Fallen Crusader

     This costume was gradually assembled over the year, and it was a wonderful learning process but was not without the mental and physical pain that comes with such inexperience. Many fingers were pinched, cut, and bludgeoned but thankfully no serious injury was sustained.

     The chain shirt was the first piece of armor completed for this costume. It began as a hobby last year and slowly developed into a 20 pound shirt woven of 16 gauge blackened steel. The cross design on the chest is made of brass rings.
     The gauntlets and greaves were my first attempts at plate armor. They can only be considered costume armor because both were made of thin aluminum. It was an easy material to work with and a good metal to start practicing on.
     Then came heaver work in 16 ga. steel starting with the gorget which was created specifically for rapier fencing in the SCA. The skills of dishing and planishing learned on the gorget helped to create the rest of the armor consisting of articulated pauldrons (shoulders), knees, and sabatons (feet).
     The visor is riveted directly to a cloak which was created from a simple pattern. Under the visor is a small red LED running on three watch batteries.

     It was a joy to completely dawn all 45 pounds of the armor for its first official test run on Halloween! I received many complements and it was well worth the sore shoulder and back muscles after walking around for hours that night. I can't wait for next year!