Building the Rebel Persona – 5: Hard Kit

#1 Helmet:
This is my take on a standard Rebel ‘swoop’ helmet as featured in Episode IV, but which has been commonly depicted in various planetside conflicts in plenty of secondary materials. It is made using the Pepakura technique (cardstock hardened with fiberglass resin and Bondo putty).
(Full, detailed account of construction found here).

Naturally, we have zero hard references to specific gear that local Rebel cells received from Alliance Ordnance and Supply, so I don’t know how appropriate the swoop helmet is for my context—versus something like the ‘Endor donut’ helmet. My main issue with the swoop helmet is that the light color clearly stands out in outdoor settings (although it’s still frequently shown worn in such settings), but I’m hesitant about painting it a light brown or something, which might deviate a bit too much from the accepted visual norm of what we’re used to seeing.

#2 DH-17 blaster rifle:
Scratchbuilt interpretation of the barely-seen Episode V version of the DH-17 rifle. (full breakdown and explanation here)

#3 Multitool:
The same Gerber Compact Sport Multi-plier 400 I carry for my Jedi impression stays on my trouser belt for this impression. I’ve been carrying this piece of equipment for 17 years, so it is quite authentically aged and distressed! The scissors’ spring is broken, and one of the bit drivers has a chipped tip, but otherwise it has held up remarkably well. I am considering making up a new sheath for it from heavy vegtan leather, but I also like how completely battered the black nylon one has become over the years.
#4 Y-straps:
To carry the various items that make up my ‘utility belt’ (and take the load off my actual belt), I opted to wear this pair of Soviet-pattern load-bearing y-straps, that I made from a pair of repurposed Mosin-Nagant rifle slings ($6?). Rather than use them suspender style (holding up my trousers as well), I use them with a separate belt for my field gear (which can then easily be taken off and stashed if I get into an Imperial entanglement). The belt is leather (dollar store, $5) with a USGI US brass roller buckle (see Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace)

#5 Double ammo pouch:
This Serbian(?) leather pouch holds my First Aid and Fire kit tins in one compartment, and two magazines for my blaster rifle in the other.

#6 Canteen:
For this Rebel persona, my water needs are met by this canteen, based on the depiction in DICE/EA’s 2015 Battlefront of Rebel troops on Sullust, who plainly wear Vietnam-style canteens on their hips. While I try to avoid drawing on Disney!Canon materials, the use of a known real-world artifact in a setting close to my persona’s location is hard to pass up:
Battlefront 2015 Gameplay Launch Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2xp-qtUlsQ

Rather than pay more than I’m willing for a proper M1956 canvas carrier, I picked up this weird transitional model (20s?30s?) for cheap, and modded the everloving sithspit out of it:

The bottom panel was horribly dryrotted, so I replaced it with new canvas; removed the weird pink insulation and replaced with canvas liner (carrier as received is thin cotton); removed twilltape binding and replaced with 1″ webbing (applied differently to better approximate the pentagonal silhouette); removed old-pattern belt hooks and restitched to accomodate 2″ belt; knocked enamel off snaps; and gave it all a gray wash. Canteen is 1944 US, while the cap is from a 1980s East German canteen, to which I added a rubber insert to reduce leaks and a blackwash to bring out the knurled ridges.

#7 Another ammo pouch
This is a Soviet ‘kirza’ (faux leather) pouch designed for use with Simonov rifle stripper clips. As I happily discovered, it is the perfect size to hold my datapad and a 400-calorie ration bar.

#8 comlink
the same prop comlink I carry for my Jedi persona… it’s the top half of an old audio-recording pen. It looks comlink-y, has buttons and a belt clip, so it works for me!

#9 Backpack
My winter pack is a heavily modified 1950 military pack (made by Bergans of Norway). It contains a drybag for clothes (wool/cotton long underwear, wool socks, spare shirt), Katadyn ceramic water filter, trail food, cookpot, TP, medkit, fire kit, rubber poncho, two vermin traps, mylar blankets, synthrope, headlight, glowlamp, and sleeping pad.

Researching, photographing, and writing this site takes a lot of time and energy. If you’ve enjoyed reading, have learned something from this post, or will use it as inspiration for a loadout of your own, please consider supporting my work with a small donation below! Thank you!