[Reece Nelson]

So I'v been mapping out my harness for my living history group and I can't decide what style of klappvisor bascinet I would like :/

My groups year is 1415 and my persona will be German. I'v seen a lot of visors, but none seem to really grab me. So I'd like to have some suggestions and pictures of the various style of visors.

The figurine Im posting below is what im mostly going for with my harness. I'll have splinted arms, legs, a solid chest piece with scale fauld, hourglass guantlets and a splinted greave.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Chad Arnow]

Reece,
While that's a nice figurine, that kit might be fairly out of date for 1415. The globose visor seems to have been an early type that was largely replaced by the snouted visor by the late 14th century. Also, side-mounted visors seems to have more common by the end of the 14th century than the center-mounted klappvisier. Of course, there is a snouted, klappvisier bascinet dated to circa 1410, but there are those that date it earlier. Regardless of that, it does date a few years before your era. More info is here: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=2811 .

A great bascinet might be a better option. See this thread for info: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=15681 .

[Reece Nelson]

I was going for a " hand me down " kit. The leader of my group had told me the Germans tended to use a lot of the older style, compared to the English and French. He had told me the splinted arms and legs could still be seen in use into the 1400's, but was unsure of the klappviser style, still being in use or not.

Would that work, if I said this to be armour that was handed down? How common would you have seen older armour seen in use during the 1400's?

[Chuck Russell]

i wouldnt call myself a knight then. hand me down stuff would be looked down upon due to it shows no wealth or status. i am leaning to full arms and legs would be better for 1400s

[Kel Rekuta]

Instead of accepting comments from others, however well intentioned, spend some time looking at effigies fom the time and place that interests you. The Effigies & Brasses website is a fantastic resource. Its companion site for miniature illustrations is likewise a treasure trove of information. Better to invest hours reading than to spend money on kit that will prove misguided once you do learn more about armour.

[Christian G. Cameron]

I'd widen Kel's comment to include all primary source materials. Just make sure of what date an item was created--books of hours, illuminations, frescoes, and brasses... the web has amazing resources, and there's books and books.

[Reece Nelson]

Yeah I'v been looking through Effigies & Brasses as well as manuscriptminiatures.com. Im finding a lot of good illuminations from the time period

I also got a copy of German medieval armies 1300-1500

Its a shame this style wasn't seen during the time of Agincourt :/ I really like the look of the splinted arms and klappvisor set up.

Im mostly a late 15th century guy, and this style is slowly growing on me Thank you all for you're help!