Plastic Fury

I dyed the pouch today and made another thread, so as not to hijack this one any further. You can see it here; http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?showtopic=...amp;#entry71323

I was very happy with the leather taking the dye as well, the straps look much better to me being ALL black and not having the tan underside and sides. The finished pouch; I am very happy with how it turned out and only took me about two hours total to get it all done. Now I just gotta find that leather pouch for my hip and get that one all nice and worn too.

I decided I wanted to use the canvas 3+1 shoulder pouch and the leather Stolla Wien style leather pouch for my hip (still searching for that). I found a few different canvas pouch options on the internet before settling on to this one. http://www.ima-usa.com/product_info.php/products_id/325 You get the pair for a pretty good price, I am sure i'll figure out something for the other one lol. Anyway, I chose to get them in the green (Wermacht), you could also pick up them up in the blue (Luftwaffe) as I am sure that would dye black very easily as well. I have seen a few different methods used but had not seen a dyed one yet (probably missed that somewhere lol). I have used the RIT dye before with good results and figured I would do it again. I picked up two boxes of Rit black dye and grabbed a couple of buckets and went at it this afternoon. You can pick up the Rit dye at Wal*Mart, craft stores like Michael's or even some grocery stores in the clothing detergent aisle. It's usually less than two bucks for a box of powder and you should grab two. The directions recommend two boxes for dark dye and for that price, no reason not to. When I got them I decided to wear down the straps first. I rolled them up to get some good wrinkles in the leather and then scuffed them up with some sand paper. Just want a good worn look to it. I also decided to put a pair of holes in the canvas. I just used a small x-acto razor and cut a small slit. I then picked at it a little bit to fray the edges, saw this on a real vintage MP40 canvas pouch and loved it, so I decided to replicate that on mine, but not too much. Comparison of the worn straps vs. the new straps on the right; When you are going to dye the pouch, follow the directions on the box, it's pretty simple. I choose to use two buckets and a slop sink. REMEMBER this stuff will dye just about anything, so if it splashes on something, chances are it's getting darker than it was lol. If you don't have a slop sink or some place you don't care about, I would suggest doing this outdoors with buckets. I have cats so I have a large amount of empty litter buckets on hand at any given time, they work great for stuff like this. You will start by washing the pouch a bit. I just ran it under some warm water and soak for a few minutes. I then wrung it out a few times. It clouded up the water pretty fast so I repeated that a few times to get rid of any chemicals that were on it from them dying it, etc.. Then I put a good amount of HOT water (enough to submerge the pouch easily) into the bucket. Pour both packets of dye in to the water and mix it up, then put the pouch in the solution. I started using a painters stick but then just grabbed a pry bar instead, it worked better for me. Submerge the pouch in the water and slosh it around with whatever you are using to stir it with. If you have rubber gloves you could use your hands instead. I used the bar to keep the pouch submerged in the liquid in between stirring sessions. I would stir it around in the liquid and then let it sit for about ten minutes at a time. Overall I think I let it soak for about 30-45 minutes. There is no rush and the longer you go, the darker it will get. Once I was satisfied with the color it was (it will tend to lighten up a bit when you rinse it out and then let it dry but not much) I poured cold water into the other bucket and transferred the pouch over to it. From here you just basically swish it all around and wring it out. I then emptied the dye bucket and poured cold water into it. Once the water was black in the first rinse bucket, i moved the pouch to the other bucket. I repeated this about 8 times probably until the water stays almost clean. Once I was satisfied I let it dry in the sun for a bit before tossing it in the dryer. Since we are looking for a good worn look, I figured the dryer is not gonna hurt it. The leather straps were nice and curled when it came out of the dryer so that was cool. IF you use a dryer, MAKE SURE you have rinsed the pouch well, if not you could have black dye to clean up. Comparison of the dyed pouch vs. the other new untouched pouch; Of course the pouch is a wrinkled mess but I like it that way, many vintage pouches look like that but you gotta have something in it to make it look better and functional IMO. Since I don't have any spare MP40 mags laying around, I just used a piece of wood. I measured the pockets and found a sign post that worked perfectly. I then cut that into 10" increments and they fit perfectly. I can't have the white being so visible so I just took some automotive flat black paint I had on hand and shot the ends. I was not worried about the whole thing since I will not be removing them for anything and they are just for the illusion.

This is the color of mine, I have seen lighter green ones out there but I liked these with the black straps. I have already worn the leather straps and cut one small hole in the canvas, I may do another. I am going to pick up the dye in the morning and try it, i'll post up how it all comes out. I have used that stuff before and it's pretty good for fabric so I am hoping it will get these where i want them. They have a very dark green but i'll probably just grab the black. Also gotta stop and pick up some wood to use for mags to make the pouches look full.

I just received a set of the green canvas pouches and planning to use the 3+1 for my shoulder. I have weathered up the leather and even the canvas some, they are pretty dark but I think I might just grab some black RIT fabric dye, it's very cheap and should work just fine. I'll post up some before and after pics if you want to see how they come out, I should be doing it in the next day or so.

That German one does not look bad, I could modify that one a bit and make it work. Too bad I can't read the site lol. I can make out some of it but not sure what the price works out to? -Seann

Yeah thanks, i'll try the 38 in the search. I have been searching Ebay like crazy, I have found one kind of leather one but it looks really off. Thanks for the help.

I have found the canvas 3+1 pouch for the left shoulder that I ordered and will weather up. I know it comes with a second 3 pouch but I would prefer having the leather style on my belt as it is more accurate. I have been looking all over to find something similar to the Stolla Wien style leather MP40 pouch but have had no luck so far. Does anybody have any good links to find one that is similar that I could modify (if need be) and use?? I have searched all through this forum and found some links that are old or dead or runs that are no longer. Thanks.

Wow bro, that is some great work, can't wait to see her all painted/stained and finished up.

I can see them in both of his posts

Why make the sling from scratch?? They used two enfield slings in the movies and they are relatively cheap and fit the look perfectly. I just ordered up a pair from a guy on Ebay and they look great!! It really helps complete the look.

Looks good man, personally I think it needs some weathering. You don't want to be that trooper with the nice and new gun, fresh from the assembly line do ya lol??? I would also paint up the stock to look like woodgrain but that is just my opinion.

As I said on the FISD, I think I am going to try a pair as well, better grab it now before they see the sudden rush and change the prices lol!!!

Congrats man, great work.

Congratulations Rick!!

Haha is that not always the way. I have the video from the day before as well, I can post that to make you feel better lol. Thanks for the comments guys, that was a fun time indeed.

Of course I forgot to take pics of it when I had it all primed and wetsanded lol. Just a flat white bucket. Three coats of Rustoleum high performance gloss white should do it; As it sits now; (the lighting makes it more yellow than it is) I'll give a few days to get a good cure on it before I start to mess with it again. I can't wait to start bringing down some of the finish and get it good and weathered (but not too much, I am a believer in less IS more, so no worries there). This was great practice to see what this paint is like to spray with from a can, I am pretty confident now that my TK will come out great when I tackle that one. I'll post more pics as it progresses.

People say they like these kind of threads so I figured I would post this one up. I am working on stuff for my TD and have finally gotten around to re-finishing the bucket. I could have probably just worn it down and weathered it the way it was but I just felt like doing it all over again, using this as a practice run for the bucket that will replace my FX on my TK, that one will have to be nice and shiny. I was not happy with the finish on this bucket, or with how rough the teeth and eyes were trimmed, as well as the paint on the teeth and ears. It was all just too sloppy for my taste. I also decided I wanted five slots on the frown on both sides as well. Anyway, here is some pics of the progress, I just ordered some vinyl from TK4510 to make it into a TD and some lenses from Smitty. Once all that is done, I will start the weathering on it. When I got the bucket; Torn apart and ready to start sanding; Started sanding it down; Pretty much ready for primer and just before I decided to open up those last two teeth;

Thanks for the shots, I have one of Dutchy's and I plan to add some of the tubing on the barrel but that little "wire" thing I think I will leave off of it lol.

The way it sits, the barrel is proportionate to the body. The gun as a whole seems small but there is no reference to judge the size of it, it seems fine to me.

Looking good man, can't wait to see it all finished.

Congrats that looks great, kinda how I want to do my weathering. I have also been wondering what a pack is gonna be like here in the South Florida summers lol.

I was sound asleep as I had been out very late with friends. I am a big Washington Redskins fan and they were playing the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football the night before iirc. I did not have to work until 4pm that day so I was just going to enjoy sleeping in. I remember getting the phone call from a good friend who just simply said "turn on the television". Half asleep I asked why? He just replied "get up and turn on the television" and hung up. I turned on the t.v. just in time to see the second plane hit the tower. I remember the feeling of disbelief, I know many who saw the first plane were thinking it was an accident, I was hearing that when I first tuned in but only seconds before the second plane. I can recall it all so vividly and I do remember thinking to myself how odd the towers were going to look with scaffolding and cranes around them while they are being repaired. I really never thought they would go down. When the first tower did, I was in total disbelief. I have some family that live and work in NYC and thankfully they all survived that day. As Scootch said, I too wonder how so many American's can just seem to forget all about it. I wear a metal bracelet that I pick up shortly after that day, the proceeds went to the WTC foundation. It bears the name of NYPD Sgt. Rodney Gillis, a man I did not know who never came home that day, who was just doing his job and trying to help others. (I also still wear a bracelet for a Lt. Col. shot down in Vietnam) When people ask me what it is or why I wear it, I always respond with the same answer; because American's have a short memory but I don't. I will never forget that day.

Sorry to hear that as well, I love mine but I can understand, especially with recent events.

No problem, such a fun time.