[dobey]

I am in love with the A-TACS FG Mamba suit from the guys over at TacticalConcealment.com but the almost $800.00 price-tag is out of my league.

Couple the price with the sizes, I am a big guy and an XL isn't going to cut it, this means I will try to make what I will call a 'Ghillie suit base inspired by the professionals from Tac Concealment'.

I am making one for myself and hope if they ever see this they go with the 'Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery', and don't sue me lol!

This will be an ongoing project so I decided to do a build thread for it. Starting with what we want to try and replicate:

First Step will be sourcing the materials.

 

[dobey]

Looks like these guys are making the actual material used by the OEM:

https://a-tacsfabrics.schottfabrics.com/catalog/partlist.aspx?CategoryID=81

I will get the fabric, mesh, netting, and 1000d Nylon from them.

I think I can get the rest of the materials from Supply Captain:

http://www.supplycaptain.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.Store

 

[dobey]

Did you remove the inner chords from the 550? I can tell they did because it is flat instead of round.

 

[dobey]

I don't know, the stuff does melt nicely but I never tried to stick melted ends together.

Have my list ready to go I think:

schottfabrics.com


1123688 - HEAVY MESH, A-TACS FG CAMO™
1123686 - BUG MESH, A-TACS FG CAMO™
1123680 - 1000D CORDURA® NYLON, A-TACS FG CAMO™
1123676 - POLY/COTTON RIPSTOP, A-TACS FG CAMO™
1123739 - 1 INCH NYLON WEBBING, A-TACS FG

supply captain.com


1/8" Shock Cord, 100 Ft
4 X 12 Inch Sew-On Velcro Hook and Loop Mil Spec
TOASTER CORDLOC
Parachord
1" GT DUAL SR BUCKLE
1" LOOPLOC
1 X 12 Inch Sew On Velcro Hook and Loop Mil Spec

 

[dobey]

I got some great upholstery thread from walmart, stuff is so strong I cant break it with my hands, feels like it will cut me first.

 

[dobey]

I think they were looking for an alternative to sewing, although I highly recommend you learn the skill!

 

[dobey]

The stuff from Supply Captain is here already, got the clips, buckles, shock chord, 550 chord, velcro etc in OD green and FG.

Everything is made in the USA and is superb quality. Total for this stuff was a bit over $40.00 I think. Word of caution for anyone that may want to follow this guide, the folks at Schott Fabrics where I got the fg material from only sell to you if you have a Tax ID number, luckily I do for the airsoft field.

 

[dobey]

Sure would, I might even be able to have them ship right to you, I would have to give them a call and see.

I cant say enough about the A-TACS FG pattern, I have been using the ACU cut uniform and Boonie all year and if I stand still its as good as a ghillie in my woods, cant wait to see how well it works with this setup.

A guy got a picture of me entering our CQB area from the woods with his IPhone, and this is typical of what I have been wearing. We use Green and Tan Shemaghs to designate teams so players can wear any uniform they want, in this shot I was playing on the tan team:

 

[dobey]

The material showed up from Schott Fabrics, all made in the USA! Stuff is amazing quality!

The 1000D Nylon makes my regular BDU's feel like a toy now, backside is waterproof as well! Should make great reinforcing for the front, knees, and elbows.

The 1 inch webbing is printed on both sides and is great as well. Expect updates soon!

 

[dobey]

Progress! I have about 13 hours into the build at this point. Here is the mesh back, I am using a bdu shirt for a pattern, and adding a few inches to make it longer.

I am taking the white part out of the 550 chord:

Then melting each end so they don't come unraveled later.

Each chord is sewed with 3 passes per chord, so 6 total passes per joint.

Elbow side of the sleeves, the main body is poly/cotton Ripstop material, and the elbows are reinforced with 100D Cordura Nylon, the tops of the nylon have Velcro so they can open and add padding.

This shot shows the sleeves on each side, there is almost 100 feet of 550 chord in the top alone!

 

[dobey]

Was a real PITA but I got allot better at it towards the end!

 

[dobey]

There is so much work in these I see now why they charge so much! Lucky for me I have plenty of time at nights to work on this.

Sleeves are on, you can see the Velcro opening in the elbows for padding:

And the hood is all done:

Hoping to have the top ready for this weekend.

 

[dobey]

I will try to get more pictures up soon guys!

 

[dobey]

The top is finished, the bottoms are about 90%.

 

[dobey]

Been winter here so I have been slacking, made a dump pouch today with the netting on it:

 

[dobey]

I am wearing it in this video, skip to 2:04 to see it:

 

[dobey]

I am using a sewing machine, I just take the center out of the 550 cord so it will lay flat, then sew over each joint 6 times, 3 per each piece of 550 chord.

 

[dobey]

Camera guy got a shot of me between rounds Saturday, still much to do but it is coming together. Check the wrap on the kjw m700 on my back, that is the silencer sticking up behind my head!

 

[dobey]

The netting is 3 inches square, and I think it would work fine on a bdu.

 

[dobey]

From today: