why oh why is it not perfect what is wrong with you do you hate me oh god whyyyyyyyyyy?!???!?? die die die!!!.
But with A.J.'s posted photos and obvious passion, I didn't expect to be disappointed.
I was actually optimistic. <---(rarity)
And when the jacket finally arrived, I'll be honest, I braced myself for some little hint of disappointment. Some little flaw that wouldn't crush me, but would irk me. I can't help it. I'm pessimistic from experience. :lol
When I finally opened the package and took the jacket out, I can honestly say that I was blown away. Speechless. It was better than I had ever hoped it would be. The paint looks and feels like it's actually part of the leather itself, rather than applied by hand afterward. The artwork is beautiful on it's own right, but when compared to the photos of the original art, A.J.'s is elevated to another level because of its detail and faithfulness to the original. This jacket was... IS ...quite simply, a childhood dream come true.
When I wear it, I giggle. Really. It's silly, I know, but I can't help it. I giggle like a little frakkin' schoolgirl. And I LOVE IT.
There's always some margin for error when talking about personal tastes and preferences, but I really cannot imagine anyone being disappointed with one of A.J.'s jackets. I hope this review was useful.
Thank you. You're my (internet)Hero. :lol