The Armour Archive

I Have recently found that I very much like the defensive aspect in large scale battles and wanted to specialize my gear a bit more in that aspect.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking a Scutum that I found at 48 by 24 but am not completely sure.

Thanks in advance for any help!

When fighting in a "war" or melee I really, really like my 2x3' ABAS. In a kingdom of little shields (even in war) the defense provided by the big shield is undeniable. Many times I am the last one in line alive and only get killed because I have been flanked. Shields are not the whole solution though. Tactical awareness, communication and unified arms provide more security to a group than just big shields.

My suggestions for battle shields would be the 2x3' ABAS, 22x44" kite shields for more mobile fighting and big heaters. Try different kinds of battle shields and pick the one that feels right.

BS

mjaay wrote:I Have recently found that I very much like the defensive aspect in large scale battles and wanted to specialize my gear a bit more in that aspect.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking a Scutum that I found at 48 by 24 but am not completely sure.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Wow, that is a big ass shield.

(I apologise for the off-topic-ness of this reply.)
reading the subject "Suggestions on large shields " I just had a mental image of a load of people with large sheilds, with notices on them like "Bill, have you thought about having a diet?" and "Please, try the barbeque ribs after the fight" on another...

erm, yeah. my brain is a very silly place.

Hmmm..... where do you live?

Does you kingdom allow thrusts to the side/top of the helmet?

If not, I would not go any longer than from your cheeks to the top of your knees.
That is really all you need covered, and you don't want the sheild to be any bigger than you need. If your shield is past your knees, you are asking for a spearman to trip you up. And you want to be able to be mobile when needed. Defense is great, but you often have to get there first.

If you are out Westish, then I might got a few inches longer to cover more of the head, but at that point you will need to be relying on your sword blocking mostly anyway.

Big shields in a unit. Based off 1468 Hessian Heavy Infantry. 3ft / 4ft, with a horn.

<s> no shit there i was </s> rumor has it there was a 5 foot round shield with a lazy susan shield boss that the guy would roll along beside him and slip in behind when the action broke out. (I never saw it however) This was about the same time the tuchux were being touted as lawyers and CEOs slumming it on weekends. Not sure if any one else got the silly rumors bout 15+ years ago but this was sposed to be the biggest shield to be used in battle at pensic

If you want to be an effective war fighter, the <s> most </s> only important thing to do is to join, and train with, a unit.

You'll want whatever shield is standard for your unit.

Hogfather wrote:Big shields in a unit. Based off 1468 Hessian Heavy Infantry. 3ft / 4ft, with a horn.

Could you possibly post or send a message on how you made these and possibly how you strapped them?

Thanks in advance!

Exactly like the ones in period. A center Y grip and a shoulder strap.

Construction wise, again, similar to period in that there is a Keel, and a curved shield.

We used lamintated plywood (two layers) on a 5 inch press. Use good wood (Oak for the outer layer, poplar the second).

We then used (sigh) PVC for the Keel. After 4-5 attempts at making it in wood with no luck. The quality needed could not be found locally in enough abundance to make the 18 shields we needed.

Hand grip and shoulder strap were put on exactly as in the illustrations we found.

Canvas with white glue covers all, felt on the back.

The edgeing is heavy duty hose.

Total cost per shield (assuming you buy it all in bulk) $128.20

mjaay wrote:I Have recently found that I very much like the defensive aspect in large scale battles and wanted to specialize my gear a bit more in that aspect.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking a Scutum that I found at 48 by 24 but am not completely sure.

Thanks in advance for any help!

24" wide is not very wide for a scutum. Scutums usually work well when there are multiples of them and they are working in unison. Alone, a scutum and be a hindrence. Especially one that narrow.

Have you thought about doing a "war Oval" style? Like this:

What is your persona?

My war aspis is about 38" diameter, which very much matches the original average size of a Hoplite shield.

Here is a pic of me following my Knight at a field battle at Pennsic. (I am behind and to the right in the light colored musculata. the crest of my corinthian was taken out by a sword blow earlier)
You can see my Aspis, made from a Big Sandy barrel lid, heavily covered and painted shiny bronze to look authentic.



Here are the postings of how I made it:
http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... ight=aspis
http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... ight=aspis

Hope this helps.

Glaukos the Athenian

Not if you're 6'5" it isn't.

Blackbow

Agnarr wrote:

mjaay wrote:I Have recently found that I very much like the defensive aspect in large scale battles and wanted to specialize my gear a bit more in that aspect.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking a Scutum that I found at 48 by 24 but am not completely sure.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Wow, that is a big ass shield.

InsaneIrish wrote:

mjaay wrote:I Have recently found that I very much like the defensive aspect in large scale battles and wanted to specialize my gear a bit more in that aspect.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking a Scutum that I found at 48 by 24 but am not completely sure.

Thanks in advance for any help!

24" wide is not very wide for a scutum. Scutums usually work well when there are multiples of them and they are working in unison. Alone, a scutum and be a hindrence. Especially one that narrow.

Have you thought about doing a "war Oval" style? Like this:

What is your persona?

the artwork on that shield is fantastic! Very nice.

Suzerain wrote:. . . reading the subject "Suggestions on large shields " I just had a mental image of a load of people with large shields, with notices on them like "Bill, have you thought about having a diet?" and "Please, try the barbeque ribs after the fight" on another...

erm, yeah. my brain is a very silly place.

It ain't alone: This Space For Rent -- call 555-xxxx

Agnarr wrote:Wow, that is a big ass shield.

Is that what ABAS means?

Seriously. I'm not familiar with the expression.

InsaneIrish wrote:

mjaay wrote:I Have recently found that I very much like the defensive aspect in large scale battles and wanted to specialize my gear a bit more in that aspect.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking a Scutum that I found at 48 by 24 but am not completely sure.

Thanks in advance for any help!

24" wide is not very wide for a scutum. Scutums usually work well when there are multiples of them and they are working in unison. Alone, a scutum and be a hindrence. Especially one that narrow.

Have you thought about doing a "war Oval" style? Like this:

What is your persona?

I just gotta say...that paint job is hot!

Isabella E wrote:I just gotta say...that paint job is hot!

I can't claim responsibility for that paint job. Wish I could as it it really is a quality job.

It's pretty rad.

My 26 x 38 warshield sized heater... it works great in melee and is still manageable in one on one fighting (at least for me anyways)

(I'm challanging my wife to a fight in our backyard here; she beat me with a broomstick )

Dude! Your shield can not defend against a broomstick?!? I am not intrested in that design for sure!!

ABAS is an Ansteorrean Big Ass Shield. In short it is a rectangular shield 2 feet wide and three feet long. No idea where I got the Name from, but I love the shield for warfare.

BS

We have a unit over here that uses large, center grip kite shields. Size about nose to mid shin. Quite effective as a unit shield and manageable enough if you are on your own on the field.

I use a 24x48 centergrip scutum during wars and I enjoy it. It's not a hindrance at all, really fowls up spearmen as they can't get around it and it's great during a press. Depending on what it's made of, the weight'll take some getting used to and it's a completely different mindset as it's more a static than active defense.

InsaneIrish wrote:24" wide is not very wide for a scutum. Scutums usually work well when there are multiples of them and they are working in unison. Alone, a scutum and be a hindrence. Especially one that narrow.

Hmmm... sounds like you are from Calontir...


I have been part of a number of units that use war heaters that are 24" wide, and they work just fine for melee, and by themselves, they are plenty protective.
Darkyard uses mostly 24" scutums, and again, they have pretty good success with them.

Calontirs use of a scutum is different than many other places. I would greatly prefer to use one 24" wide. How wide are the ones you folks use?

Oscad wrote:
Hmmm... sounds like you are from Calontir...


I have been part of a number of units that use war heaters that are 24" wide, and they work just fine for melee, and by themselves, they are plenty protective.
Darkyard uses mostly 24" scutums, and again, they have pretty good success with them.

Calontirs use of a scutum is different than many other places. I would greatly prefer to use one 24" wide. How wide are the ones you folks use?

I think the standard size is 30" across.

But, as you said we in Calontir tend to use them in a different style.