WWII Outfits and Gear

wrinkledmonkey · Post by **wrinkledmonkey** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 5:55 am

hello all, i am new to this forum in a sense. i have read the threads here for about a year and a half but i haven't contriubted anything. I'm a friend of badkarma; we are actually in the same reenactment group. if there are any uniform questions just post. i even know a little about german uniforms and good ways to put cheap realistic german ww2 uniforms together.

bad_karma24 · Post by **bad_karma24** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 5:57 am

That was a fantastic battle. We had at least one tank at the one. Though the Germans heavy weaponry and bunkers kicked our asses.

NaziSentry · Post by **NaziSentry** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 8:12 am

OOOOHHH!!! please post some German and American Uniform tips PLEASE!!!! I love the M1 by the way!

BTW, how do you actually re-enact a battle?

(200th post! POSTING FREAK!!!

)

lukeprausnitz · Post by **lukeprausnitz** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 3:55 pm

it is probably similqar to a field exercise, if thats any help

DeadLogic · Post by **DeadLogic** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 4:18 pm

I understand the concept of a feild exercize, but do you guys just fire blanks at each other and use a sort of honor system where if you think you're hit, you're dead? I dont really get it.

Nice pic, by the way. I envy you guys, I cant afford that kind of gear, even though I work a lot.

lukeprausnitz · Post by **lukeprausnitz** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 8:38 pm

in field exercise, we fire blanks so you dont kow if youre hit. there is a system called TESSEX, which has lasers on the gun which hit the sensor on poeple, whihc makes a loud ringing noise. the only way to stop it is to lie on your back. you cant fire your weapon either when you get hit.

DeadLogic · Post by **DeadLogic** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:27 pm

Yeah, but it's not like WWII weapons are equipped with that, and I was refererring to WWII feild exercises.

bad_karma24 · Post by **bad_karma24** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 10:05 pm

OOOOHHH!!! please post some German and American Uniform tips PLEASE!!!!

I posted a big thing a while back.

I understand the concept of a feild exercize, but do you guys just fire blanks at each other and use a sort of honor system where if you think you're hit, you're dead? I dont really get it.

Yep, you nailed it. You stay "dead" for about 10-15 minutes depending on how many people there are, etc. Medics cut your time in half.

Epsilon · Post by **Epsilon** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 10:22 pm

I am guessing a medic can revive you for a short while too. As for TESSEX, I believe setting up a battle rigging everyone for Miles equipment would be Very expensive! That's what they do in the military though.

Hey there Wrinkledmonkey! I may be joining you guys soon. Tom, your squad leader, is trying to recruit me!

wrinkledmonkey · Post by **wrinkledmonkey** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 10:52 pm

hey epsilon. i hope you are able to join our group. even though it is a little bit of an investment, you will really enjoy the battles and the living history events that we do.

now to the topic of ww2 german uniforms. so far, it seems that most people on this sight that have done or are in the process of making a ww2 movie have been able to scrape together fairly decent U.S. uniforms. but german uniforms are another story.

for someone who wants to put together a german uniform you have three options. you can 1.) buy a quite expensive reproduction german uniform that will break your bank account 2.) use post war east and west german uniforms and bundiswehr camoflauge or 3.) you can do what many german reenactors in europe and some in the U.S. have done which is to convert either Swedish or Swiss tunics and pants into pretty good looking german uniforms.

if anyone is interested, just email me at wrinkledmonkey@yahoo.com and i will send you a guide to converting and dying both Swedish and Swiss uniforms in WW2 german ones. if you choose this option, you will get the most bang for the buck because you can pick up a pair of swedish pants for around 10 dollars on the web ( i got three from Saints and Soldiers) and anywhere from 10 to 20 dollars (American) for a Swedish tunic

for insignia and soft caps there are a number of cheap sites.
http://www.totls.com/IE_index.html Traders of the Lost Surplus: check the clearance and closeout section; they have very low priced, good quality, good reproduction insignia for tunics and they have cheap SS camoflauge caps for 15 dollars without insignia

http://www.reenact.com/20german.htm Castle Keep: you can get cheap German reproduction things here including Swedish tunics for $12

http://www.dutchiesmilitaria.com/ Dutchies Militaria this is a good site for some really cheap german things including reproduction German backpacks for $25 dollars. they also have post war german jack boots and swedish ankle boots which will pass on film for the German WW2 ankleboots that they began to issue in the middle of the war

if there are any other questions just post and i will see if i can answer them

here is a picture of a swedish conversion by some guy in europe.
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... c&start=15

Gyro · Post by **Gyro** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 11:47 pm

I'm looking into purchasing a real m1 garand, can all those in reenactment groups or some who just know about 'em inform me where I can get them and the best deals? Thanks.

Epsilon · Post by **Epsilon** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 12:00 am

I know right now is California there is less hope than most other states, but you should be able to go around to various gun stores and hunting/sporting shops and find something. It'll probably cost you around $800 for a decent one. Maybe $400 for a Carbine. Just search your local yellow pages! You most likely will not find anyone whom will sell to you online.

foxwood · Post by **foxwood** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 12:45 am

$800 for a M-1 ya thats a good price, $400 for a carbine, your dreaming, I saw one for $300 and that was the cheepist one that we had ever seen, ever, but 400 is still cheep. And Gyro arn't you a bit young to buy a gun.

DeadLogic · Post by **DeadLogic** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 12:54 am

Of course he is, but I am sure that the gun is only another object of historical relvance to him, not something that he will use, ever.

And sure, you could pick up an M-1 garand replica for around 400$, Carbine replicas are a bit more rare, but they are still fairly cheap compared to other weapons....

spoonstudiosintl · Post by **spoonstudiosintl** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 12:57 am

Either, A) his parents will buy it for him, or B) being in the conservative-ville that Utah is, he'll ask the first adult he sees to buy him a dangerous weapon who will undoubtedly volunteer because 95% of Utahns feel that we're all safer when everyone's packing heat. So, it really doesn't matter that he's a bit young.

Epsilon · Post by **Epsilon** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 3:25 am

Utah had the largest surplus store I had ever seen in my life!

Right in the middle of potato fields, Really!!!

I said check your local yellow pages because I seriously doubt you will find anywhere online that will sell to you. Because firearm buyers need background checks and all that junk.

Anyone planning to buy a replica for $400 is nuts, why not just spend a little more for a real one?

spoonstudiosintl · Post by **spoonstudiosintl** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 3:44 am

That's true, we do have the largest surplus store of anywhere in the western United States. They have a sprawling location, in the middle of nowhere. It's a good hour drive from SLC, but they've got EVERYTHING. It's where we picked up our M1 helmets. They've got a mountain of 'em just lying around. And when I say mountain, I mean mountain. You can climb on this pile of helmets, its about 10 feet high by 50 square feet. Their gun rack, (sorry, not old military, its an outdoors retailer too) strectches about the length of a football field. Gyro and I try to make a trip every month, just for kicks.

UFProductions · Post by **UFProductions** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 4:13 am

Crown Surplus, Canada's second largest surplus store is about twenty minutes from my house. It's a little on the pricey side, and there's some pretty creepy people that hang out there too, so I don't go all that often.

KylightZone · Post by **KylightZone** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 4:58 am

Wow, we really do have the largest surplus store in the west. That is so cool.

NaziSentry · Post by **NaziSentry** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 5:02 am

Well, the best i got is the Militaria Fairs 3 times a year. Real Guns, Authentic Uniforms, Low and HIGH prices

I saw a repo German tunic for AUD$100 thats pretty good, considering im going to a costumer who made my Trampolining uniform to duplicate them cheep!

Epsilon · Post by **Epsilon** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:19 am

Sounds great, Gyro!

German repros tend to go for around $150 USD per tunic, I would get em at that price. If they are good repros, that is.

NaziSentry · Post by **NaziSentry** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:22 am

They were EXCELLENT! he had a real one and a repo and I couldnt tell the difference!

until he told me of course

Epsilon · Post by **Epsilon** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:25 am

Also check the quality of the material, make sure it's not a cheap polyester wool.

wrinkledmonkey · Post by **wrinkledmonkey** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:30 pm

If anyone is interested, Sportmans Guide is selling both M36 and M40 reproduction tunics for $150 and M40 and M43 reproduction pants for about the same. Luclky, reproduction German uniforms are beginning to go down in price because of the whole supply and demand issue. Now that there are many more people who are getting into reenacting, especially in German reenacting, there is more of a demand for the uniforms so the companys that make them have to make more and can lower the price. Sportsmans Guide also has repro German overcoats and reproduction belts (i bought one and it was pretty nice but i have to shorten it). They also were offering reproduction Fallshirmjager (paratrooper) smocks for $60. But when i ordered one, they said they were out of stock even though they still have it on their website as in stock.

Now as to surplus stores, often times, if you do your research and know how to date items, you can find extremely good deals, especially if the owner doesn't know what he or she has! At one store, i traded the owner two modern dress tunics i picked up from a thrift store for 2 dollars each for some korean era combat shirts! Also, thrift stores are a good place to go. i have gotten some many good deals there. One time, i picked up an orginial U.S. WW2 M41 jacket with a pin up girl painted on the back for $40. Usually, the origininal jacket alone will go for $150 and up.

Gyro · Post by **Gyro** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 10:10 pm

Epsilon wrote:Sounds great, Gyro!

Hopefully tomorrow, Spoonstudios or I will be able to make it out there to pick up some liners and if so, we'll snap some shots.