AbbyShot jacket and South Beach pants review

[MFP 2020]

When I first saw "Mad Max" in 1980, I was blown away. I'd never been a car guy but MM made me at least appreciate the beauty of a muscle car. (I was always a bike guy and MM was a delicious smorgasbord.) But what I really fell in love with in MM was the MFP uniform. Highway cops in black leather? That right there was the shizznit. Back in the 70s and 80s, I made half-assed attempts to make costumes of my favorite characters (Luke Skywalker, Indiana Jones), but the closest I got to Max was a Brando/motorcycle-type jacket in cloth, which I now realize put me closer to Bubba's outfit. (Although later on, dressed in black Hein Gericke leathers and Goose-type boots, I heard "Mad Max!" a lot.)

As you know, we've had to wait forever (OK, almost 30 years) to have accurate replica clothing available. And yeah, I'm 44 years old now, but dammit—I deserve to have my MFP uniform! I dutifully saved my allowance and I purchased it without guilt. And you should have heard me cackle with glee when I first put on that jacket. My inner 15-year-old was very happy. Very soon I will put on the whole uniform and strap on my guns and walk out into the wasteland, and you can kill me right then and there, because it will never get better than that.

And now, a mini-review:

AbbyShot Max Jacket:

I provided my measurements and got feedback from AbbyShot. They recommended a large, so that's what I ordered. The package was delayed in Customs (those bastards!) so it took longer than the three days I expected. It arrived and I put it on and, as I said, cackled. The fit was very good around the chest, but a little snug around my biceps.





Now the critique. The replica is longer than the movie jacket. I'm not looking for "movie poster midriff-baring length," but it falls lower than Max's.



Also, as another forum member noted, the jacket is flared at the bottom, not fitted, so it's not snug enough around the waist, and when I use the adjustment tab, the excess leather sticks out.



The lining is quilted and very warm, which is bad news for me as I live in Southern California. Right now it's in the shop to have the lining replaced with mesh or a thin polyester. I'm hoping it gives me a little more room for my guns.



Grain is not as smooth as pants (or the vinyl jacket in the movie), but it's very supple and doesn't need to be broken in.

Suggestions for AbbyShot: Mesh lining option, narrower waist, and sewn-on leather tab with grommets for badge (maybe for number plate, too) as Pursuit Special had done.


Southbeach Leather Pants:

Just about perfect. Much better than I expected. Came in what seemed to be a small envelope (Couldn’t possibly be my pants, I thought), folded too flat and weighing too little. But I was pleasantly surprised. Hips/butt fit is perfect, but waist (beltline) is a little big; needs to be taken in. A little too long, but I was probably too generous with my measurement (you supply waist/inseam when you order).



Belt loops will take a 1 3/4" belt but it’s a tight fit. I've noticed that the belt loops on Max's pants are at least a half inch wide, much wider than the standard jeans belt loop on these pants. "Hemmed" using fusible web, not stitched. Leather is supple with a smoother grain than the jacket. (Would be nice if AbbyShot would make the pants, or would get together with SBL to coordinate leather.) Lined with a light polyester down to the knee. They fit well inside my boots, but I'm considering putting in an elastic stirrup on the legs to keep them tucked. Definitely worth buying.



(Sorry, forgot to get a shot of the back and I'm away from home right now. Will update later.)

[framed]

I got the SBL jacket and i am almost ready updating it with the plastic shoulder caps i made,it looks very accurate only the back shoulder seam should be a little higher on the sides.
the jacket is also not too heavy and has smooth calf leather.
its not 100% accurate maybe we can let them make a jacket from vinyl also?
i will post some pics soon.
as for the pants i have asked SBL also to make me them now with your revieuw i realy gonna buy them.
thank!

[Max Replica]

Thanks for the reviews. Please post a followup after the alterations.

My pants were a little long, but I just cut them off with a pair of scissors. Leather pants often come with an unfinished bottom hem anyway, and I'll always be wearing them tucked in. I think someone mentioned a shot of max in film three where you can see that his hems are unfinished.

So, it looks like your SBL pants came with no pockets at all. Is that how they come standard, or did you ask for that?
We know that they're not supposed to have BACK pockets in either movie, but according to Karol's site, the FRONT pockets ARE there in both movies.

HOWEVER... looking at the screenshots I have available, I can see what looks like front pockets in MM2, but I don't see evidence of any front pockets in MM1 (but my screenshot library is a bit limited in this area).

Hmm.

[MFP 2020]

New pix. I've noted that they're lined down to the knees. Pictured here with the Guide Gear engineer boots and resin boot badge.





I had a butt shot but I decided to spare you.

J, they came without pockets (I didn't ask). I've looked at various scenes and I can't see pockets on the front of Max's trousers (and it would make sense for simplicity's sake that the originals were made without pockets). I didn't even notice until you mentioned it.

[Max Replica]

Looks good.
Karol was over the other night and we looked at some screenshots. So far we haven't been able to see any evidence of front pockets on the MM1 pants. So Karol may need to revise his website.
But Max definitely has front pockets on his MM2 pants.
So I guess anyone ordering from Southbeach should specify if they want no pockets at all (MM1) or just front pockets (MM2).

[MFP 2020]

I picked up my jacket yesterday and I'm ecstatic. My local shop is called Dale's Shoe Repair, but they also do custom leather boots and clothing, and since they did such a good job with my holster, I gave them a shot. They altered the bottom so it tapers rather than flares (pix to come), and they replaced the hot quilted lining with mesh. They even put the AbbyShot label back in. Took about two weeks and cost me $125.



Now I can wear it almost all the time, and not just in Arctic conditions.

[Max Replica]

Looks great.
By the way, where did you get your light blue shirt? The color looks about right.

[MFP 2020]

Looks great.
By the way, where did you get your light blue shirt? The color looks about right.

It's a Banana Republic T-shirt that I've had for several years (and only kept because I thought one day I might need it). It's a crew neck but the "half-height" type of crew neck. I also found a couple of similarly colored T-shirts a couple of weeks ago on the clearance rack at Target for $8 each, with the standard crew neck. The only bad thing about the Target tees is the (subtle) embroidered logo on the left breast.

Any idea where to get a light blue raglan sleeve T-shirt?

[Max Replica]

We haven't had any luck finding raglan t-shirts here in the states, and definitely not in the light blue color.
And Bonds no longer makes them in Australia. Karol had talked about one day trying to buy a whole bunch of white Bonds shirts and custom dying them, but that project is on the back burner at the moment.

I wonder if Bonds is the only company in Oz that makes raglan t-shirts, or if the raglan cut is the standard cut down under? If so, maybe there's another brand that would make them in the right color. Hell, I bet there is some company in China that would custom make a batch of them at a reasonable price.

[ydx7]

To me, the t shirts worn by Dr. Cox on Scrubs looked to be the right color.