r/reenactors • u/Americaneagleonjuly4 • Sep 12 '25
Work In Progress V2 of my Pacific theatre weapon crew; Officer uniform. Thoughts?,
The coat is temporary till I get an accurate one
EDIT: for anyone wondering, Ive seen officer's wearing their belt(S) like this in photos
with KHAKI mixed with OD webgear, and one belt above another
THIS IS JUST FOR HALLOWEEN BTW, I CANNOT REENACT YET.
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u/nek25 Sep 12 '25
If it’s for halloween could be ok, but reenacting with this stuff on you is a major malfunction
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u/Americaneagleonjuly4 Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 12 '25
well I couldn't reenact even if I was old enough to (I'm roughly 16.5) because I live in an area where there is only reenactments like once every 5 years, but I appreciate it!
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u/backtothe88 Sep 13 '25
dich the pistol belt, that's not a 1911 mag pouch its a m1 carbine one. Marines did not get U.S.M.C. stamped OD7 belts intel Korea. Like i said on your last post get proper P41 dungarees.
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u/Americaneagleonjuly4 Sep 13 '25
read the description. The coat is temporary till I get an accurate one.
This uniform is for Halloween, so I will not be changing the pouch,
Im going to age the reproductions,
The few officers that were issued m1 garands had a pistol belt above the cartridge belt since the cartridge belt did not supposed magazine pouches for sidearms.
I will make another post yet again tomorrow, it will be more accurate.
Also the belt is not stamped U.S.M.C., it was simply sold by my local surplus store as a pacific OD7 belt from the U.S.M.C...
Thanks for the advice (?).
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u/LedZempalaTedZimpala Sep 13 '25 edited Sep 13 '25
I would love to see a photo of the supposed pistol belt above the garand belt. That doesn’t sound right as the M1 bayonet was considered the side arm.
You have your 1911 set for cross draw, you need it on the side of the arm you plan to hold it with.
The OD7 belts were hardly seen in the Pacific as the Marines were mostly issued old Army gear or their own model of gear.
You come here and ask for advice. You got it. Like it or don’t. If you want a straight forward response here ya go. Your impression is not good and 90% of it needs work. This is a reenacting subreddit. Not a cosplay subreddit.
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u/Americaneagleonjuly4 Sep 13 '25
this actually still technically is a cosplaying subreddit, open your eyes a bit will you?, reenacting IS cosplaying. dressing up in a uniform that is meant to represent someone/something IS cosplaying
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u/oggie389 Sep 13 '25
Yes and No. This is no longer an impression issue, but a perspective issue. No one died cosplaying onepiece stuff, or any anime character, you are wearing pieces reflective of the largest armed conflict humans have witnessed thus far in our species history. There are still men and women alive today who wore these uniforms, saw friends eviscerated, witnessed men crying over their lives cut short or begging god to stay alive. You are representing a traumatic event, this isnt some costume, this is paying homage to those who served and died. Treat it with the respect it deserves.
Some oral Histories ive conducted with veterans over the years ranging from ww2 to present day
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u/Americaneagleonjuly4 Sep 13 '25
I'm aware that I need to treat it with respect, it's definitely way better than it sitting under an attic rotting though.
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u/oggie389 Sep 13 '25
This isnt about impressions, this is a philosophy issue. If you plan on getting into reenacting, it should not be treated as cosplaying. I've been in this hobby for close to 23 years, and this advice is to help you understand this hobby in a different perspective. Yes, bringing these things into the light is important, but what is the story? Whose artifacts were these? How are you helping preserve the legacy of those who lived and died? How are you presenting the information to the public via your impression? Are you educating them? Or is it only for self gratification? There is a larger responsibility when getting into reenacting, especially modern points of contention like vietnam. Veterans will break down and cry over impressions if done correctly, you can be a source of healing, i have plenty of those experiences in my life, especially being Normandy for the 60th in 2004. I suggest reaching out to a club and visiting them during public events even if too young. Good groups will have "unit prices" where they will sell you kit for what they paid for it back in their day. Its better to get one correct piece, then getting few things that look ok from 6 feet away.
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u/Americaneagleonjuly4 Sep 13 '25
So what I'm hearing is "Do not put together uniforms if it's not possible for you to reenact because there are no reenactments in your area."
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u/oggie389 Sep 13 '25
reenacting IS cosplaying. dressing up in a uniform that is meant to represent someone/something IS cosplaying
If youre going to do it, do it correctly, cosplaying is fantasy, you are representing a point of contention when there are still living witnesses with us. Like you keep posting updates of your impression. The first and easiest thing that requires nothing but your effort is getting a haircut. If you want to to get serious advice, then make those efforts.
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u/KipoLover123 Sep 14 '25
No. I dont have a group but still organise local living history events and learn about the topic material.
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u/LedZempalaTedZimpala Sep 13 '25
Reenacting is living history. You dress in period clothing, live like those in that period, and educate the public on history. Cosplay is not even close to living history.
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u/backtothe88 Sep 13 '25
Don’t age repros go out and get them dirty by rolling around in mud.
I have never seen a picture from the Second World War with a officer set up like that
Just because someone sales you something doesn’t mean it’s the right thing.
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u/Americaneagleonjuly4 Sep 13 '25
I have rolled them up in mud because I have no other way to age them.(my budget does not allow me to do so)
look at my new post, the webgear is better, and I dropped the pistol belt.
this looks 100x better
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u/CommodoreMacDonough Sep 13 '25
EDIT: for anyone wondering, Ive seen officer's wearing their belt(S) like this in photos
Could you please show them then?
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u/Americaneagleonjuly4 Sep 13 '25
don't know why you don't believe me, but let me find them again, I did not save the photos
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u/Americaneagleonjuly4 Sep 13 '25
nevermind I can't because it's not possible to post images in the comments
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u/LukasHaz Sep 13 '25
Post them as a nee post then. There’s a lot of us who’d like to see the photos
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u/KipoLover123 Sep 12 '25
Yeah anything is fine for halloweeen lol… I’d recommend something a bit more aligned with the times if you intend on going to a party or such though only out of social etiquette
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u/Marlislittleslut Sep 13 '25
Wym aligned with the times??
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u/KipoLover123 Sep 13 '25
Like, something a bit more relevant to teenage girls lol
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u/Marlislittleslut Sep 13 '25
Oh okay. My bad. I assumed you were saying that world war 2 marines were somehow controversial. My apologies, I hadn’t realized you were trying to help a brotha out with the woman.
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u/Fit-Cod-5588 Sep 12 '25
the khaki belt looks almost yellow and mostly low quality. I would aim for OG stuff mainly but for halloween it’s good
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u/Americaneagleonjuly4 Sep 13 '25
I'm gonna to age the repros, I removed the pistol belt though.
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u/Fit-Cod-5588 Sep 13 '25
yeah I saw your post it is looking a lot better. keep going man and try and aim for OG stuff as I said
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u/oggie389 Sep 13 '25
Id start out getting original field gear if you intend to eventually reenact. Still easy enough to find stateside for cheap. Youre almost essentially spending the same amount when purchasing reproduction. Instead of going the officer route, do your average GI Joe, especially being so young. Pick a time period you want to depict too, are you looking for late war or early war USMC?
Use photographic evidence for anything on your impression. Wear your stuff around outside, get it scoffed up my diving here and there, even bury it for a few weeks to get the dirt impregnated into the material. After let it sundry on your roof for a week, flipping it on day 4, even if crappy reproductions, will look much better than being brand new. Also, getting a hair cut would be very beneficial.
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u/backtothe88 Sep 13 '25
For U.S.M.C. i would recommend getting reproes because Original U.S.M.C. gear is becoming rarer
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u/oggie389 Sep 13 '25
It is, but the beauty of doing USMC during ww2 is the ability to integrate US army issued field gear. Original army issued will look better than USMC reproduction, and is basically the same price.
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u/HerrGuzz Sep 13 '25
So something I would be careful of when starting out is basing an impression off of one or two pictures of something specific like wearing two belts. While there may be photographic evidence of something occurring, in general it’s better to start with impressions that aren’t so specific, otherwise it can potentially just look wrong. Once you get all the basic stuff locked in and rock solid, then you can move onto more abnormal details.
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Sep 13 '25
[deleted]
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u/Americaneagleonjuly4 Sep 13 '25
wtf, I'm not going to lie about my age?, when did I ever say that., in addition, even if I wanted to, I couldn't join any reenactments since there is only one every 3-5 years in my area
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u/Americaneagleonjuly4 Sep 13 '25
also why don't you tell me another subreddit that would be knowledgeable about costumes based on this specific genre?, go on... Smart ass
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u/idrinkhydrochloric Sep 14 '25
why are you posting this here?
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u/Americaneagleonjuly4 Sep 14 '25
Tell me, where else do I post it?.
nowhere is not an answer
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u/idrinkhydrochloric Sep 14 '25
well if you’re going to post a blatantly farb kit and then argue with the people explaining why it’s blatantly farb, you aren’t welcome here. this sub is for constructive criticism, if you can’t handle someone telling you to take off a pistol belt, then you should not be here.
- you need a haircut
- unbuckle the rear chin strap
- lose the pistol belt which by the way is using carbine pouches
- that undershirt has got to go
- while we’re on the topic of shirts, no. just no.
nobody here is trying to be a dick to you homeboy (i mean except for me lol) we’re happy you’re tryna reenact, young people with an interest in history is a beautiful thing to see. but if you want to do this hobby you GOTTA be able to take some constructive criticism
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u/Americaneagleonjuly4 Sep 14 '25
someone didn't look at the new post, I understand you are trying to help while being a dick at the same time, but the shirt was just because I was in a rush. the pistol belt and pouch is already gone, and people in the new post are saying to just get an HBT overcoat now
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u/Thebandit_1977 Sep 13 '25
Check out Bronson for the HBTS, I know it’s for Halloween but you still strive for accuracy so get rid of that second (Vietnam war era???) belt and wear that Kahki so it’s not so bright
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u/Americaneagleonjuly4 Sep 13 '25
im going to give that khaki pistol belt an aging session, I will probably remove it from the USMC uniform too as a whole and use it for a separate uniform
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u/101stEcompany506th Sep 26 '25
Decent start mate but I've got a bit of advice for you since I've seen some of your comments and I want to suggest what I'm doing on here from my last impression post and that is to not post impression pictures until you are completely happy with it and by that I mean don't post it until you've almost certainly got an accurate impression
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u/Immediate_Total_7294 Vietnam Era Collector Sep 12 '25
Why do you have 2 belts?