Belt
British-style Sam Browne leather belt with shoulder strap. It is likely that a brown belt with a brass buckle and findings was chosen and then dyed black. You can tell from a couple of scenes that Max’s belt still has a brown appearance to it. Black belts are available today, but come with the inaccurate silver buckles and findings. Max wears his shoulder strap vertically, as opposed to diagonally.
Interestingly enough, Max’s belt seems to have been chopped down from its original length. His belt is buckled down tight – to the 7th pair of notches. After the pairs of notches, there is a row of single holes which are used with the Sam Browne stud to keep the belt excess fastened down. Max’s has been cut after the first single hole. So it is very likely the belt obtained for the film was over-sized and had to be cut down to minimize the amount of excess belt hanging out past the buckle. If it were not cut down, it appears the end of the belt would have gone all the way around to the center of his back.
Search eBay for Sam Browne belts
Tools and Accessories
Adjustable Spanner: A small (150mm or 6″) adjustable spanner (crescent wrench) is attached to a quick-release key ring which is then attached to the bottom leather loop of the Sam Browne belt’s shoulder strap. The spanner can be purchased inexpensively at dollar shops, and the quick-release key ring is widely available.
Can-opener: A 3-piece rigging knife which includes a knife, can-opener and marlin spike. The knife is attached by a key ring to a swivel clip, which is then clipped onto the lower D-ring on the front of the Sam Browne belt. The “British Army Knife” is a well-known and high-quality brand of this knife and is very close to accurate (the can opener jaw does not have the correct sharp angle). Inexpensive and completely accurate versions were available until recently (Summer 2009), but everyone’s inventories have run dry. Check eBay.
Fire Brigade Tools: Hatchet and hydrant spanner (hydrant wrench) issued to the New South Wales Fire Brigades. The hatchet handle was apparently sawed short.
Shotgun: Sawed-off shotgun in a leather drop leg holster. There are a few cap and airsoft replicas of the shotgun. The more expensive ones, such as the Hudson, are available in real metal and wood. Inexpensive airsoft shotguns were available for less than US$10 but the supply has apparently dried-up.
Note: there were apparently 2 different holsters used in the film. A longer, baggier holster was used in the opening scene, and appears in the popular promo shot of Max walking down the road with his dog. After that, Max wears a nicer, flatter, riveted holster that has a small loop attached near where the trigger goes. See also Shotguns
Magnolia Leather Works has worked with us to produce accurate shotgun holsters.
Binoculars: These have not been identified, but are one model among hundreds of virtually indistinguishable pairs of traditional black binoculars. One characteristic which seems to be unique to Max’s is the antique brass/copper color of the center bar. One handy alternative to real binoculars is the binoculars flask, which has two 8oz reservoirs for your favorite beverage(s) and is widely available online for about US$15 and up.
