Indiana Jones MK-VII Gas Mask Bag 2

Ok. So here we go. The amazing strap made by Magnoli came in and it looks amazing. It's sturdy leather and the color is perfect. It's extremely simple to attach it to the bag. What more could you ask for?


As for the bag? Well as you could see in my last post, the anchor that holds the ring to the bag itself is frayed and dry-rotted. What do you expect for a 60+ year old bag. But I took the original webbing and bag to a local tailor and he worked wonders. And as you can see it came out nearly flawless. I couldn't be happier.


This is the undamaged side.


And this is the repaired side. Like I said. Amazing, right?

And here is the completed bag. For those of you who are sticklers, i have the strap attached opposite the way Indy wears his. He wears his on his left side. Perhaps it is me being right handed, i don't know, but i wear mine on my right side. So you'll notice its "backwards." I wanted the buckle in the front so its switched. If i ever want to truly make it match, it is an easy fix thanks to the famous "chicago screws" that hold the strap togeather.


Closer detail of the bag and strap/buckle.

And there you have it. My very own Mk-VII bag. I should photograph the markings on the inside, but they are already fading. I doubt they'll come out on camera. Maybe next time.

Indiana Jones Mk-VII Gas Mask Bag

The little child in me is jumping for joy at my newest acquisition.  I have managed after some diligent searching to find an actual, un-used gas mask bag identical to the one used by Harrison Ford in the Indy series.

Here I am proudly displaying my much sought after prize.

Sadly.  It was made in 1942.  The markings on the inside flap clearly say MK-VII and 1942, but as for the manufacturer, I don't know.  Its in the midst of fading away.  Along with slowly vanishing lettering, the strap is somewhat dry rotted.  I knew this upon purchasing it and have always planned on replacing the strap with a more authentic Indy style leather strap.

With flash on camera

Without flash on camera

Unfortunately the bag gave out a bit earlier than I thought.    I had planned on being resourceful and making my own strap.  But I'm lazy and working on too many projects aside from the ones on this site.  So, I've ordered one from Magnoli Clothiers, who have been making fine leather goods for quite some time.  As well, they've been specifically recommended concerning this strap.

Undamaged side

To be repaired

As you can see, the anchor is the part that broke on my bag, so I'm going to have a local tailor create a new strap anchor from the existing webbing shoulder strap.  More than likely I'll ask him to reinforce it with some stronger newer material underneath.  I'm a bit sad to have to cannibalize this vintage strap, but I was never going to use it again.  After i get it all fixed and pieced together I'll post more pictures.  As well, I'll try to decipher the manufacturer.