Armour Template: Breastplate ctd.

Another evening trimming down the breastplate.  I can now fold my arms without it digging into my armpits YAY!

I also added a curve to the bottom to add a bit of shape and improve articulation (might make it deeper looking at it now).

And the finished-ish breastplate.  Details will be added late :)

And now that the front is done the back was just traced and cut.

These pieces are joined over the shoulder by a simple strip.  Not decided if it should go on the outside or inside, will decide when it comes to attaching the spaulders.

Marked out one side, punched the holes then used that to mark up the rest.

And after some fiddling...

Next step is to create the folding abdomen section (don't know proper name lol).

Armour Template: Breastplate

Began work on the breastplate template today and got it almost done.

The front of the cuirass is going to be made up of 4 pieces, 1 for the chest and 3 for the abdomen.  This will allow for maximum mobility as I want the armour to be practical as well as look good.

I took measurements around my chest, back (just under arms) and neck then halved each as I'm making the front and back separate. For the length I measured from the base of my neck to just below the ribs.

Neck cut was marked with a compass and cut using an 'x acto' knife (the one I use is the model knife from Games Workshop).

Sticking with the winging it method I stood in front of a mirror and shaped the piece as best possible and put a mark just under by arm so I could gauge the cuts for my arms.

Lots of trial and error and trips to the mirror to get the fit right.  It's still a bit wide across the chest and needs further trimming.

Proof of trial and error ^_^

So the breastplate is nearly done and just needs a bit more trimming and the bottom curve added to give it some shape but it's getting there :)

Armour Template: Spaulders

First day of the armour project began with a template the spaulders, well one of them as they are going to be a matched pair.  I sketched up some concepts on my PC first to get a general idea of where I was going but to be honest, the plan quickly became just winging it.  Working well so far :P

Left over moving boxes make good prototyping materials.

I took a rough measurement over my shoulder to get the width of the base piece and just eyeballed the length.

Fitting of the base and first fall (not sure of proper name for each section).

I'm keeping it plain overall as it's my first attempt and don't want to go too crazy so just freehand cut a curve into the base piece to give it some shape.
The second (and subsequent) pieces are modelled on the end curve of the base and trimmed down so it gets narrower at the bottom.

At first I tried attaching each piece at the end corners as seen above but quickly discovered this really limits the articulation of each joint so decided to try the longer but ultimately better method.

All 5 pieces are now attached.  All of the sections are attached individually to 2 strips that run the back of the pauldron.

You would be surprised how much digging on the internet I had to do to find out how to do this lol.
This method allows for much better articulation as demonstrated below.

And that's it for the pauldrons for now.  I need to make the breastplate and back to work out the best way to attach them.

Armour Project: The beginning...

Howdy!

So I thought it could be fun to give this whole blogging thing ago.  Now I know what you're thinking...there are millions of blogs online these days about all sorts of random shit, so why should you read mine?  Well, you don't have to, but if you did, that would be awesome and you might even learn something new :)

Lets get down to business.

In my spare time I dabble in leatherwork, and up to now I've made mostly small things like dice cups, bracers and other random stuff so I thought it was about time I took on something a little big bigger...ok...a LOT bigger...a suit of armour.

I will upload pictures and processes where I think it could be useful for anyone else to have a go and if there is anything y'all want to know, just ask.  I believe in sharing information and technique, especially for such an ancient skill that is lacking in popularity these days.

So without further ramblings from me, lets get started :)