Review of plaque belt from Global Effects

Ceddie · Post by **Ceddie** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:17 am

Communication: It took a long time and, in some cases, a few e-mails to get a reply but the replies were honest, polite and to the point.
3 out of 5

Product: The belt came in as ordered. We got the simple pewter plaques on red leather with no backing (I would recommend backing to others in the future.) All the mounting studs are penned well, one or two of the plaques are slightly askew but you can't tell unless you REALLY look, my wife didn't notice till I pointed it out.
4.5 out of 5

Price: best I can find
5 out of 5

Shipping and Delivery: In thread http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=48171
Gaston quotes 4 to 6 weeks. I ordered the belt on 26 July and it was shipped on 10 Oct. and delivered on 18 Oct.(the 8 days in transit is FED EX's fault) just shy of 12 weeks.
2 out of 5

Total shopping experience:
3.5 out of 5

I will buy another belt from the Global Effects teAm in the future!
Thanks Guys.

We'll post a pic in a day or so!

edit for spelling

Vitus von Atzinger · Post by **Vitus von Atzinger** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:42 am

Please, guys, remember that the G. E. staff is SUPER CRAZY BUSY all the time. ALL the time.

Strongbow · Post by **Strongbow** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:53 am

Good to hear it finally happened. I plan on ordering one as soon as my new arming coat arrives so I can get an accurate measurement.

Ceddie · Post by **Ceddie** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 10:03 am

Vitus von Atzinger wrote:Please, guys, remember that the G. E. staff is SUPER CRAZY BUSY all the time. ALL the time.

That may be but they should remember that as well when they quote delivery times. If they had said 12 weeks, I would have been pleased as punch with the timelyness of the shipping. All I ask is people do what they say they will do.

EDIT TO ADD:

Like I said I will do bussness with them in the future!
I bought this belt for my wife and I want one too!

Vitus von Atzinger · Post by **Vitus von Atzinger** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 10:43 am

Good point, Sir.

Chris Gilman · Post by **Chris Gilman** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 12:06 pm

Good Sir,
You are correct, we should have gotten the belt to you in the promised time. No matter how busy we where.
Since we initially received about a dozen inquiries and promised orders, in order to get a better price, we jobbed out the casting to another shop that specializes in this type of casting. This supplier did not deliver the plaques and it took over a dozen phone calls to finally get the pieces. (Many weeks late) This is the main reason we have our own equipment for this type of casting. We should have cast them ourselves in house and gotten them to you by the promised date. I apologize for this delay. We now have plaques in stock, so delivery time will not be this long in the future.
I am making another belt for myself in silver and blue. When it is complete I will post some photos for review.

Again, Thank you for you patronage.

Ceddie · Post by **Ceddie** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 12:30 pm

My Brother Gaston,
In about a month, I should be ordering another belt. And I will gladly send you as much bussness as I can.

Strongbow · Post by **Strongbow** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 1:33 pm

Sir Gaston wrote:Good Sir,
You are correct, we should have gotten the belt to you in the promised time. No matter how busy we where.
Since we initially received about a dozen inquiries and promised orders, in order to get a better price, we jobbed out the casting to another shop that specializes in this type of casting. This supplier did not deliver the plaques and it took over a dozen phone calls to finally get the pieces. (Many weeks late) This is the main reason we have our own equipment for this type of casting. We should have cast them ourselves in house and gotten them to you by the promised date. I apologize for this delay. We now have plaques in stock, so delivery time will not be this long in the future.
I am making another belt for myself in silver and blue. When it is complete I will post some photos for review.

Again, Thank you for you patronage.

Sir Gaston,

I'm interested in ordering a belt.... what's the process? Should I use the guidelines in the old thread and call?

Chris Gilman · Post by **Chris Gilman** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 2:45 pm

Yes thank you,
Old thread lists options and prices, call the office here and an oderform will be filled out .

T. Finkas · Post by **T. Finkas** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 4:06 pm

Sir Gaston wrote:... This supplier did not deliver the plaques and it took over a dozen phone calls to finally get the pieces. (Many weeks late) ...

Sounds suspiciously like my problematic casting supplier of old (and recent as well). Do the initials JD mean anything to you?

Jehan de Pelham · Post by **Jehan de Pelham** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 10:10 pm

Sir Gaston, my suggestion would be that you either take the horsewhip to that supplier or use your in house casting facilities, unless of course you can obtain better quality and pass along the savings to the consumer by outsourcing, in which case delivery times should be adjusted if necessary.

Below is my review of my belt, which you can see here:

http://tinyurl.com/7vogj

My wife Lorelei is also wearing one.

These belts rock like Captain Spock.

I selected a belt of 41 inches length, with 20 plaques, gold plated. This would mean a 1/20" space between plaques. The studs I chose were the four square studs, one in each corner, to create a "cross of St. George" effect. The studs were to be silver plated, and the background was to be paint.

During the assembly, as I am told by Hugh (Sir Rhys), it was discovered that it was difficult to get the paint that they had decided on to stick to the plaque, and that the studs tended to move a little, resulting in paint chipping. As this was felt to be unsatisfactory, a decision was made to go with a semi-translucent red epoxy, which solved both problems by securing the studs. However, there are some bubbles in the epoxy of one of the plaques, and the epoxy is a modern material. In retrospect perhaps the leather would have been a superior material from the accuracy standpoint. Some cad will at some point possibly ask how Jehan de Pelham, paladin of accuracy and authenticity ( :roll:

), came to have a plaque belt with EDIT: High quality venetian glassite ( :lol:

), and I will smile indulgently and ply them with beer, or ask them if they wish to see how authentic my rattan sword is. :lol:

The epoxy virtually guarantees that none of the eighty studs installed will come loose, which is a great thing.

The interior dimensions of the belt are 39.25 inches, probably brought down from the 41 inches specified by addition of the suede backing. This turned out to be fortuitous, as a belt made to 41 inches would have been too large. Fortune favors.

The belt weighs in at a substantial 3.5 lbs, not a trinket by any standard.

Each plaque is not exactly two inches square. The actual dimensions are 1 and 7/8" by 1 and 15/16" so you might want to keep this in mind for your design considerations. The plaques were not oriented regularly--some were mounted on the belt with the 1 and 7/8" dimension top and bottom, and some were mounted with the 1 and 15/16" dimension top and bottom. Placement and mounting of the plaques on the belt were slightly irregular, avoiding a machine-stamped perfection. The plaques were mounted by means of posts that were put through washers and then peened, a very sturdy arrangement.

There is some irregularity in the silver studs mounted on the plaques. It appears that some of the studs did not agree to sitting in the epoxy bath as well as others, so some are cocked a little but this is completely un-noticeble at a few feet. I do not find this disagreeable, as it adds variations and avoids a machine-stamped perfection peice to peice. I merely mention it for purposes of completeness. The quality of the castings are good, with a minimum of sprue or slag.

The suede lining is glued to the belt. Because of the washers and posts peened over on the inside of the belt I recommend this option for all persons ordering a belt. Over the course of approximately twenty hours of wear the glue came unfast along the edge in some places. For this reason I plan on sewing it to the belt.

During the course of wearing my belt for about twenty hours it came loose once as I was bending over, but was otherwise secure. The fastening arrangement is simple: two posts on the last plaque are left long, bent over into a slightly hooked position, and holes are cut in the other end of the belt.

The gold and silver plating are sturdy. No scratches have cut through the gold layer on the plaques.

When you first behold your belt, you may find yourself giving an involuntary gasp. Don't worry. This is normal.

Overall, I deem these belts to be a very sumptuous accessory for any late 13th century through early 15th century kit. The square plaques seem to be more appropriate for the early 14th century, but if someone wished to have a custom plaque made there are plenty of variations suggested by the effigies and brasses of the time. The Global Effects plaque belt will add a very authoritative presence to any kit. There is nothing "cheap" or "chintzy" about the article whatsoever. Purchase with confidence.

John McFarlin
Jehan de Pelham, esquire and servant of Sir Vitus

MJBlazek · Post by **MJBlazek** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 10:52 pm

This my sound ingnorant...but were those belts a common sight back then?

I really like them. I just dont want to be nit picked for diong something out of period.

Chris Gilman · Post by **Chris Gilman** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 11:21 pm

Jehan,
No, no ,no...It's not epoxy; it is in fact the finest quality "Vatican temperature stabilized Venetian glassite" An extremely rare form of enameling only used on the finest and most expensive articles. In fact its qualities have only recently been "re-discovered" and are now being applied to advanced Military aircraft!
Hmmph...Epoxy indeed!!
:wink:

Thanks for the review.
IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll whip the boys for not using the correct glue (or technique) on that leather backing.

Jehan de Pelham · Post by **Jehan de Pelham** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 11:57 pm

The funny thing is, I don't know whether Sir Gaston's bullshitting me or not!

MilleniumLancelot, it is difficult to know whether they were a common sight. We have effigies with these belts on. We have illustrations with these belts. I tend to think of them as expensive peices of jewelry, to be worn by those who could afford them and who were interested in following the fashion.

My lord Sir Vitus surmises that they may have had an effect as armor, especially as they ride at a spot that for 14th century armor is a little weak in the protection department. They certainly would stop a sword blow, unless the sword cut in between the plaques and clove the belt in twain.

Jehan de Pelham, esquire and servant of Sir Vitus

Tristan vom Schwarzwald · Thu Oct 20, 2005 8:12 am

Jehan, where did you ge the sword I see you wearing in the pictures (yeah, I snooped, so sue me)? :-)

Jehan de Pelham · Post by **Jehan de Pelham** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 9:00 am

Snoop all you like, man!

The sword is an Arms and Armor Henry V. http://www.armor.com/sword075.html

Jehan de Pelham, esquire and servant of Sir Vitus