How to install belt hooks ?

[Ostuf Charlemagne]

Belt hooks on tunic , how and where ?

[Ostuf Charlemagne]

I plan to re-arm a BMW side-car .....

This vehicle wil "belong" to the Feldgendarmeriekompanie of the SS Totenkopfdivision.

Painting : Panzer Grey or Sand ? What do you think will look better ?

Where to put the Feldgendarmerie tactical emblem ?

Where goes the Totenkopf and the tactical emblem at the backside of the sidecar ?

[Schnert]

Your 4 belt hooks are installed in the front and back of your Feldbluse through the sewn eyelets. The earlier style tunics require the use of internal suspenders to anchor your belt hooks. The later - simplified - tunics have canvas flaps sewn directly into the lining through which you anchor your belt hooks. Tropical uniforms generally use only 2 belt hooks on the sides of the Feldbluse.

Do you have an early or late model tunic? If you own an M36 or M40 type Feldbluse you will first need to find a set of internal suspenders. http://www.lostbattalions.com +/- $50

Let me know and I'll post some jpgs this afternoon.

[Ostuf Charlemagne]

Thanks for the infos ,waiting for the scanns ....

Becuase of prices tunics will be east-germans and swedish .I know it sounds heretic but I need to convert 5 uniforms and besides ,for me ,big part of the fun is to manage to do good convertions .

Regards .

[Schnert]

Sorry about the delay. Here's some jpg's...

M1943 Heer Feldbluse with detail of exterior and interior right front belt hook. Note, the belt hook fob is attached directly to the lining of the Feldbluse.

[Schnert]

Here's some jpgs of the early internal suspender system. Note, the tunic without the "anchor" hardware in the front is the Sturm tunic while the tunic with the "anchor" hardware is the Lost Battalions tunic. Go LB!

[Schnert]

Here's a view of the exterior fron and back of a Lost Battalions Feldbluse. Note, if you want to find a picture of the internal suspenders (literally two tailored canvas straps) check out http://www.lostbattalions.com. Go to their Heer section, navigate by products and click on the "Internal Suspension" link.

[Schnert]

Here's a quick shot of the rear internals...

[moses]

wow, that "anchor" setup is a lot more complicated than i would have guessed, not having seen a tunic up close before
it's just a method of shifting the weight of all the field gear off of the outer fabric of the tunic, i assume?

[Schnert]

The canvas internal suspenders used with the early model (M36 u. M40) Feldblusen actually acted as the later leather Y-Straps - they supported the wieght of of the field equipment. Since they were costly and time consuming to produce, the later model tunics simply built them into their unified and simplified suspension systems. The neat part is, these things actually do a great job of supporting your gear!

When set up correctly, the canvas straps - and not your wool tunic - bears the weight of the belt and all its affixed gear.

[Schnert]

Also, here in the details we see the difference between a Sturm Feldbluse and a Lost Battalions product. When it comes to wool wieght, wool color, wool quality, overall durability, attention to detail, buttonhole construction, interior button quality etc. Lost Battalions' Feldblusen are better.

That's not to say that Sturm doesn't make a good servicable product. I own a Sturm set for dirty rainy mud slogged days.

It's just that LB does a better job at making more authentic uniforms that incorporate ALL the feautures of the originals, and I'd hate to see them forced out of business because the market was flooded with cheaper (in all sense of the word) products.

[BaggyPants]

I ditched the internals (or infernals, as I call them) on my M36. Absolute pain in the arse to get to hang right. Also, as Schnert says, they were intended for use before the Y straps came into use. As I use Y straps and think the infernal suspenders are shite, I just sewed my hooks into my lining, just like some of the boys back then did. Saves loads of hassle

[Schnert]

They are complicated and they do take a while to adjust so that they are useful and comfortable. However, when you finally manage to get them adjusted for your body style they are quite helpful.

[moses]

It's just that LB does a better job at making more authentic uniforms that incorporate ALL the feautures of the originals, and I'd hate to see them forced out of business because the market was flooded with cheaper (in all sense of the word) products.

it's the way of the western world (except when it comes to airlines and trains)
look at wal-mart...

[pzrwest]

Good point about belt hooks ment to be used before y straps were issued. And I bet they took them out as soon as the y straps were issued . Could be why when you find an original m35 tunic the hooks and support straps are gone.