Worst has come to worst, and the economy has robbed us of one of our most cherished assets, an armourer that truly put the customer first. I have purchased many pieces from Allan over the years, and each has exhibited wonderful functionality, and great craftsmanship. They look like true pieces of armour, and it's the only plate armour I have worn, and will always be held in very high esteem by me.
Allan always was very good to work with. My constant inquiries, pestering, and ridiculous budget fluctuations and crazy custom ideas would have had most other armourers pulling their hair out. Allan was always responsive, patient, and willing to answer back in a very timely manner. He truly did put the customer first.

He bent over backwards for me and other customers, and always made a stellar product. His prices were always low, and he charged very fairly for custom work. In the end, it was his care for the customer that ended his wonderful career as an armourer. He wouldn't raise his prices, or take shortcuts, and he put the customer first and himself second too many times to last in this brutal economy.

He has had a huge impact within the armour community, and has put affordable, functional, well-made armour in the hands of many who would not be able otherwise to afford it. For one, I can tell you that Allan Senefelder's work has allowed at least one 16 year old to pursue his hobby and live out his passion.

This topic is for all who wish to tell of their experiences of Allan Senefelder and the Mercenaries tailor.
Post pictures of his work, tell stories, remember the man and what valuable work he has done for us!

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Allan's fine work

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All plate is Allan's work

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Knees are Allan's

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More of Allan's stuff he has done for me. Allan has made all the kits I have posted possible.

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At the time I did this photo, I only had some blued MT spaulders. Last month, I added MT splinted greaves and vambraces.

Very sad to see him go, I was just about to make another order when he made the announcement. I only recently became an MT customer, and was looking forward to doing more business with him. Not just anyone offer great semi-custom armor at unreal prices - he was an asset to the community. MT will be missed. :cry:

Allan, you got me started with my first real armor. You made it possible to break in to this hobby not just for me but for many folks out there. You're a great man to do business with, and you always put your customers ahead of yourself. I'm proud to have been able to don your wares. It's a sad day to see you go, and you know that we all wish you the best in the future.

Here's an old iteration of my harness. The arms, breastplate, backplate, and greaves are all Allan's.
[ Linked Image ]

Commercial featuring MT armour: http://vimeo.com/12095734
Commercial featuring MT armour: http://vimeo.com/24304009
Micro Web Doc featuring MT armour: http://vimeo.com/13634653

And a model wearing my armour, the arming coat didn't quite fit him right, so the legs are tied to the belt as opposed to tied to the coat. Whatever. Hopefully I'll get a good photo of the whole thing one of these days



Here's a snapshot from the commercial. A good chunk of the amour found in our group.


And here's a nice shot of the blackened suit.

Here is a link to another thread of a bunch of photos of the merc tailors work...
http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...ary+tailor

Ian, that is an awesome kit! :)
And Chris, could you post some to this topic?

my photos are in the thread I linked ,so it would just be a repeated post of the pics, I should have some new photos,perhaps no later than December 10th, and i'll come back here to post 'em

I remember one time, a few years back, that Allan made an address mistake on a shipment of armour to me that caused me some running around and going to the boondocks located warehouse of a shipping company to get it.

Allan felt bad about it and offered me " ANYTHING " I wanted in his catalogue for " FREE ": I think I offered to pay at least half the cost after initially trying to decline the offer and he didn't want to take no for an answer on giving me something at no cost.

So, I got a Kite Shield from him where he even paid the shipping ! It was a matter of honour for him to make things right but he went 1000% in compensating me for what just some wasted time and minor aggravation.

I avoided mentioning this before because I didn't want to create the expectation from other clients that he would do this every time and maybe set him up for someone ( not honest ) to make a phoney complaint and take advantage of him !

At other times he sent me replacement straps and rivets so that I could make minor repairs myself, also at no cost to me, and even included a rivet trimming tool with the rivets.

Yeah, maybe he partly went out of business by being too nice, and not being able to raise his prices for all sorts of reasons out of his control. :( He was also working like 60+/ hours a week or more for less than minimum wages :cry: :(

Well, work ethic and ethics in general he has in abundance and I hope he can soon get back on his feet financially. :\

I don't have any piece of real armor myself to contribute to the thread but I want to say that this thread is cool! It's maybe also the most appropriate way to give Allen a proper and well deserved tribute. From the photos, I can see how good his works were and how much his customers treasure his crafts and efforts.

Thanks for sharing and as a craftsman myself, I can see such end is always looming ahead for myself. It's sad to see him go.

if it wasnt for the fact that the massive distance gap between me and him skyrocketed the shipping so that it meant i was effectively paying double, i would probably be either waiting for them or fighting in them now. because they were beautiful and he was SO helpful in helping guide me as to historical appropriateness, and sizing etc.

unfortunately, australias extreme isolation means that shipping will always be insanely high for such heavy items.


i regret we dont have someone like him in australia, manning imperial may be known for impeccable quality, but it is also very expensive at times which, for a cash strapped person like me who, for now doesnt have the skills to make his own gear to a decent level of quality.