Post by misfit13 on Feb 2, 2011 15:50:28 GMT -5
Since I signed up on these boards I have rarely said much, commented or contributed to them although I check them multiple times a day...
So with that being said, I thought it was time that I contribute something that may be of interest to others.
This is the step by step process that I did for converting my MP44 Yugo pouches to something that more resembles the WW2 German MP44 pouches. I did this conversion because although I am unhappy with the way the Yugo pouches look... I did not want to go spend a ton on repro pouches. Especially since I already have these. So without further delay, here we go...
These are the tools that I used for the conversion. Dremel with small bit, large file, super glue, scissors, pliers with knife, white thread, safety glasses and a VERY heavy duty needle which you can not see.
Photo of how the pouch looked beforehand.
First step is to remove the small leather tool pouch on the side. I did this by carefully cutting the stitching out so as to not damage the leather as it will be reused later on.
Take note, the "leather" is not the best in the world (I believe it is pressed) and can rip pretty easy. Avoid as much as you can if possible. Also note that the stitching towards the side of the pouch is tied into the canvas.. don't cut it out! If you do the canvas will fall apart. To get around this I cut and pulled the leather at that side while avoiding the stich until the pouch came out by just pulling on it.
I had a old green army duffle that was not getting any use. I used this for the green canvas that I cut out for the top of the pouches. I cut the strips to be a wider than the pouch so I could go over the edges and long enough to go to the back of the pouch.
On the strips I used super glue to hold the folded edges in place.
You can see how the strip looked after the fold and glue here.
When deciding on where the fold would go I would lay the strip over the top of the pouch and fold it to where the edge of the pouch is.
Next I cut the stitching on the pouch straps and removed.
Here is how it looks once that is done.
Next, I put glue on the back of the strip and placed over/on top of the original leather.
This is how all three strips looked once glued down.
After that is done I sewed the straps back on using the same holes that were already there.
Picture of the strap being sewed on from the front. Here you can also see the size of the needle being used.
Now it is time to start the stitching on the front of the pouch. This is where the dremel comes in. Between the canvas, leather and super glue bond which was very hard to get through.. using a needle by itself was almost impossible. So I got out my dremel with a small bit and used it to drill out each hole for the stitching. I would first drill all the holes in the front, then go through the back end of the pouch by the leather to enlarge the holes on that side as well.
Stitching started...
Here is how all the holes drilled out looked from the front...
and here they are from the top of the pouch.
First round of stitching done. Note that on the original German MP44 pouch there are also 4 support stiches. 2 on the bottom corners and 2 towards the top that go off to the side of the pouch.
Next is the side pouch. Here is the top cover to the side pouch that I removed earlier. We need to take off the long strap.. but keep the rivet.
I used a knife and pair of pliers to get it off.
After that was done I moved onto making a new side pouch. The original German MP44 side pouch was canvas, so I cut out a new piece of canvas about the same size and started sewing on. Also, the top of the pouch should end about the middle of where the strap studs are and the bottom of it about 1/2 inch from the bottom of the pouch.
Here is the top half to the side pouch again. The original had a slightly different shape to it. The sides were at a 90 degree angle then going into a semi circle towards the bottom. So... we need to cut it....
I did this with a normal pair of scissors.
Here is the top cover and side pouch all stitched together.
Here is a picture of the small leather piece that secures the strap in place. It is rivetted in, and the original version had them sewed on. So they need to come off.
I did this by taking a pair of pliers and squeezing the bottom of the rivet together until it came out easily.
Like so.
Remember that old leather side pouch? I used it for cutting out new strips of leather. I put the old one up to it for reference on size and cut out 6 strips. This is the reason why you do not want to damage the side pouch tooooo much when you remove it.
Here they are.
I placed them over the area that I removed the old one from and sewed on.
The studs that the pouch straps secure to are pointed. The original German MP44 version the studs are flat (maybe rounded?). I took a pair of pliers to secure the stud and used the large file to grind them down.
This is how far I took them down.
They are not perfect, but I think they do look much better.
That is it! Here is side by side comparison with the other side of the pouch that is unmodified.
And the final of how it turned out from about 2ft away.
All in all, I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. It is far from perfect, but for airsoft I think it will pass pretty well. Especially MUCH better in comparison to the Yugo pouch and its heavy metal leather personality. I think if someone really wanted to, they could do take what I have done and make it better if they take more time with it.
A few things that I learned that I would do differently...
1) I would have tried to get the stitching on the pouch covers closer to the sides.
2) I would have gotten a circular needle for the side pouch. My stitching would have been much neater. I might actually redo that part in the future.
3) When I cut the canvas for the side pouch I made it to small. It is big enough to fit the diameter of a large felt marker.
I hope you enjoyed my DIY. If anyone has any questions I’ll do the best I can to answer them.
Thanks!
-misfit
So with that being said, I thought it was time that I contribute something that may be of interest to others.
This is the step by step process that I did for converting my MP44 Yugo pouches to something that more resembles the WW2 German MP44 pouches. I did this conversion because although I am unhappy with the way the Yugo pouches look... I did not want to go spend a ton on repro pouches. Especially since I already have these. So without further delay, here we go...
These are the tools that I used for the conversion. Dremel with small bit, large file, super glue, scissors, pliers with knife, white thread, safety glasses and a VERY heavy duty needle which you can not see.
Photo of how the pouch looked beforehand.
First step is to remove the small leather tool pouch on the side. I did this by carefully cutting the stitching out so as to not damage the leather as it will be reused later on.
Take note, the "leather" is not the best in the world (I believe it is pressed) and can rip pretty easy. Avoid as much as you can if possible. Also note that the stitching towards the side of the pouch is tied into the canvas.. don't cut it out! If you do the canvas will fall apart. To get around this I cut and pulled the leather at that side while avoiding the stich until the pouch came out by just pulling on it.
I had a old green army duffle that was not getting any use. I used this for the green canvas that I cut out for the top of the pouches. I cut the strips to be a wider than the pouch so I could go over the edges and long enough to go to the back of the pouch.
On the strips I used super glue to hold the folded edges in place.
You can see how the strip looked after the fold and glue here.
When deciding on where the fold would go I would lay the strip over the top of the pouch and fold it to where the edge of the pouch is.
Next I cut the stitching on the pouch straps and removed.
Here is how it looks once that is done.
Next, I put glue on the back of the strip and placed over/on top of the original leather.
This is how all three strips looked once glued down.
After that is done I sewed the straps back on using the same holes that were already there.
Picture of the strap being sewed on from the front. Here you can also see the size of the needle being used.
Now it is time to start the stitching on the front of the pouch. This is where the dremel comes in. Between the canvas, leather and super glue bond which was very hard to get through.. using a needle by itself was almost impossible. So I got out my dremel with a small bit and used it to drill out each hole for the stitching. I would first drill all the holes in the front, then go through the back end of the pouch by the leather to enlarge the holes on that side as well.
Stitching started...
Here is how all the holes drilled out looked from the front...
and here they are from the top of the pouch.
First round of stitching done. Note that on the original German MP44 pouch there are also 4 support stiches. 2 on the bottom corners and 2 towards the top that go off to the side of the pouch.
Next is the side pouch. Here is the top cover to the side pouch that I removed earlier. We need to take off the long strap.. but keep the rivet.
I used a knife and pair of pliers to get it off.
After that was done I moved onto making a new side pouch. The original German MP44 side pouch was canvas, so I cut out a new piece of canvas about the same size and started sewing on. Also, the top of the pouch should end about the middle of where the strap studs are and the bottom of it about 1/2 inch from the bottom of the pouch.
Here is the top half to the side pouch again. The original had a slightly different shape to it. The sides were at a 90 degree angle then going into a semi circle towards the bottom. So... we need to cut it....
I did this with a normal pair of scissors.
Here is the top cover and side pouch all stitched together.
Here is a picture of the small leather piece that secures the strap in place. It is rivetted in, and the original version had them sewed on. So they need to come off.
I did this by taking a pair of pliers and squeezing the bottom of the rivet together until it came out easily.
Like so.
Remember that old leather side pouch? I used it for cutting out new strips of leather. I put the old one up to it for reference on size and cut out 6 strips. This is the reason why you do not want to damage the side pouch tooooo much when you remove it.
Here they are.
I placed them over the area that I removed the old one from and sewed on.
The studs that the pouch straps secure to are pointed. The original German MP44 version the studs are flat (maybe rounded?). I took a pair of pliers to secure the stud and used the large file to grind them down.
This is how far I took them down.
They are not perfect, but I think they do look much better.
That is it! Here is side by side comparison with the other side of the pouch that is unmodified.
And the final of how it turned out from about 2ft away.
All in all, I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. It is far from perfect, but for airsoft I think it will pass pretty well. Especially MUCH better in comparison to the Yugo pouch and its heavy metal leather personality. I think if someone really wanted to, they could do take what I have done and make it better if they take more time with it.
A few things that I learned that I would do differently...
1) I would have tried to get the stitching on the pouch covers closer to the sides.
2) I would have gotten a circular needle for the side pouch. My stitching would have been much neater. I might actually redo that part in the future.
3) When I cut the canvas for the side pouch I made it to small. It is big enough to fit the diameter of a large felt marker.
I hope you enjoyed my DIY. If anyone has any questions I’ll do the best I can to answer them.
Thanks!
-misfit