The Armour Archive

Hello all,
I am in the progress of acquiring a kit influenced by Northern Italian sources from the late 14th cent.
This will be a thread of the progress of a new helmet for this kit. I like all the threads when others post their progress of projects, so I hope some of you might find this interesting.

During the research I got more and more interested by the A74 helmet in the Wallace Collection. Theres seem to be a few more places where this type of basinet is on display.
One of the special properties of this helmet is the two hooks on the forehat that might have hold a Klappvisier style visor or a Bretache nasal, options that came up in discussions on this and other boards. The helmet type can be seen in artwork of the middle 15th cent. but the piece of the Wallace Collection is dated in the turnaround of the 14th to 15th cent. So it should go well with my kit.

After having seen some nice progress threads about Jiri Klepac´s helmets and owning a nice Churburg style 14 breastplate I decided to let him make this piece.
First the hat:
The helmet will be raised from one piece, giving it differential thickness on the skull and lower area. End thickness in mild steel is to be around 2mm. The helmet will have an adjustable liner and riveted aventail.
The visor was a little bit more difficult to decide for. There are some interestingly narrow Klappvisier types that might fit the narrow face opening of this type helmet, but also usual rounded Klappvisier are shown with this helmet. Some paintings of the time show basinet with klappvisier only from the side, so it is not too easy to guess the correct shape.
We finally decided for the visor from the Stibbert which is thought to have belonged to a 14th Italian basinet. So the helmet will be a interpreted recreation caused by the lack of the actual visor/bretache that might originally have belonged to this helmet.

First the helmet was started from a blank slowly developing its shape. Finally it turned into a deep bowl.

The status quo is still quite rough and will need some refined shaping. But one can already imagine what it might look like.

During the progress of the hat itself, the visor was started. Unfortunately for the three existing narrow Klappvisiers only few pictures are available, so it was not easy to imagine the correct shape. Luckily another board member was so kind to help us out with some information about the visor. Thank you very much for that.

So the visor was started, while the original has the hinge riveted to it, in this piece it will be integral with the visor as in most surviving examples.

Now that A74 bascinet with the Stibbert visor alrwady has a lovely shape to it, Bravo Jiri!

and Carnifex well done on chosing such a rarely reproduced bascinet to have raised, especially with that freakly narrow yet stunningly beautiful Stibbert visor. The helm and visor appear to work very well together.

Looking forwards to seeing some more progress pics of this bascinet!

Wow! That looks GREAT!

Looks really nice but is it just me or the part that is going to be the hinge off to the right?

Bilateral symmetry isn't period, you, you, you...you know what you are!

Hello Guys,

Felix, thanks a lot for posting, I am hardly able to send the pix to you. Wulfgar, yes it is still not very in the centre, but it is a lot wider, so I will cut the part off and of course: "Bilateral symmetry isn't period, you, you, you...you know what you are! "

all the best

Jiri

This asymmetry is obvious isn´t it? But knowing Jiris skill from his different projects I wasn´t worried at all. That piece is wide enough, most hinges aren´t that. So, as Jiri said.

@ Jiri
There are new pictures ?

Wow! I've never seen one of those reproduced before. Can't wait to see final pics.

This looks awesome!

More pics please

Great to hear that the off centre of the hinge will be rectified, it is far to gorgeous a helm not to be close to symetrical

Love your Jiri

Hi there, thats incredible, more pics please when you get time.

Thank you

Pitbull

Thank you all. I will add the pix. I have to finish another project before getting back to this one.

A little note to asymethry - the most of the axis point is the area between the "eyes" this is also to be fixed. The state of the visor is still "rough forged"

I am looking forward to continue on the project

Jiri

Almost 3! months later (Jiri is a busy man, have a look at his fantastic armet in the progress galery on his web page) I got some new progress pics. The hat still is in a rough shape and a lot is to do, but you can get a better idea of how it will look like in the end.

next

Amazing! Raising fascinates me.

Finally a sanded update.

I think that deserves to go on the "most intimidating helms" thread.

I'm envious.

Some new hot pictures came just in. It is noe really looking like something.

Thats AWESOME!

Wow -- great seeing an impressive piece like this be redesigned! It looks really protective and the visor seems to cover most of the throat.

I would like to ask this elm out for a dinner and a movie, but I'd be afraid it might beat me up.

dominic wrote::shock:

I would like to ask this elm out for a dinner and a movie, but I'd be afraid it might beat me up.

Yeah, doesn't exactly say "I'm your father" but more of a "Your my biotch!" doesn't it.

Outstanding!

I don't know why, and I can't recall which one, but this image in particular http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... p?id=26648
reminds me of a Star Wars alien....


NICE work. But, of course, it's Jiri, so saying "nice work" is almost like asking "did you breathe today?"



Effingham

Effingham wrote:I don't know why, and I can't recall which one, but this image in particular http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... p?id=26648
reminds me of a Star Wars alien....
Effingham

This one? (Can't remember how to post pictures)
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/File:Pondababa.jpg

Him, too, but he wasn't the one I was thinking of originally.

Dark and Evil

I love it

I was thinking it looked like something from Star Wars but not that guy. I'd have to watch the movies again to find the one I'm thinking of.

Ingelri

I am really looking forward to seeing this helmet in person. Now there is the liner to be made and the riveted aventail.

I was "Jirilized" today

Here I got the pictures he made of the finished piece just before shipping.

Now I am really excited.

That is just too sexy for your head!

Theres nothing quite like being Jirilized. Ahhhh another fine hat! (its to sexy for my head too..)