Ordered a postwar M1 helmet, strap, leather liner strap and a large pistol belt from Solider of Fortune.
Pistol belt was ok. Helmet was very bashed (but I was respraying so that didnt matter so much). Strap was the wrong one (but sadly on closed inspection turns out I ordered the wrong one. Leather liner strap had a mis-shaped lug which caused the very crap leather to snap when I tried to fit it the the liner.
Im sure I ordered a very similar setup about 3 years ago and it was no way as bad as this...
No longer involved in airsoft.
I think they capitalise on the fact that 99 per cent of folk getting onto wwii and more so re-enactment only know of sof from ads in stuff liek combat and survival.
So they ramp up thier prices and fuck return custom
i bought a big order form sof about 18 years ago and it was brilliant value, i got an original vietnam jungle greens set, some flectarn that wasnt even on issue to most thegerman army and some bits and bobs for less than 80 quid.
Now i use them as a last resort, some stuff is cehaper than most (they stil do the cheapest anto partisan warfare and amry parachutist badges)
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
Yeah well the price was why I used them this time. Was the cheapest pot I could find and the cheapest pistol belt in a larger size. I was just a little annoyed at how the quality has deteriorated in the last 3 years.
Think I'll give them a miss next time.
No longer involved in airsoft.
cheaper than sabre?
they had tons of m1 helmets in last week ranging form mitchell covered nam era ones , plain ones and woodland covered pre-90s ones.
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
... cock. Forgot about them.
No longer involved in airsoft.
I always found them pretty good for current issue surplus but today I spent £200 on kit and I now hope it all turns up as ordered! 
was considering getting stuff from asia but due to the current postal chaos I was concerned my gear would'nt arrive in time for my being thrown out of the back of a transit in wales in Nov. (for the record I'm a postie and were not all workshy layabouts!)
"Major Bernard Himmler, does the name mean anything to you?"
Was the pistol belt orange??
I have dealt with SOF and spent 1000s of pounds with them in the past-before the joys of Ebay and the Net when to be honest SOF were the ONLY mail order firm that you could get militaria from and always found them fantastic for service and quality.
Still get their cats which look fantastic but must admit now that i rarely use them as a lot of(if not)most stuff can be had cheaper elsewhere and their reputation is taking a bit of a pounding these days which is a shame 
The SOF pistol belts loose the eylets when you hang a pistol on them, best to pay the extra & get an origional, Ryton has un used ones from Russia that where lend lease, if your post war helmet strap is green its possible to cut it off, bleach it & stain it with tea, it ends up what looks like a dirty tan colour, then remove the remaining metal clips & stitch the strap directly onto the swivel bails 
Steve.D
Bumhats. Just bought one on ebay.
No longer involved in airsoft.
The SOF pistol belts loose the eylets when you hang a pistol on them, best to pay the extra & get an origional, Ryton has un used ones from Russia that where lend lease, if your post war helmet strap is green its possible to cut it off, bleach it & stain it with tea, it ends up what looks like a dirty tan colour, then remove the remaining metal clips & stitch the strap directly onto the swivel bails
Steve.D
But for that is it worth it?
better by right first time, i would *never* recommend 'cost a fortune' to anyone unless it could notbe sourced elsewhere cheaper.
Rip off merchants
my classic example is always thus.
1945 RAC tank helmet
sof: £65
Sabre: £15
there you go..
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
The SOF pistol belts loose the eylets when you hang a pistol on them, best to pay the extra & get an origional, Ryton has un used ones from Russia that where lend lease, if your post war helmet strap is green its possible to cut it off, bleach it & stain it with tea, it ends up what looks like a dirty tan colour, then remove the remaining metal clips & stitch the strap directly onto the swivel bails
Steve.D
DO NOT cut the strap off or it will be too short for you to resew on properly
Just open up the metal fittings with a screwdriver and some pliers
I have cut the straps on 3 M1 helmets I got from the war & peace show & they still fit back on ok when stitched & still long enough to round your chin, good thing was the helmets where only £5 each with a canvas liner strap, this can be removed & the fitting kept to fabricate a leather strap out of binocular case straps or any thin leather,
Steve.D
Hmm all the straps ive reused have only just been long enough even without cutting to resew on correctly.I say correctly as in the folded manner not just sewn on.
Probably just had short straps then i guess
Also the cheap chinstraps SOF sell with the metal fittings are very short and they arent long enough to sew on properly
They reckoned that nobody had complained before...
Now THAT is blatant BS! 
A mate of mine bought a set of their advisor TS's, the crotch ripped as soon as he pulled them up!
They did fit him good though... But he is only 5'6"
TBH, I find "cost a fortune" a bit hit and miss, some times they're spot on, the rest of the time they're just con merchants with exceptionally bad customer services who have a certain market cornered!
boy you guys just don't know how the other half lives! In Medieval living history you can wait a year or more for your kit to arrive so imagine when I find that serving the reenactment world there's a company that sends you stuff usually within the same week of you ordering it!!!! Wow.
However yup their quality does sometimes leave you thinking...why? and their prices sometimes leave you thinking -eh???? delivery and turnaround though is excellent and yup its the ultimate in lazy ass shopping 
which is very dangerous to ones wallet....
I've always liked Tiger Stripe so I decided to splash out on the SoF Advisor's suit, as they seem to be the only people selling this early pattern. Oh how I laughed when I tried it on... made for midgets- the sleeves and trousers were at least 4" too short! They reckoned that nobody had complained before... just like everything else that I had ordered off them and found cack
Shame that as i was going to order a set myself as i already have a Tiger Stripe Products suit which i like but wanted either the advisors or USMC type that only SOF sell.Looks like they have them in ASIAN not US sizes
Also had one of their excellent ARVN camo suits but they come in weird sizes also-jkt was fine but trs were too big
They reckoned that nobody had complained before...
Now THAT is blatant BS!
A mate of mine bought a set of their advisor TS's, the crotch ripped as soon as he pulled them up!
They did fit him good though... But he is only 5'6"
TBH, I find "cost a fortune" a bit hit and miss, some times they're spot on, the rest of the time they're just con merchants with exceptionally bad customer services who have a certain market cornered!
Their products might be cack but in the 10 or so years i dealt with them regularly i found their service-delivery fantastic and if any problems they changed or refunded no problems at all.
Must say i havent dealt with them in around an year now but it seems they have gone down hill drasticaly which is a huge shame
I personally haven't had any problems with them.... ok, apart from the rubbish Jerry braces they sent.... 
....but I know plenty of people who have tales to tell. Including some who have found themselves "barred" as customers because SoF couldn't give them a good quality item!
You've got nothing to ein, zwei, drei, vier
I have to say that apart from being cr*p at answering emails, have never had a problem with SoF and find their prices reasonable. I agree that Sabre are cheaper but the stock they offer online is limited and they seem averse to going through the shop looking for what you want.
At the moment I want a set of 37 patt and Sabre haven't got one and having spoken to a few other suppliers, SoF are the cheapest at £39...
Having said that, the XL straps I need are £12 from SoF and £3-6 from others.
I'm also scuppered as here in the West Mids, Mili Fairs and other suppliers are like Hens Teeth.
Sabre are their own worst enemy - what's the point of having tons of webbing in stock and then say you haven't got any! Actually, I can see why they've still got tons of stock...
