I finally sourced a period-correct web belt in, of all places, the Ukraine.
Belt, holster and gun all from 1943. Now I just need to source a period-correct magazine-pouch, canteen and Carlisle kit (first aid kit).
Before I zoomed in, I thought we were looking at LTG's mismatched socks from the dryer.
When I bought that gun from a friend of mine, all I knew was that it was a Colt, and therefore worth the $500 he was asking. He was utterly sick when I discovered what it actually was - a number-matching frame and slide from 1943. But that was something a federally-licensed collector would have known, so he's been a good sport about it, and is still a good friend. These things happen.
When I bought it, I didn't have the resources to be a real collector. Since then I've accumulated more resources, and now have several good pieces in my collection. And I am myself now a licensed collector.
Finding the Boyt holster from 1943 was a bit of a coup. The eBay seller was in Snohomish County, an hour north of me.
The belt proved more elusive. While it's not hard to find a wartime web belt, they are a $60+ purchase depending on condition in the US. And most of them are in poor condition. When I came across one in the Ukraine for $20, I knew what I had. US government supply of materiel to the USSR during WWII remains an underexplored area among collectors in the US. The US government was secretive about it during the war, so it is not well-documented. And most collectors are more concerned with higher value items than web belts. It was a bit of a gamble when I came across Aleksey who had an apparently unissued belt. Most collectors would probably have assumed it was a counterfeit. But counterfeiters tend to want to focus on higher-value items than web belts. So it only took some messages and closeup pictures for Aleksey to convince me of what he had. The trick is to know how the metallic pieces age and to detect materials and weave patterns that are anachronistic. Aleksey had the real deal, a cotton-woven belt with corrosion on the metal pieces that reflect their copper and zinc components having been in storage.
I couldn't be completely sure of those things based on photographs, but for $30...it was worth the gamble. When it arrived yesterday, well, then I could verify. It's the real deal.
Of course, most collectors would scoff at my attempts to accumulate a holster and belt to complement a 1943 handgun. They'd point out that the likelihood of an officer or mortarman being issued a 1943 gun, belt, and holster is extremely low. And they'd point out that I have a mixed bag. The Boyt holster would have been Marine Corps issue, but a Nasco belt would have been Army issue.
My concern wasn't realism, but authenticity. I wanted the items ro be from 1943.
