New Blog

I've decided to switch over to Wordpress for this blog.

I've created a new blog as camoismyfavouritecolour.wordpress.com

Over the next week or two I will be porting all my posts from this blog across and will then start posting new stuff.

Cheers

Force Recon Uniforms

This is my collection of uniforms used for my Force Recon impression.



I at first had bought a set of replica Woodland Marpats and they actually started to fall apart after the first wash, at the time it was rarer to come across genuine issue Marpats with the EGA, since then I've picked up a set of the Woodland and Desert MCCUU. Both were badged when I received them but I've had surname tapes made for myself.
I love Marpat, it's one of my favourite camouflage patterns and the cut of the MCCUU is really good.



My first attempt at an impression was the original FSBE gear so I picked myself up flight suits, these are both CWU-27 Nomex Flight suits made by Propper one in Sage Green and the other in Desert Tan.

They are both really comfortable to be honest, bought quite baggy so that the air can circulate.

I need to mod some tan velcro onto the sleeves of the tan flight suit.

Fanny Pack

This was an old purchase that I thought I might as well put up, I'm not overly happy with pack as it's not an accurate replica at all.

I had bought this when I first started trying to put together the impression and just didn't put enough research in before buying this.

Made by Pantac and meant to be a replica of the CSM fanny pack that's issued with the FSBE2 collection. The pack is used for mission non essentials or in quite a few cases I've read of it being used as an IFAK.



Now the pack is really good, the quality of the material and the construction are perfect and it does the job it's meant for, but because of the mistakes in it, I'm just not happy.



The belt strap is far too wide and the small pouch on the very front of the pack is completely wrong, I also really don't like the shade of Coyote Brown that Pantac use, for the life of me I can't explain why I don't like it, but when I compare it to the material used by Flyye or EI it annoys me. There is a nice attention to details in that the paracord ties for the zips have been braided together and make an easy pull tab to open the zips.


This is something that I'm going to have to replace, but it's quite low on my priorites for this impression, at the moment it will suffice and hopefully once I've initially completed this impression, it will be one of those items that can be overlooked.

I don't know if there is a more accurate replica around as I've only seen a CSM fanny pack up for sale once before.

IR Flag patch

This arrived in the post this morning.

I've been meaning to get one of these patches for a while, I consider it one of those little things that bring out an impression, I have a pair of EMT shears that I've tucked in behind an M4 pouch and I'm going to add a CAT onto the shoulder.
Whenever I've remembered to try and hunt one of these patches down they've either gone for far too much or the won't ship out of the US.
I picked this up for £6 including postage so that's a nice little treat.

I've added this onto my admin panel.

Admin Panel

I've picked up a new Admin Panel for my Force Recon impression.

I managed to get this off another collector and received this last week.

It's a copy of the FSBE 2 Admin Panel and it's made by Simpen of Asgard Tactical.
I know that he makes DIY gear at home, I'm really impressed with this panel as this is the first home made piece of kit that I've ever owned.

The materials used are really good as is the construction. The only crititcism that I would have is that the panel is quite a dark shade of Coyote Brown, but that's just me being overly picky.



I've mounted this onto the chest of my MBSS, there are a couple of pens and cyalumes stashed in there.



I'm very happy with this purchase.

Smoke Grenade Pouch

I picked this up a couple of weeks ago from another collector.

This is an EI smoke grenade pouch in Coyote Brown.
The pouch looks to be almost brand new and unfortunatley doesn't have any tags, I was assured that it is genuine and was originally purchased with a job lot of gear from an Operator.


The pouch basically resembles the M4 pouch, minus the elastic retention.
This is going towards my Force Recon impression.



I've mounted this upside down on my back plate of my MBSS, the thinking that it would be easier to reach around and remove the smoke if the pouch is upside down, I'm not worried about losing anything with this configuration.

Allied Industries IFAK

I've also picked up an AI IFAK pouch.
While this isn't trictly FSBE kit, I've seen pictures of it being used and as they are quite easy to get hold of I thought that it would be a good addition for now.

I want to get hold of the genuine FSBE GP pouch that is normally used for holding the med kit

The pouch is designed to hold the operators IFAK kit, I don't have the complete kit yet, but I'm hoping to pick most of it up in the future, the only thing I have to add to it at the moment is a pair of EMT shears.

I've added this onto my first line and for a cheap addition it's quite good.

Pantac Leg Panel

Since I've been able to see the real deal I wanted to post a couple of pictures of my Pantac copy FSBE leg panel.

I'm pretty gutted because when I bought this copy this was the only replica that I could find.
Flyye Industries have since released a more accurate copy.

FSBE II Leg Panel Allied Industries

I had a nice surprise the other day when I opened my door to the Postman.

I had been expecting a new grenade pouch but instead the seller had sent this leg panel.

I've been after one of these for quite some time and these are one of the harder parts of the collection to get hold of, well maybe not harder, but quite pricey.

I've contacted the seller about this, but for the meantime until he gets back in touch with me I am considering this to be part of my collection.
Cheating, yeah it is.





I've taken some pictures of it and compared it to the Pantac copy that I already have, from what I can tell the Pantac copy is based on the original SDS leg panel and not the AI one.
The Pantac has the small piece of webbing at the bottom front of the panel but the AI doesn't.
The real panel has OD coloured mesh on the inside.


As much as I'd love to keep this, I couldn't do that to a fellow collector, but I am tempted.

Alice purchases

Canteen and Cover










Compass/First Aid pouch.






These are two more little touches for my old school webbing.
I had thought about picking up an Alice Yoke as well, but I prefer the LBV and think it's a lot sturdier and comfier than the Y Yoke.

Both were cheap and are still in ok condition.
The only thing that I'm now really looking for is for a pistol mag pouch.

Stuff I want in an ideal world where I can afford them

This is just my current list of vests and plate carriers that I really want at the moment.

London Bridge Trading 1961A in MJK
This chest rig is brilliant. It's a really well designed chest rig, that would enable you to hold pretty much everything you would need.
There is enough pouches to multiple primary mags, 2 secondary mags, Frags and Smokes, Radio, IFAK.




















Special Operations Equipment Patrol Vest.
This is one of SOE's original designs and this has been on of my favourite vests for a long time. I originally found out about this vest because a 12" military figure that I had bought was wearing the vest, It's big enough to carry enough mags and grenades for a mission but still light enough for a LRRP.
I've looked about for one of these vests for a while but they are becoming rarer to find second hand and are still quite pricey to buy new from SOE. I would prefer to get one of these in M81 woodland pattern, but would happily settle for OD.



































Eagle Industries Rhodesian Recon Vest.
What can I say about this vest, it's got everything that I would want from a vest, enough Molle to mount as many pouches as you need, still light enough that it won't affect your mobility, even when worn with soft armour underneath.
I'm actually looking for one in CB to be a part of my Marsoc/Force Recon loadout and one in MJK.

Bianchi M12 Holster

I've finally got round to picking up another Bianchi M12 holster.
This time I've made sure to get the OD version instead of that horrible foliage green that goes with the UCP camo.

I snagged this off ebay, it was brand new and pretty cheap.


























































I wanted this to go with some more old school kit that I have.


The holster itself is pretty good and was a mainstay of US forces for quite a while. Specifically designed for a medium framed pistol especially the M92.
The holster is sturdy enough that it will protect the pistol from knocks and bumps, however I've been used to my Safariland 6004 and this is a very slow draw compared to that holster, but then again I'm sure that this holster was designed to keep your sidearm secure.

Admin Panel

This is a recent purchase that I've made.
It's a copy of the Allied Industries Admin panel by Pantac.

The panel itself is in a really decent shade of Coyote Brown and is a spot on match for issued gear, It's well made and does exactly what it's meant to do.





However the flap for the pouch is what lets it down and shows it to be a replica, and not a particularily accurate one at that.
The flap on my admin pouch has a small rectangular strip on the flap, however the genuine issue AI version the entire flap is covered in velcro, this is a big give away that it's not genuine, and as the admin pouch is so prominant on the vest this is an issue.

I'm going to have to get some CB coloured Velcro to mod the panel so that it looks more authentic.

I've loaded a photo that shows the AI admin pouch so that you can see the difference.






I've just found out that the Flyye Industries version does look like a close replica for the geniune issue Admin Panel.
Damn.

I really need to pick up my game with this impression. I've made a couple of purchases over the last year that are really piss poor. I'm glad that most of them have been replica's and therefore not the kinds of money that real gear goes for.

I think I'm going to have to ditch the panel that I've got and replace it with a Flyye one.

My next purchase is for an MBITR pouch, but the Flyye one is based on the civi version, there is a Pantac copy I've seen that has the velcro flap on the side of the pouch, Then I'll be getting an MBITR copy to fill it.

But that's for another post.

Flyye Industries Modular Assault Pack

This was purchased the same time as I got my MBSS Vest.
It too is by Flyye Industries and is a replica of the one made by Eagle Industries.
the only main difference that I can tell between the two is the the tags on the zips, on this MAP the tags are paracord but on the original EI version the tags are flat strips of cordura with press studs.
I'm looking to see if I can find something that is similar so that I can make the MAP that bit more authentic looking.



The MAP is Molle mounted onto vests, but does have shoulder straps that can be unclipped and stowed inside the vest.
There are Molle straps on the each side of the MAP so that further pouches can be mounted onto the pack.