Galactic Style Guide – Ammo belts and Pouches II

Welcome back to another installment of the Galactic Style Guide, the bimonthly series where we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ in order to help you create a more authentic ‘outer persona’! In our second entry looking at the various styles of belt pouches and bandoliers seen onscreen, we’re focusing on military surplus (and milsurp-style) examples as seen in the Prequel Trilogy.
Let’s begin (again!) on Tatooine!

Throughout Episode I, we see young Anakin Skywalker wearing one half of an Italian Army ammo pouch for the Carcano rifle (plus another mystery pouch):

Several of the background characters in Mos Espa have belt gear with ‘Lift The Dot’ fasteners; these appear to be a dual-magazine pouch very similar to this WW1-era pouch for the Colt 1911. As I discussed previously, I feel that these kinds of pouches are acceptable for outfitting far-background characters like these, but I feel they toe the line of ‘visible fasteners’. However, they’re usually very sturdily made to stand up to the rigors of authentic use, so if you are reenacting or doing living history with an audience inside the 10-foot line, it’s probably worthwhile to take the extra effort to cover them behind some canvas or webbing.

One of the background Rodians seen in Mos Espa bears a whole mess of milsurp webbing and packs, of which the two most prominent components appear to be a set of British Pattern 58 ‘kidney’ pouches:

While not technically belt gear, Aurra Sing does keep a pair of milsurp-type ammo pouches on the sling of her longrifle; anyone recognize them?:

In addition to the 1903 British ammo belt we discussed last time, the Tuskens who shoot up the Boonta race also wear M1900 Swedish Mauser ammo belts as bandoliers (modeled here by one Orr’UrRuuR’R):

In Episode II, the turtleneck Tuskens wear leather ammo belts with loops for individual cartridges: from what I’ve read these are thought to be a custom design, but they are very much in keeping with the established aesthetic for leather accessories:

Along similar lines, in Episode II Captain Typho sports a military-style leather pouch on his belt. This may also be a custom design, but one not outside the realm of possibility.

Next month I hope to continue with a look at the non-milsurp examples I’ve been able to uncover from the two Lucas-era trilogies.
As always, if there is something I’ve left out, let me know in the comments below or in the SWLH facebook group, and I’ll see you next month!

Special thanks to my supporters! Researching, compiling, and writing this series takes a lot of time and energy. If you’ve learned something from this series, or if this post has inspired you to track down some in-universe belt gear for your own kit, please consider supporting my work via ko-fi, or with a small donation below! Thank you!