NON-PMC Merc Loadouts

[Thorbard]

yeah, most airsofters really arnt built like mercs....

i know one or two at my local site, and half a loadout is the person in it....

you can dressup like deltaforce, but if your 5'5 and 100lbs, you wont look the part

bulk up much, grow facial hair,work out...

R

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Dark glasses help cover up the lack of anything resembling a 1000-yard stare, and body armour or a large chest rig can help add bulk to those slightly more skinny types.

 

But mainly, yeah, your physique will effect how you look in a loadout.

[TheMerchantOfVenice]

I'm not skinny, nor fat.

In the middle.

Go me.

 

ANYWAYS, I like the FN Fal but it is currently out of my price range. Would anyone know of a US WWII 1911-ish holster WITHOUT the US emblem?

 

I'm also considering forming a Merc Team with my friends and brother.

[pjones]

I'm putting together a 1960's -70's African mercenary loadout, based on books like "The Dogs of War" and such, and here's what I've got planned:

 

Weapon: MP-40

Web gear: Chicom chest rig, ALICE (I'll replace it with UK Pat58 eventually, the pouches look huge!)

Clothing:

-OD BDU pants

-OD Jungle boots

-Tigerstripe BDU blouse

-Tigerstripe boonie (I'd love to find a bush/digger hat in my size, but can't. I might get a beret.)

[Cyber Soldier]

If you're doing the African Merc look can I suggest you look here?

[pjones]

I got my MP-40 today, so I played around with the digital camera's timer feature.

 

 

(Note the supply of very tactical pink dress shirts and other clothes in my closet. Situational awareness is for photographers too! )

 

I really need to get more mags for the MP-40, as well as something to hold them in. They're about 23cm long, too long for a STANAG pouch, but they do look like they'd fit in a Chicom rig. I'm also looking into a sling, as the MP-40 is pretty heavy.

[Thorbard]

Thompson mag pouches might suit that gear...

 

I assume the two are similar sized.

[pjones]

Thompson mag pouches might suit that gear...

 

I assume the two are similar sized.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I think that Tommy gun mags are slightly larger (the rounds are), so it would make sense. I'll look into that.

 

EDIT: Does anybody know how long Thompson gun mags are?

 

M1A1 mags hold 30 rounds of .45 Auto

[DarkLite]

If it's any help, a ChiCom rig holds about 3-4 MP40 mags in each pouch.

[yellowman]

Since in the US the p90/umg pouch at aex might work.

[Gadge]

In reality mercenaries tend to wear the kit and carry the arms of their employer. Its *very* traditional though for them to carry the headress and capbadge of their previous regiment (espcially true of UK and European merc in Bos/yugo)

 

Reasons for this being

 

1 ) Airposrts tend to ask a lot of questions of wel build men wearing or carrying lots of tactical gear travelling in groups. Most mercs will travel to a warzone in civvies only tkaing perosoanl tactical kit and a good pair of boots. There is a lovely scene in VS Naipauls 'a bend in the river' where a group of european men well build and casually dressed arrive at reques tof the mar ein the towns big hotel, its only their demeanour and the fact they are all wearing combat boots that gives them away.

 

2 ) The employer usualy wants the mercs to do jobs alongside his regular forces and to all extents and purposes blend in with them. He certainly doenst want his opponents knowing he's short of good regular troops. Eqally he doenst want his own men opening up on the mercs as they are not wearing 'friendly' uniforms.

 

3 ) Logisitics, if you're in theatre for more than a few weeks then its pointless taking your own kit/firearms without a huge logistics trian to re-arm, re-bomb, repair and rekit your lads. Makes far more sense to use the local kit.

[sandstorm]

The logistic s bit is one which should rule out 1911A1s in several parts of the world. The .45 ACP is NOT very common round outside of USA and their supply chains, 9x19 is more ubiquitous, and easily available in quantities anywhere.

[DarkLite]

Depends, actually. There used to be a lot of .45ACP surplus from the 30s and 40s, especially as the Chinese Communist Party used C96 Mausers chambered in .45ACP (with select fire too, fun).

 

In the 70's in HK, a lot of pirates came down from Mainland China to rob banks and jewelery shops with Type 56s and M1911a1s. One particular robbery saw a HKPO taking a .45 through his shoulder and another taking one in the lung.

 

The first didn't realise he had been shot until another officer dragged him into cover, and the second only survived due to the quick and ingenious application of a credit-card by a Ex-UMSC Medic on holiday who happened to be at the scene.

 

Anyhow, I'd still say the M1911 has a place in Merc loadouts, though you are right, 9mm is more logical.

[TheMerchantOfVenice]

1911's look better in most Merc loadouts, anyways. MOST.

[sandstorm]

Darklite, the Shanshi Broomhandle, in .45ACP, wasn't really that common, the more usual 7.65 mauser and 9mm Luger were used in China. After all, it was just one warlord who wanted to complement his Tommy-guns with ammo-compatible Broomhandles. And that was before the ubiquitous Chinese Clone Factory.

 

Anyway, a Merc would, if they weren't supplied by their employer, use whatever was cheapest in long-run, since it's unlikely they could afford the blackmarket prices of US LEM-equipment.

 

Another point that comes to mind would be the need to not stick out. In some situations, sticking out could be desirable, but Mercs don't tend to be in such positions. More often, the Mercs are there for the grunt-work, and sometimes the bits that would be too risky to use one's own soldiers for (Bay of Pigs, for example, when some sort of deniability is needed.) Outside of certain kinds of airsofters, everyone packing a backup pistol is rare.

-Sandstorm

[mikoyan99]

for the "dogs of war" 60's/70's loadout, I suggest:

Congo (1960's):

Plain tan uniform (pref. South african)

"lizard" camo french/portugese patterns shirt or smock

shorts no longer than boxers or tan/lizard tousers

pattern 58 webbing or the ww2 stuff (38 I think)

belgian para smock (half moon or brush stroke camo)

belt over the shirt or smock.

Beret or soft sun hat

Beard for older soldiers, clean shaven for those who cant. Not all mercs were heavily built, although all were fairly fit

A common theme was a tan "base" with a camo shirt or smock over the top. Uniforms were by no means standard; Mike Hoare Said "Mercenaries love to play dress-up" so some variation is allowed, but I doubt many other camo schemes would have been available to the mercenaries at that point-the ones listed would have been available from colonial forces in that area of africa, or even home made- Mike Hoare's epaullettes were reportedly made from a billiard table with belgian insignia stitched on.

Guns:

L1A1 and other FAL's

Bren

Sten

Sterling

Browning hi-power

Walther MPL (I think, hard to tell from photo)

M1919A6

Walther P38

FN MAG

Kar 98 (captured from simba)

.50cal HMG

This list isn't exhaustive, it's all the ones from the photos i've seen

 

Most of this has come from old black and white photos from the time, so it should be fairly accurate, it was sourced as research for my team (previously mentioned by cybersoldier, so thanks to him )

hope this helps,

matt

p.s our website has been updated- new uniforms (for some) which should be more accurate

[Gadge]

wwii webbing was 37 pattern. *very* late war is 44 pattern but its debatable it saw any rela service but did in korea and was popular with some armies.

[Jagdraben]

Dark glasses help cover up the lack of anything resembling a 1000-yard stare, and body armour or a large chest rig can help add bulk to those slightly more skinny types.

 

But mainly, yeah, your physique will effect how you look in a loadout.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

The main thing for a merc load-out is a swagger and to look like you know how to handle yourself. After that, it's simply a matter of making your load-out complement your physique. Skinny guys should go for tight-fitting chest rigs and vests and try to look as assassin-like as possible... carry suppressed subguns or and small pistols. Larger guys should have a cigar in their mouths when in the safe zone, their kit belt-based, and their jackets worn partially open, weapons are full length battle or assault rifles and full-size military pistols. Muscular folk should discard the jacket in favor of a tight-fitting tank-top or wife-beater-type top (or simply roll up your sleeves) and, of course, belt-based kit (the large folk do it to show that they're over-weight, the muscle-y folk do it to show off their pecs and six-packs), their weapons should be LMGs and anti-material rifles (of the .50-cal variety).

 

Those are, of course, general thoughts. If you can make another kit work for you, then that's good. But the point is that you have to work with your physique: Just like when buying fashionable clothes.

[Cyber Soldier]

I took some photos of me in my 'merc' loadout for reference. It's really simple and very cheap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loadout:

Vietnam US army bandana

White vest

ChiCom Chestrig

Black civie leather belt

DPM trousers (note the tactical ventilation in the left knee )

Britton Assault boots

[Basho]

Slightly more modern, but the DA's look is best described as "Modern Merc", basically one of those teams you see in movies, usually the enemy, smacking faces and kicking *albatross*.

 

 

 

A real mixture of personal choice and high fire power.

 

 

[TheMerchantOfVenice]

CS, I like it. Simple, and it looks like it'd work. Very cool.

[Cyber Soldier]

Just watched Blood Diamond, some really good pointers for the African look in there.

[Hobbles]

f-ing amazing movie...if anyone hasn't seen it...please go do so!

[Jagdraben]

I would have thought that the SA mercs would have used R5s, not short-barreled AR-15s, personally. I dunno. It just seemed too much like they were trying to pretend to be Delta Force in the Mog. Did like the heavily modified Hind 'Dakka Dakka(?)'.

[mikoyan99]

I would have thought that the SA mercs would have used R5s, not short-barreled AR-15s, personally. I dunno. It just seemed too much like they were trying to pretend to be Delta Force in the Mog. Did like the heavily modified Hind 'Dakka Dakka(?)'.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I suppose it depends on the era, and what was readily available at the time. It was FALs etc in the 60's because they were easy for the organisers to get hold of, and if AR-15 carbines became easily available, I suppose they would have been used. the cover of the "Modern Mercenary" book I get my info from has an M-16 A2 on the front with a shorty vietnam magazine.

I still havn't seen blood diamond, I think I shall buy it today

-Matt

[Cyber Soldier]

You noticed the only guys who used AR15s were the Colonel's guard the rest were using AKs and G3s like the enemy would use. It was the Executive Outcomes SOP to use the same weapons and ammo as the people they'd be fighting to get round supply issues. Also the Mi-24 (known to the NATO world as a Hind) was used extensively to support the ground troops and Dakka Dak is Afrikaans slang for attack helicopter.