how many people out there got a sword and desided to builda kit (historical or fantasy) around it? any pictures? come on you know who you are.

like patrick did.

anyone else?

Chuck-

I just got my first semi-historical sword and have been thinking of building a period costume to go with it. something around 1400 (early 15th century).

Mark

My obsession with Mortuary's & the ECW, have led me to dream of putting together a Cromwellian
harquebusier kit. But due to budget limitations, just never have gotten around to pursuing it to any great
detail. To pick up a riding gauntlet, buff coat and lobster pot helm would do nicely.


Bill

I'm working on a mid 13th man -at-arms kit myself.

I have some typical ren faire non-historical garb, whihc is fine for historical fantasy.

Now I'm really trying to finalize a persona and kit for the mid-to-late 15th century. The German side of my family line goes back to Greisbach in Elsass (hill country East of Strasburg) and on up the Rhine into Switzerland. Apparently Imperial territory sometimes under the adminstration of Burgundy.

Unfortuately I have just about nothing on hand for what I think I want to build. My Regent is probably too upper crust (although probably period appropriate) for what I can afford to do. Good news is I have an Earl on order, whihc might not be too fancy and is of the right period. Full Hardness is out of the question (too exepensive and my size fluctuates inconveniently). So I'm probably going to try to get some base period clothing then a brigandine and helm in the next couple years so I can pull off an a foot levy or archer (will need accessories, dagger, bow, arrows, etc.). cOmpleteion is stilla long ways off, assuming I ever get there.

From what I can see thus far, an archer seems to be the most cost effective place to start and have something useable. From that foundation it seems possible to build something more elaborate. Easy to add arms, legs, and eventualy transition to a a more or less full suit hodge podge if I want to.

Havn't done it yet, but it's "on my list" to have three full sets of period-appropriate armor before I get too old to wear them.

Chronologically speaking, I'd like to have a good kit of bronze age armor, ranging in time from somewhere between 1200 BC and 550 BC. It would be a mis-mash of styles, quite deliberately, probably centered around a cuirass of heavy bronze scales or lamellae fastened to a leather backing, with a solid helm and a heavy plated war-belt or belly-band.

Next up, A late Parthian or early Sassanian armor (which would also serve reasonably well right up through the Middle Ages for my eastern focus): lamellar and mail, with splinted arms and legs, and spangenhelm with "mail veil".

Finally, I'd end up with a good Gothic full harness, minus sabatons. :-)
Not too fascinated my Medieval Western Europe, but you gotta love that armor.

I already have my perfect sword for my bronze age set: Al Massey hybrid leaf sword, with "Hittite" blade and "Egyptian" hilt. It's a fantasy piece, but it's not outlandish, and it is wicked. It even has a story behind it, all set for a "persona" who just happens to be a younger son of Rameses II by a Hittite bride . . . . . .

Heh heh heh . . . I kill me. :-)

My Jacobite inspired oufit was built up from many a Scottish baskethilt purchase !

Alba gu brath, Mac

Mac, your Scotish kit was actually one of the things that inspired me to go ahead with my 11th century stuff. I've never been an armour nut, but I've always loved that era and I've wanted gear like this since I was a little kid. One of the things that always stopped me was the fact that I don't really have a need for it. I'm not in any kind of group where I can get a lot of use out of the stuff and it will spend the majority of it's time in a trunk. However, I kept thinking about your nice Highland kit and finally decided that if you could do it so could I. :D

The other factor was that I was getting a bit tired of nothing but swords, swords, swords, all the time. It was time to move in another direction for a while.

I guess I am still too much the newbie. I have been obsessed with swords for only a couple of years. I have considered heading in the Roman Legionary direction, and also 16th century, based on ancestral lines. But my gene pool is pretty much a "Heinz 57 Varieties" hodge-podge, so I could really go in just about any direction. Got to wait for finances to straighten out a bit, first, though. Still recovering from daughter's wedding, plus my youngest is heading off to the university next year. And there some swords that I think I really need first....

Yeah Steve I'm gonna go with my ancestry. I'll be Anglo-Welch-lrish-Scot-Hebrew-Italian-Basque-French-German-Hungarian-Rus-Czech-Austrian. The outfit is really complex. :eek:

I've always loved that pic of Mac. It's not my period or culture of focus, but you do it so darn well, and with such zeal, it peaks my interest. Plus you're the master of the "I'm gonna bite out yer windpipe" stare. :evil: :lol:

cool guys keep it coming :)

peronally i got the kit then the sword. but the only living history presentation kits i have is 1470s english billman and longbowman, 11thc noble class (hastings era). 9th & 10thc viking warrior. 1st c. roman soilder and a 14thc peasant.

a lot of my kits over lap with makes it nice. ehhe take points from kit a and b to make c and so forth.

now kits to make:

sutton hoo
14thc man at arms
9th-10thc Dane lord

now i need some sharpes. most if not all my weapons are blunted for steel fighting. only things not dual are my ballock dagger, vikign axe, bec de corbin, and halberd

This thread got me out looking for linen and wool today.

So far I can't find anything thats not a 40%-60% blend with modern synthetics.

ive had good experiences with both. :) dont get mix linen or mix wool. its itchy