Rhodesia | The Loadout Room

Who doesn’t love some good old fashion gun customization? Painting guns is one of the easiest ways to add some character to your gun. While most of us use a rattle can to apply camouflage patterns, or even better, Hello Kitty patterns AT armor went a different way. They’ve recently introduced their immensely affordable Rhodesian Camo Paint kit. I know two things about AT Armor, they hate communists and spray paint, and their first camo kit is a reflection of both of those.

The Rhodesian Camo paint kit is an oil-based paint kit consisting of two 2 ounce bottles of paint, Rhodesian dark green and baby poop green and a 1-ounce container of flat. You also get the best instructions I’ve ever read.

If you’re a fan of anti-communist forces and FN FALs you’ve likely seen the Rhodesian baby poop green camoed FALs. This famous camo pattern isn’t exactly pretty but it became part of FN FAL history and the FAL is a beloved gun. Over the years the camo pattern became a meme itself in gun culture and occupies a beloved, if not esoteric place. Rhodesian forces

The Rhodesian Camo Paint Kit in Use

I knew from the moment I saw the kit online I had the perfect gun for it. I purchased a Remington 870 for 130 bucks from a going out of business pawn shop. It has some mismatched Magpul furniture on it and was looking for a way to shake up a boring old shotgun. The Rhodesian Camo paint seemed perfect.

Step 1 was degreasing the gun with Birchwood Casey Cleaner and degreaser. I let it sit and dry before starting on the first side. You start by applying the dark green color first. I did a striped style pattern down the gun with nothing more than the paint a 1.5-inch brush and a paper plate to pour the paint in.

After applying the first coat and set of stripes I let the gun sit 24 hours to dry. The paint smells quite strongly so if at all possible leave it outside. I propped it on my porch, but I also live in the middle of nowhere. I took it inside at night of course.

The next step was applying the baby poop green. It’s supposed to just barely overlap with the dark green. I saw that using a brushing really does give it that beat up, jungle camo look. It’s smooth and perfect. It’s the imperfection that drives the beauty. Look at any Rhodie FAL and you’ll see something far from perfection in terms of symmetry and design.

Or maybe I’m just a bad painter.

More then Enough

The kit comes with more than enough paint for a Remington 870 and it’s 18.5 barrel and magazine extension. I have enough to do another smaller gun, but I’m probably going to stick with doing a few magazines for fun. The flat is way more than enough.

In terms of tips for painting, I don’t have many. I laid blue tape down for the first side, but then fell in love with the rough freehand look so I just freehanded the rest. It was really very simple to do and very easy. The Rhodesian Camo kit is easy to use and does give you a unique and historical way to add some character to your guns, knives, and more. You can check AT Armor out here.

I’m hoping AT Armor introduces more paint patterns in the future and I think they have a great idea and easy way to make painting guns gun and accessible to the less creative folks in our circles.

The Star model BM Spanish service pistol was an excellent firearm for its time. The pistol saw service with the Spanish military and police but also was used by the South African Defense Forces and found its way into the Rhodesian bush war. Although it looks strikingly similar to the 1911, the Star BM is significantly different mechanically. The Star pistol has a shorter service life and has recently worked its way into the surplus market of the United States.

The Star BM was manufactured from 1972 to 1992 and in that time only 217,682 were produced. There were no variations made in terms of mechanical function during this time of production. Although, some varied grips and finishes, this was dependent on when they were made and to whom they were issued. Overall, the Star BM did not see much use outside of the routine and it’s not known as to what extent it was employed in Rhodesia. However, the Star BM is an excellent pistol despite being outdated by modern service pistol standards.

The Star BM pistol weighs 35 ounces, has a 4-inch barrel and utilizes 9x19mm caliber bullets. The magazine release is located in the standard location on the grip behind the trigger. The 8 round magazines do not drop free because of the magazine safety/disconnect, a bar that prevents the trigger from being pulled if a magazine is not in the weapon. The manual safety disengages the sear entirely while simultaneously lock the slide, it is very intuitive to manipulate though. The sights are small and bland; an out dated design and style like that of the original 1911’s. The trigger is probably one of the best ones of its time with a crisp break and limited travel, rather than being a straight pull it hinges rearward.

Disassembly is like a 1911 as the slide is pulled to the rear and once the correlating slot lines up, the slide release lever can be removed allowing the slide to come off the front. From there the recoil spring and guide rod can be extracted. The barrel is removed out the front once the barrel bushing is rotated and removed. That brings the weapon into a state of being field stripped. The Star BM 9mm is an exceptional design and functions incredibly well with a high degree of accuracy, it has been replaced by more modern firearms but is still a more than effective sidearm.

Photos courtesy of Author

*Originally published on SOFREP

The Rhodesian Camo Paint Kit by AT Armor

The Rhodesian Camo Paint Kit in Use

More then Enough

The Spanish Star BM 9mm service pistol