MBSS time!

I also received my FSBE II MBSS plate carrier today. It's absolutely ridiculous how a person can love a piece of nylon that much haha.

But yeah I am so happy to finally get my hands on "the Holy Grail" of FSBE II collecting. I'll the pics do all the talking.

front and rear plate carrier

close up of the tag and stamp

front loaded

back light load

 clearer view of front

 large drooping hydration carrier haha, I might switch it with my AI MAP

overview of the FSBE II MBSS plate carrier

Kit list:

Allied Industries MBSS plate carrier

Allied Industries admin pouch

Allied Industries M4 mag shingle

Allied Industries MBITR pouch

Allied Industries flash bang pouch x2

Eagle Industries M4 mag pouch x2

Eagle Industries .45 FB mag pouch x2

note: everything is FSBE II issued

RLCS MBITR pouches.

Today I left work 2 hours early (with permission of course), because I knew they might be delivering a special package.


And as expected the mailman came and dropped off a package for me.

It contained two ranger green MBITR pouches. As you can see these are the military issued type MBITR pouches with flap. Unfortunately I don't know whether these are a part of RLCS (Ranger Load Carrying System) or not. The ranger green color pouches are used by the Rangers but also by SWCC (Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman) and other branches of the military. So there's no real telling I guess.

And if they're RLCS, I don't know whether they are first generation or second gen ranger green, with first gen being the harder to find color. They are exactly the same as the Allied Industries type MBITR pouch, but there's no proof as they lack a tag. Which might be a clue, as first gen RLCS lack tags as well.

Still waiting on my MBSS...

The MBSS has arrived in Belgium, but it's still at customs, pending taxes. I have decided on which pouches I will be putting on it though. The list is as following:

front: Allied Industries shingle, Allied Industries MBITR pouch, Allied Industries Admin without light Eagle Industries .45 FB pouch x2, Eagle Industries M4 mag pouch x2, Eagle Industries frag pouch x2

all FSBE II Issued

back: Allied Industries flashbang pouch x2, Eagle Industries hydration carrier

Actually, the frag pouches might be omitted, pending available real estate on the front.

Some new pouches

The "RLCS" stuff arrived a few days ago. I still am not sure whether I should keep the stuff and make another loadout or not.



But anyway, here is the hydration carrier and frag pouch. I still have 2 Allied Industries MBITR pouches incoming. I'll post more pics when they arrive.

RLCS or not? Tell me in your comment!

Bummer!

This evening I was talking to a serious RLCS collector about how I bought a few RLCS pouches on a forum that we both visit.

He told me that some of the pouches aren't part of the issued Ranger Load Carrying System. What a bummer! Initially I bought these to trade for other items.

But since they're not worth as much as I had hoped they would be, I was toying with the idea of keeping them and start another impression. This would be a simple impression with only a few basic pouches in Ranger Green.

I simply cannot afford two collections. We'll see how things work out.

RLCS or not?

One thing I know for sure, this will teach me to be less impulsive and do more research!

MBSS shipped yesterday!

So I bought an FSBE II MBSS Plate Carrier a few days ago on eBay. This seller has loads of issued military gear for sale now and again. I was lucky enough to get the illustrious FSBE II MBSS.

What's an MBSS PC you might ask? It's an abbreviation for Maritime Ballistic Survival System. It's basically a kit made by Allied Industries for the US Military and consists of a plate carrier, a modular assault pack, flotation device, magazine pouches, chem pouches and an admin pouch.

The reason why it's so hard to get, is because Allied Industries does not sell these items to the public, only to the military. And not just any military branch are issued those items, but mainly Special Forces like Navy Seals and Marine Force Recon and such.

That's why the MBSS Plate Carrier can go up to 2000 USD. But prices have dropped a lot lately. Nowadays you can get an MBSS for around 400 USD. As a matter of fact an OD (olive drab) colored one, just sold for 400+ USD. Which is definitely not a bad price.

The label: description, NSN, contract #, cage code and production date.

My coyote brown one, usually sells for around 500 to 600 dollars nowadays. Just a few years ago they still went for 2000+ USD. I guess it's the economic crisis which is bringing the price down.

I actually thought I would never own a rare piece like this, but recently I have been very lucky in acquiring the harder to get pieces of FSBE II gear.

Anyway I'm glad I found it and I just wanted to share this with you guys. Now I just hope it will get here soon!

Signing off,

G.