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| - The reviewers so far have been doing so mostly out of ignorance of the wares being offered for sale. By way of background, I've published a couple of books on the subject of Canadian military uniforms and insignia and host a website devoted to the study of the Canadian military in the 20th century that has been online since 1999 and received international attention. That and a five-dollar bill will get me a hot cup of tea at Tim Horton's, so I digress.
Admittedly, few shops cater to militaria today; perhaps the best shops I've dealt with have been Mil-Arm in Edmonton or Marway in Winnipeg. I used to work in a local Calgary militaria store for a couple of summers, so I do have some direct, relevant experience, and do not have axes to grind since I have not been employed by that company for over a decade, almost two.
By comparison, Shoulder-to-Shoulder is cramped, "feels" dirty, even if it is not, and does not seem to have any kind of rhyme or reason to the layout. There seems to be two main points of emphasis in the wares; science fiction toy collectibles (of which there really isn't a lot to be found, and the buyer will encounter better examples on ebay), and militaria of mostly Canadian origin with a few odds and scraps of modern U.S., Bundeswehr, and a handful of older items on display. If I had to guess, based on my own experience, I'd say some of the more interesting items were probably on consignment from local collectors. During my most recent visit, there was a Wehrmacht Heer AFV crew jacket (the black 'panzer wrapper') complete with insignia, and some exotic looking British service dress.
The other reviewers have overstated the inventory on hand; there was a lot of average looking "military surplus" mixed onto the racks. The bulk of the militaria was "King's Crown" era cap badges, collar badges and buttons, but the prices offered no bargains from what I could see - a Tudor Crown Calgary Highlanders cap badge in bronze was selling for $40.00, pretty much the list price according to any current price guide, and you can still do better than that, including shipping, on ebay. The worst of it is that there was no organizational scheme to the badges and buttons. It may be fun to browse on a day off work, but the serious collector would only be frustrated trying to match the inventory to his list of needs and wants.
The worst part of the experience was listening to the right-wing rants of the proprietor. On my latest visit, he was embroiled in a conversation with either a customer or a visitor. The proprietor was one of those fellows who makes militaria collectors all look like right-wing nutcases. In less than ten minutes, he railed about how speed limits were an infringement on his freedom, praised the United States for overthrowing the British monarchy (in 1776 no less), bragged about a speeding ticket he had received, criticized emergency services workers for helping collision victims on roadways (his word for them was a**h****s), and even when I identified myself as an employee of Emergency Medical Services, his political diatribes lost none of their bitterness or venom towards anything connected with government or any branch of organized society. When I decided the smartest thing to do was to leave without engaging any further, I was told to go back to my prison - meaning, life in modern Canada, something the proprietor apparently is unhappy with.
You may be able to find something here that isn't on ebay or at one of the larger, cleaner militaria or auction houses - I doubt it, frankly - but if you do, spare yourself some agony and don't talk politics to the owner unless you share his anarchist views.
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