Midlock

If you've been in the foam blasting hobby for any length of time, you've probably heard of the Fidlock holster system. It's pretty great - put a couple magnets on whatever, and now you can securely hold that whatever onto your body. If you haven't gotten to try it out yet, definitely try to at some point.

That said, it can be a bit pricey. This project seeks to solve 85% of the same problem for about 10% of the price. The initial holster will cost a few bucks in filament and M3 heatsets and screws, but every additional blaster you want to bring into the ecosystem will only need two M5 bolts and two ~3g prints.

Is it as good as the one with the magnets? No! Is it pretty good? Yes! Will it hold your blaster securely while you run around? Absolutely!

The real kicker: It's compatible with any blaster or gear that uses the “Medium” Fidlock mounting points (M5 screw holes, spaced 60mm apart), so it's possible your gear already works with Midlock!

Now onto the technical bits.

The Midlock system comprises two main parts: the blaster half, and the holster half. The blaster half is simple - two of the Knob prints, and two M5 screws (the length of which will depend on the blaster you're putting it onto). Screw the Knobs onto the blaster, and you're done. The holster side is a bit more complicated. It mounts to a belt or MOLLE webbing using one of (currently) three options: a belt clamp for use with whatever belt you like, a pair of MOLLE loops for use with drop-leg holsters, backpacks, etc, and what I'm calling “Belt MOLLE” loops, which fit on the belt I got from the internet that claims to be MOLLE spec but isn't actually to-spec at all. The different mounting solutions all screw into the “Thigh Plate” in a way that should make creating new mounting solutions easy for modders. From there, the Thigh Plate connects to the very creatively named “Front Plate” using up to six M3 screws. The Thigh Plate actually has 12 screw points arranged in a circle, which allows you to mount the holster at any of 12 rotational angles, to allow for comfortable drawing of your blaster regardless of how you mount it. From there, the “Locking Slot” and “Fixed Slot” are screwed into the Front Plate, and are the receptacles for the blaster's Knobs. Pushing a blaster into place will cause the Lock to securely hold the blaster in place, and you can release the blaster by pushing the lock rearward, towards the Thigh Plate. 

Good and confused? Don't worry, there's a picture-laden build guide in the files.

Bill of materials:
 

2 M5 button head cap screws (socket head should also work), length dependent on the blaster but Freerunner for instance will use 14mm long screws.

Some elastic cord, roughly 3-5mm diameter, roughly six inches worth

18-24 M3 Heatsets, depending on if you want to set it up for multiple mounting angles or just one

1 M3x25mm socket head cap screw, for the Lock pivot

8 M3x15-18mm socket head cap screws, to mount the slots onto the front plate

6 M3x8mm socket head cap screws, to mount the front plate to the thigh plate

4 additional M3x8mm socket head cap screws, for either MOLLE loop option

OR

4 M3x12-15mm socket head cap screws, for the Belt Clamp option