I have just got a new front German Gothic plate armor, and I am very surprised of how flexible the front plate is! Each plate from the Gothic armor can move a bit due to the rivets and the oval shaped holes that are in the bottom plate that is over lapped. Is it historically accurate? Either way I love this armor! It is the best one I have!

Thanks!

I can see how a man in plate armor can still shoot a bow on a horse while moving.

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My new new front German Gothic plate armor. 1.2 mm of high carbon harden Steel

Do you mean the faulds? http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faulds_%28armour%29

Yes, it's historically accurate. See here for examples: http://myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=214...ght=extant

I believe so.

The faulds tend to start quite near to the navel which means only your upper chest can't move. However since that space is filled with a rib cage you won't do much flexing there anyway.

Google up "sliding rivets." It's a perfectly normal feature in 15th-century armour. Your breastplate might have more of them than what would have been typical for its time, but not to the extent of being unrealistic or ahistorical.

Here is what I been talking about.

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Interesting, who made it?

Sorry, Gerald, I have never seen a real 'gothic' breasplate, even Italian export piecs, that had such a sliding rivet arrangement. Check Goll's thesis and you will see a lot of insides of 'gothic' breastplates.
https://plus.google.com/photos/100096262631351613656/albums/6078287958238859953?banner=pwa&authkey=CIrSnIWB4aLl0AE

or painted with red oxide inside for that matter. Bit of a modern armorers quirk.

The famed sigismund of tyrol armor does show rivets on the outside (like this reproduction). Can anyone confirm they are stationary non-sliding rivets?

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I just wanted to relate that I think this topic is stellar, gentlemen. I feel I'm learning much about armor and articulation.

Gerald

That's a really nice breastplate, who made it though?

Thanks

I can confirm that there are no sliders in the breastplate proper, only in the fauld. :cool:

I'll assume by breastplate proper you are excluding the underarm gussets James. Do you know if they slide? I presume so, but not wishing to trawl through Goll....

The gussets do not slide, either. There are gussets that simply pivot on the end rivets, and the springyness of the steel is what makes them resume their place.