[Reece Nelson]

So I'v got this friend that wants to sell me his German Gothic cuirass for $500, which isn't a bad deal

But there are a few things that don't really set well with me. The cuirass was made for him...so it's built for a shorter and wider guy. We had spoken about "tucking" in the waist to have it a little more formed for me but I think it still would look "off". I wanted you're guys opinion on it. Should I take it cuz it's a great deal or should I just save up my pennies for something nicer?

[Gregory J. Liebau]

You can get a custom cuirass with a full backplate from various Eastern European armorers who are known to have amazing turn around times and decent to great communication for $750-1000, depending on the various details. I would not buy a used breasplate with faulds for $500 even if it fit me perfectly.

http://www.armourandcastings.com/

http://www.jollyknight.com.ua/catalog/index.php?language=en

http://wildarmoury.com/index.php

I've dealt with the first two personally and know numerous individuals who have had success with Wildarmoury. I would recommend looking for quotes from all three. If you really just want a chest piece/fauld/tassets (which is not accurate for a full harness) then you could probably get one made for you by any of these folks for $500 or so. I'd ask Josh about your options, Reece. He'd probably make you one for less than that. Unless, of course, he's the one trying to sell it to you (for that price I doubt it, though).

-Gregory

[Sean Flynt]

Have you tried it on over a proper shirt/doublet or jack? That could make a big difference in the fit. As shown here the fit doesn't look bad, although the fauld seems to stand out more than I would expect. I'd want to look at some of the Rhodes breasts to see if the flange of this one needs a shallower angle. Maybe it's just the photo perspective.

$500 seems a bit high for used breast/fauld/tassets. The Windlass gothic cuirass has all that plus the back, new, for less than that and it probably isn't significantly lower quality. I've heard it's smallish, too. Not long ago I got a quote from Francois L'Archeveque for about $500 for custom-fit breast and fauld. If I thought your friend's armour fit me reasonably well (and we're talking about munition harness, I think) I'd probably go to $350 if it didn't need any work, or $300 if it did.That's just me, though. As for other armourers--of course, there's always something better out there.

[Jean Thibodeau]

[Sean Flynt]

I checked back through my records and found that Francois told me in 2008 he would charge $250 (Canadian) for a one-piece polished breast (which you can see on his site,) $350 for polished two-piece and $250 for polished three-lame fauld. If you can live without the tassets or make them yourself that would be a good deal. I wish I'd ordered something from Francois when the USD was so much stronger than CD. I do like your friend's harness, though, and I'd say he did well to have a custom breast/fauld/tassets made for under $700.