Club Obi Wan

What are general thoughts on this?

From the website, it looks promising enough, and I've always appreciated Magnoli's work.

Or are there any better recommendations?

It seems there's some debate on the color of this one. Some say too tan. I'd venture to say it's well built, judging from owner comments.

I don't own one, just spouting off second hand info.. so I would stand corrected by any owner who begs to differ.

Randy

The Magnoli bag is very well made and a nice Indy bag. I recently purchased one and am very happy with it. I could see where the color issue would come into play with someone who wanted a SA bag but I believe a few who have purchased the bag remedied this with an olive color fabric dye. Also I think it's a little smaller (i.e. more squared off and shorter than the original "Raiders" bag). You could check WPG's site for their repro offering also http://www.whatpriceglory.com/mkviibag.html. The specs and dimensions on their bag may be closer to the originals. I'm not 100% but I think it's something like 11 or 11-1/2 inches tall on the originals. Can anybody else clarify or correct me if I'm wrong?

Here's a shot of me with my Magnoli bag. It's not the best lighting in the world but it was one of the few I had where you could see the bag.




I don't mind the "lighter" color myself, I think it adds to the worn in look.

i dont know, i guess it depends on when you ordered it because i got one from Magnoli about 5 months ago and its pretty green

Pitfall Harry wrote:Here's a shot of me with my Magnoli bag. It's not the best lighting in the world but it was one of the few I had where you could see the bag.




I don't mind the "lighter" color myself, I think it adds to the worn in look.

I own two real vintage mk VII's and the colour in your picture doesn't seem any diferent from them:





nor that different from the one in raiders:



Regards, Geert

I ordered Magnoli's bag earlier this year, and while construction was top notch, I was thrown off by the color. Unless Magnoli has changed this, you will have a yellow/tan bag. After purchasing a vintage MK VII, I also discovered Magnoli's bag is smaller than the originals that I have. While it's been already stated in the forums (somewhere) that the bag varied slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer, I see the screen bag as much greener and slightly larger than Magnoli's bag.

I think it depends on what you are looking for.
I use my Magnoli MVII everyday for work. It has actually replaced my briefcase for day to day use. Its construction is top notch. It's very useful with that Indy flare. (and you can't beat the price)

Now for SA I don't know. In some shots Indy's bag looks tan and in others it looks very green. Again depends on what you are looking for. I believe The Mechanic had a thread about dyeing his bag and it turned out very well.

All I know is I really like the bag and I have a feeling it will last me for a long time.
Wulfie
Who is typing this at work, and yep my Magnoli MVII is at my side.

This topic comes up from time to time.
My Magnoli bag is exactly the same size as 1 of my originals but the color was pale tan so I took care of it. I did 1000 mods on this bag here for member Bazza.
The modified Magnoli is in the middle, the 2 on the ends are originals.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p131 ... asBag2.jpg

I have noticed the color seems to vary from scene to scene in Raiders but that could be a number of different things like, the type of lighting, them using more than one bag during the shoot and the varying degrees of distressing that was done to the bags.

I don't know IF I'd want the bag even slightly bigger than what Magnoli's is right now. So I guess there again you've got to weigh personal taste with SA.

I do like the darker green color on the bags. I think that looks sharp. It also makes them look brand new too. So then you've got to go back and distress it after you've dyed it to make it look worn which then lightens the color up that you just darkened.


I think the best advice I've seen given on these boards is just to pick a particular scene that you like how his gear looks and go for it.

Personally I prefer the tan over green any day. Looks liek it's a Mag bag for me!

My only concern remains with the sizing issue. It looks like we've had people say it's either too small or just right...which is it?

Thansk for the help fellas.

I own and deal in both the original MK VIIs and the Magnoli reproduction. While it is true that they are slightly different bags, the Magnoli holds up to all the same challenges as the original. Also, the khaki color of the bag does fit with many of the really worn in bags from the different scenes. Dirty and worn olive drab does indeed look like tan fabric.
I have owned and passed along more than 100 original bags and it is rare that any two look exactly alike. They were made 60+ years ago at different mills all around the world. The size of the originals varies from bag to bag. Some are 11" tall and some are 9.5" tall. The Magnoli is 10" x 10" x 3" and is not that different in size from most MK VII originals. Todd's bag, however, is a lot smaller than both the Magnoli and the Original. Originals will get harder and harder to find from here on out so it's a good thing we have a great bag like the Magnoli at our disposal. Like all Indy gear, you really just need to beat the @#$% out of it to make it look right. So no big whoop.
The Mechanic did a beautiful job modifying his Magnoli with green dye, a risky job for the less experienced gear head. You could ruin your bag experimenting with it. But that will ultimately produce the best results.

Here is what I like to do to my Magnoli to get it closer to the original without going into more advanced techniques. It is also safer and much easier than using dye.

1) Wash the bag in cold with a small amount of detergent in the washer with some old towels or jeans.
2) While damp, put your hand in the bag and rub the outside on any available stained or dark wood. This will produce slightly worn spots and rub in some color. I like to use redwood lawn furniture and different door jams and even the backyard fence.
3) Sprinkle with dark colored dirt and lightly work some into the fabric in several places.
4) Crumple the still damp bag up into a ball and step on it a couple of times with your shoe. Don't kill it, just lightly step on it to make the wrinkles bend.
5) Open the bag fully and let it dry in the sun for the day.
6) When dry, take a soft gold wire brush or sand paper and wear in some of the edges of the bag and the flap cover.
There you go. It looks like a dirty army bag. Just like it's supposed to.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

W.E.

I have posted this pic before , but this is what I usually cram into mine..

As you can see I still have room left to spare.
It has also seen action as a surplus sporran at a highland games and a map keeper during my detour to the Royal Ontario musem last month. It now goes everywhere with me!!
Enjoy your bag,
Wulfie

As Jared, The Mechanic, has mentioned, I have a Magnoli bag which he has modified for me. The color was quite tan/khaki compared to the olive green of the original. The size however, is just right, very close to the original. Overall, I would recommend Magnoli's bag to anyone.

I haven't had an opportunity to take any photographs of my modified "Mag Bag", but here is a list of the fantastic modifications that Jared made for me:

-Hand sanded the rings down to bare metal without taking them off the bag.
-Replaced all the snaps with genuine American made U.S. Military solid brass snaps.
-Reinforced behind the snaps so they won't ever pull through.
-Sanded down and aged/antiqued all the brass hardware and buffed out with 0000 steel wool.
-Painted, refinished and aged the metal side disc to exactly match an original.
-Replaced the side disc rivet with a completely hand modifyed solid copper hand hammered rivet and backed the rivet with an extra large stainless steel fender washer so that the disc cannot ever pull through the fabric. This was done on the originals.
-Added a brass eyelet inside the bag just like an original.
-Dyed the bag to match original color.

I can't begin to thank Jared enough for his modifications....He made a great bag even better through his time and talents!

to put it simple - its beautifully constructed but my two main complaints are that the metal flying saucer looking thing on the side is terribley secured and really needs some reenforcement and the color is just totally not SA - that pic above is VERY misleading.

but it's not bad though I like the WPG bag a million times more!

Bazza wrote:I haven't had an opportunity to take any photographs of my modified "Mag Bag", but here is a list of the fantastic modifications that Jared made for me:

-Hand sanded the rings down to bare metal without taking them off the bag.
-Replaced all the snaps with genuine American made U.S. Military solid brass snaps.
-Reinforced behind the snaps so they won't ever pull through.
-Sanded down and aged/antiqued all the brass hardware and buffed out with 0000 steel wool.
-Painted, refinished and aged the metal side disc to exactly match an original.
-Replaced the side disc rivet with a completely hand modifyed solid copper hand hammered rivet and backed the rivet with an extra large stainless steel fender washer so that the disc cannot ever pull through the fabric. This was done on the originals.
-Added a brass eyelet inside the bag just like an original.
-Dyed the bag to match original color.

I can't begin to thank Jared enough for his modifications....He made a great bag even better through his time and talents!

In all seriousness, can I ask why you would go to such lengths to make the bag more like the real thing... when there are supplies of the real thing freely available?

(And I don't mean mouldy-smelling beat up bags, I mean unissued MkVIIs...)

I'm not trying to be a wise guy - I'm genuinely interested in why you took this route.

Well even the unissued bags are 60+ years old and most if not all of them are dry rotted. Of the 3 originals I had, all were mint unissued condition and 2 of them could be torn apart like tissue paper. The 3rd is a "maybe". They all looked great but I wouldn't trust them to hold up.
My solution was to keep 1 of the originals as a display piece and modify a Magnoli bag to look the part but be more durable for everyday use.

I think that was Bazza's idea when he had me modify his bag.

Here's Bazza's modified Magnoli in the middle. 2 originals on the ends.

I bought two originals from WPG and they are in excellent shape and I'd have no issues whatsoever using them daily.

But when Magnoli offered a few extra/seconds bags he had for $20 I got one that was only missing the big metal lanyard disc on the side and actually prefer it that way as it's useless on a bag meant for regular carry.

I prefer the color of the Magnoli but it is much more of a tan khaki than my originals. For my tastes I like it because it looks less like a common surplus item and that's a plus. Being brand new construction I'd guess it will probably hold up better than the originals.

Either route you take, I think you'll be pleased. If you get an original, and by all means you should while you still can, pick up two if you ever want one to sell or just a spare in case the other wears out.

*Chuckle* Oh I wasn't asking in terms of a purchase... I hunted down a really nice original MkVII years ago when they were still hard to get, and needed to be well cleaned before you could even dream of using them... those were the days I was just more curious as to the motivations of people to weather new bags to look like something they could buy pretty easily these days... and I'm getting some good feedback here. Hadn't considered dry rot or tearing as my original bag is still tough as nails in that regard... maybe because it was used "back in the day" and hasn't sat unused in storage? I really don't know. The bag is my second favourite piece of gear to the jacket.

how long does it take to get it?
I've been waiting over a month (pants too)

Yeah, I was thinking of ordering one and wanted it before I took a trip around Thanksgiving, would I have it before then? What's the usual wait time?

Randy

Mechanic, I'd LOVE to see a Todd's bag in that photo as well for a total comparison! You don't happen to have one of those, do you?