Soldier of Fortune have just reduced the price of their Sten down to £179.95. 
Ordered some sten related stuff now I need to get more Terrago show cream to make some blanco.
- We don't stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing -
- While growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional -
I must`ve been out of the loop for a while, that seemed quite expensive until I had a look around other UK retailers.
I normally get stuff from gunfire.pl, up until a few days ago they had Stens at about £114 (now out of stock unfortunately). They still have the MP40 at about £98, both have free shipping and there`s no customs charges as Poland is in the EU.
Ordered some sten related stuff now I need to get more Terrago show cream to make some blanco.
If those two statements are connected other than just being in the same sentence; then I'd just like to 'casually say in passing' that STEN slings and STEN bandoleers shouldn't be Blanco'd.
A Proud Member Of 'Team Spleen!' who play mainly at Gunman Airsoft, Tuddenham, Suffolk.
Ordered some sten related stuff now I need to get more Terrago show cream to make some blanco.
If those two statements are connected other than just being in the same sentence; then I'd just like to 'casually say in passing' that STEN slings and STEN bandoleers shouldn't be Blanco'd.
Really! I was not aware of that. Just as well you mentioned it or they would have been. Why, when the rest of the webbing was blanco'd were they not? Still, I've got a Browning holster on the way which presumably was.
- We don't stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing -
- While growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional -
Ordered some sten related stuff now I need to get more Terrago show cream to make some blanco.
If those two statements are connected other than just being in the same sentence; then I'd just like to 'casually say in passing' that STEN slings and STEN bandoleers shouldn't be Blanco'd.
Really! I was not aware of that. Just as well you mentioned it or they would have been. Why, when the rest of the webbing was blanco'd were they not? Still, I've got a Browning holster on the way which presumably was.
Webbing which was issued to you as "your equipment" was blanco'd by you (yes, correct, including pistol holsters ), but items which were issued 'as and when' they needed to be from stores; weapons (with their slings) and ammunition bandoleers (including the BREN auxilery pouches, STEN bandoleers, wire-cutter pouches, manpack radio harnesses/carriers, etc, for example) would not get blanco'd. The only common exception I've found, is the Enfield rifle sling, which I've found more genuine slings blanco'd than genuine slings non-blanco'd.
Also - it may sound silly but I've seen it done - the little bits of webbing on the MkII/MkIII helmet chinstrap should also not be blanco'd 
A Proud Member Of 'Team Spleen!' who play mainly at Gunman Airsoft, Tuddenham, Suffolk.
The only common exception I've found, is the Enfield rifle sling, which I've found more genuine slings blanco'd than genuine slings non-blanco'd.
Definitely a parade & post war National Service and beyond thing - I've a quote somewhere that described the airborne puffs of green dust from the slings as parades presented arms...
Agree with C-W. You must be too late to get the un-blancoed slings?
All that is left are the blancoed ones.
Two or three years ago I bought 24 Enfield slings and though all were used, some very used, all were un blancoed.
10 years or so back, there was a drought of slings, they started to fetch money having been a couple of quid. Then, like the MkVII gas mask bags the supply returned.
aka Stigroadie
AFRA
better by design
"Truth is a shining goddess, always veiled, always distant, never wholly approachable, but worthy of all the devotion of which the human spirit is capable. "
They may not have been Blanco'ed during the war, but pretty much all of the repro sten bandoliers that I have seen have needed something doing to them in order to improve their look. The loose weave, the colour of the webbing and the very yellow (laquered?) brass fittings scream repro to any onlooker, and as such I can understand the wish to Blanco them.
Or are there better repros on offer nowadays?
They almost certainly were blancoed examples during the war.
The unblancoed examples probably came from drop canisters.
aka Stigroadie
AFRA
better by design
"Truth is a shining goddess, always veiled, always distant, never wholly approachable, but worthy of all the devotion of which the human spirit is capable. "
Well, the bandolier I bought seems to work okay but definitely has that repro-look. Tempted to blanco it anyway. Not having used real blanco it always looked like a bit of a chore so I opted for the Terrago shoe cream and Games Workshop paint mix for KG3 on my webbing and holster. Looks great; my dad just assumed I'd used the real stuff.
Also modded eight King Arms MP40 mags to fit the sten. Basically widened the top where it slots into the hop up chamber and put a thin piece of plastic in to move the thingy that holds the bbs in back slightly.
Of course I had to take the sten to bits to see how it works...
- We don't stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing -
- While growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional -
