My MFP Max shoulder holster...

[Rook3]

I've been working on the templates for this holster for a while now.
I spent a few hours today working on the part of the holster that goes over the
top of the shoulder.

This is my "final" prototytpe version. I think my version is about 90% or so
accurate to the one Max had on his jacket in the first film.

I still think the front part of the top band is wrong, as mine covers my MFP
ID badge, and Max's holster didn't.

Anyhoo... on to the pics.

I made this using a thick foam backed Vinyl. I picked this style of vinyl because
it's about the same thickness as the leather I'm planning on making the final
version out of.









The final version will have leather lacing holding it togeather... as opposed to the pieces
of wire I used when I was at work (Hey, it was all I could find!).

I still need to find a metal slide stay for the right shoulder/back strap.
I could paint the plastic one... but the original was metal, so why settle?

The strap on the back is a thick 1" wide elastic. It seels very durable, and for $2.75
a yard, it better be.

The vinyl was a remnant I got from the fabric store, and I only paid about $2.50 or so for about
6 square feet or so.

I stitched the body of the holster togeather by hand, using ordinary thread. I have waxed
thread and a leather working tool that I will use on the final version. It works really well when you
figure out how to use it.

So, who wants a holster?

Russ

[Rook3]

Wow not even so much as "that's crap, bugger off!"

Of course, I'd hope for a response different than that.

Here's some screen caps I used in the modeling process...







Russ

[Foxtrot X-Ray]

Sorry, Mate.
I did type up a "hey, that's pretty good work" post but since I was posting from work, I had to scrap it when I ran out of time at break.

[4073Max]

ok dude here is my response. Nice holster, great work for going through the effort of researching and actually making it.

Who ever is the model in the pics has to learn to suck in his guts for photos!

Now bugger off, lol

[Rook3]

Who ever is the model in the pics has to learn to suck in his guts for photos!

Now bugger off, lol

LOL! Gut? What gut? Consider it my... Roop impression. Yeah, that's it, I planned that...

I really wasn't fishing for compliments, just curious why nobody said anything.

I still need to figure out if I have the front of the holster arm and the over shoulder part correct.
It seems like it's too large since it hits my ID number, and Max never had that issue in the film.

I also think I need to slightly turn up the "arms" of the holster itself. Right now they're
strait, and line up a little oddly with the top piece.

Still, not a horrible prototype for a few hours work.

Russ

[Chase Bansi]

I think it hitting the ID badge has more to do with the jacket than the holster, but it could be a bit wide. Even still it looks real good, maybe just a trim. Not much room to move the ID pin but that would be the easiest fix.

[StepChld]

Nice job on the holster, but...
I've made more than a few shoulder and hip holsters, usta sell them- think Old West style. Anyway while looking at your job, I noticed that your revolver when pulled, probably gets tangled up in the holster. Here's why, the strap that goes over your left shoulder should be attached to the back side of the holster, not the front. The holster itself, on the back side, should have a "mule-ear" piece so that the front strap attaches on the back of the holster and the back strap also attaches to the back of the holster. Kind of hard to explain, perhaps I can rustle up a pic to explain it better.
Anyway, nice stitching! You can probably get some tooling leather ( 7-9 oz. leather) from the "skirt" of the hide for less than $20 and have enough to do several holsters. That would make it more "life-like" but nonetheless, you did a very good job!

[Rook3]

Kind of hard to explain, perhaps I can rustle up a pic to explain it better.

I'd appreciate that!

I made everything from looking at screen caps (such as those I posted
above), but blowing up a 1024x768 sized DVD image is a losing proposition
at best. Especially if the movie was shot on film and not a digital media.

Screen caps I grab tend to fuzz out pretty badly when blown up.

I still plan on making the final version out of leather. I'm having a hard time finding pre-dyed
black leather without buying half a cow's worth of leather.
If I try using the local surplus store's goods, I'll be forced to hand dye and
treat/seal it myself. More time and money involved that I don't have right now...

Which explains why I haven't worked on my prototype further.

The stitching "looks" good in the picture, but is nothing noteworthy. Just plain
thread. I have one of the "hole placement" wheel tools for leather that I used when
making my Indiana Jones hip holster. It turned out pretty decent (I think anyway...)
so that's what gave me the incentive to try making a semi-accurate Max holster.

But I'd appreciate seeing the image you were talking about.
No such thing as too much information when you're working on a prop or
costume.

Russ

[HUMVEE Driver]

I like it! I think the stitching is perfect. Even if it isn't actually 'perfect' stitching, it fits in with the Mad Max world. I think a lot of the MFP's equipment was thrown together, so you're fine by me. I used those same screen shots for making my holster, too.

Have you tried drawing the gun out? That style is kind of weird like that. I can draw mine after some practice, but no way would I wear a holster like that for real. But then, I'm big on realism. My replica gun looks fairly real, too, so I'm not going to be drawing it all that much anyway.

Have you tried just calling some leather stores for scrap pieces? Almost all that I have talked to had no problem cutting and selling me a piece of whatever I liked, and at a decent price. If that doesn't work, there is always Ebay.

Now just suck in that gut!

HUMVEE Driver

[Rook3]

Yeah, I've tried drawing it and it's a little tricky. A lot of the "old school"
large pistol holsters actually had a belt loop on the bottom, so when you
pulled up on the pistol, the belt loop kept the holster in position and
the draw was trouble free.

Another thing about this design is the way it really differs from any other
shoulder holster I've seen. The "ears" that attach to the over the shoulder piece
are reversed, meaning, the ear on the piece closest to the body goes backward,
and the piece on the outside goes forward. On the holsters I've looked at (which
isn't many since I'm more of a tactical gear guy than a shoulder holster guy...),
normally the ears are on the same side and logically one on the front goes forward,
and one on the back goes backward.

Drawing the pistol from that style is easier because the design doesn't hamper
drawing, but they usually also have a snap or clasp to hold the pistol in place.
Max's holster had no form of retention that I can see other than the shape of the
holster itself.

As far as scrap leathers... I live in the wasteland of Northern Minnesota, and we're
literally a 2.5-3 hour drive from... anywhere. I only have the one local
surplus/leather store to deal with. If I could find a black leather jacket
for cheap I could cut that up I imagine, but it would likely be cheaper to
just buy the raw leather. I'll keep looking and find something eventually.

I still need to find a silver colored metal 1" slider for the elastic strap.
I really don't want to paint the plastic ones. Cheap paint doesn't last.

Suck in the gut? Man, everyone's a critic! :lol

Just Call me "Roop3" from now on.

Russ