Zunari kabuto finished and painted... For now...

[Ray Cornwell 2]

Ok, so I got the kabuto finished, at least for now, untill I can come up with a better shikoro and bug crest thingies. The underplate is done, the paint is on, and it seems to look ok, to me. I might need to flair out the back, where it rubs the neck, for a comfort issue, though... Found out after the paint was on...
I also fixed the miazashi, so that it doesn't look like a baseball cap visor, I cut off a bit so that it is more streamline with the rest of the helmet. It doesn't hang down in front of my eyes now, yay!
Now for the Somen...






Any critique is of course welcome! Just remember, I will be replacing the shikoro with a decent one, once I find some more plastic, and I am making a matching somen, next.
Thanks for looking!

[Odawara Taro Yoshinobu]

Nice one Ray.

Shikoro's are hard to get right, trust me, mine isnt right still.

You did some nice work there.

[Effingham]

General commentary:

More rivets. Especially on the visor. You want it to stay where it is.

Second: check the profile. The visor should have more of a "beak" -- look at any WWII or Vietnam–era US Army pot helm and look at the shape of it. That's *exactly* what you want for your zunari.


Effingham

[Ray Cornwell 2]

more rivits, eh?
Yeah, good point, I'll do that. Do you think I should ad more rivits all around, or just on the visor?

About the shape...
Yeah, Next time I'll make the visor extend out more, but I will use thicker steel for that, like 12 guage. This was actually easier than I thought, I will make more of them, I would like to try all sorts of Zunari shapes!

Thank you for your comments, and for the compliment, Effingham and Odawara!

[Effingham]

In general, I'd space my rivets between 2-3" apart -- definitely no farther.

Effingham

[Kinoshita Takemitsu]

ray i want you to know i curse your name everytime i open my armoring notebook. After seeing your FIRST! (insert expletive of choice) kit I've gone from a nice simple plan for my japanese harness into a monstrosity that is likely to be the death of me... nice work on the helm by the way

[Ray Cornwell 2]

Effingham,
Well, if 2-3 inches apart is ok, then all but my miazashi is rivited ok. I'll add a few more rivits on the vizor, thanks for the info!

Kinoshita,
LOL, I am... honored to be... ah.... cursed when you open your notes! Really, I apreciate the compliment, even though I personally feel there is loads wrong with the suit, it is really supportive to hear such posative feedback on it!

[greeneel22]

i still love the look of that thing. was this your first attempt? about 90% of all my first attempt just sorta go "bleh" and hten i htink "how the heck did that happen? it was supposed to be a simple project!"

even though I personally feel there is loads wrong with the suit

my guess is that you will always think this until you become an armour legend. i think this ALL the time about mine (notice i DIDNT post it in the japanese harness thread, cus i personally think it looks so wrong) anyways, look at it this way: you're a lot better at this than a lot of people. (me and my friends for example)

[Ray Cornwell 2]

Yeah, this was my first steel helmet ever.
Your probably right, since I see every little flaw, and since I spend so much time examining it while I make it, I will no doubt feel sub par about my work, untill some day, many years from now, I come out with something perfect. I pray for the day, LOL!
Untill then, I will do my best, and strive to make good armor that is a good example on the field, and in the shop. I think that good looking armor makes everyone participating on the field enjoy the whole experience more.
Thanks for the kind words, Greeneel22!

[greeneel22]

no problem, thats what most of us are here for (other than the armour ) besides i can completely relate with what your saying, except my first trys are almost always not what they are supposed to be....