Tag Archives: armor

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Friday Link-o-Rama

Tool collector or serious hobbyist? Either way, Jacques Jodoin’s incredible basement woodworking shop has to be seen to be believed. There’s three pages of photos of his shop with every tool imaginable; it almost looks like a store. I love all the tiny bins.

This Japanese “museum” of fantastic specimens (actually gaffs of imaginary creatures) shows what you can accomplish with papier-mâché. The museum itself is in Japanese, but the link is to a page which attempts to guide you through it in English (h/t to Propnomicon for pointing me to the site).

La Bricoleuse has been doing some interesting documentation of the armor that was rented for PlayMaker Rep’s upcoming repertory productions of Henry IV and Henry V (the same shows I just worked on). This post, for example, looks at photos of various pieces and annotates the choices made in their construction, describing what she likes (and what she doesn’t).

Die Hausbücher der Nürnberger Zwölfbrüderstiftungen has a collection of over 1300 color illustrations detailing many of the manufacturing processes and crafts from 1388 to the 19th century. The pages are in German, so you may want to run it through a translator.

Young People Today Wouldn’t Recognize New York Of The 1980s. These color photographs of New York City from the 1980s will help you the next time you are working on a period version of Fame.

This is an unfortunately brief article about working backstage in China, including a quote from a prop master. It sounds like they have to go through the same kinds of things we do over here though.

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Ancient Greek Helmets

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A few days ago, I posted some illustrations of Egyptian weapons from an 1894 text on arms and armor. Continuing in that vein, here are some pictures of various Greek and Etruscan helmets.

Greek Helmets

First row, from left to right:

  • Greek casque called a “kataityx”, probably in leather, from the 8th century BC.
  • Etruscan casque in bronze, first period.
  • Etruscan casque in bronze.
  • Bronze casque attributed to the Umbrians (allies of the Etruscans)

Second Row:

  • Etruscan casque in bronze. A similar helmet exists in gold.
  • Etruscan casque in bronze with fixed visor.
  • Greek casques in bronze with inscriptions.
  • Greek casque of the hoplites. Bronze.

Third Row:

  • Greek casque in bronze.
  • Greek casque in bronze with reliefs, antennae and a crest-holder.
  • The perfect Greek classic casque seen in many sculptures (though no actual artifacts have survived).
  • Greek casque ornamented with horsehair.

Fourth Row:

  • Greek casque with horsehair crest and embossed details.
  • Crest of a Greek casque in bronze.
  • Greek casque with neck covering in bronze.
  • Greek casque with chin-strap. Bronze.
  • Greek helmet with neck-covering and plume-holder for a horseman.

The illustrations and descriptions have been taken from An Illustrated History of Arms and Armour: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, by Auguste Demmin, and translated by Charles Christopher Black. Published in 1894 by George Bell.

Useful Sites

Link Before you Leap

We’re right in the middle of tech for this year’s Shakespeare in the Park, so I don’t have time to write as extensively as usual. Here are some interesting links to keep you busy in the mean time.

  • Jesse Gaffney writes about her goal to create a Chicago props community. It’s a good rundown of how to create a community of props people in any locale, which is good for sharing resources, mutual borrowing agreements, and knowing who to recommend when you can’t take a job. We have one here in New York City.
  • If you’re a fan of Instructables, you’ll like Make: Projects. From the same people that publish Make Magazine comes this library of user-submitted DIY projects and how-tos.
  • Speaking of Instructables, if you are a teacher and like the promise of the site, but are unsure how to integrate it into your classroom, the editors have just published a post on how to use Instructables at school.
  • Here’s an oldie but a goodie: an in-depth look at Nino Novellino, founder of Costume Armour Inc., one of the largest creators of theatrical armor and all manner of sculpture and props.
  • And finally, it’s always a good idea to remember How Not to Hurt Yourself On a Table Saw.
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Egyptian Weapons

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I came across a book with some fun little illustrations showing the history of arms and armor through history. The pictures are not terribly detailed, but they give a good overall look at the shapes and styles of common weapons in various historical periods. The first one I’ll be showing is on Egyptian weapons.

The types and styles of Ancient Egyptian weapons

1. A mural painting of Thebes showing Egyptians fighting.

2. Egyptian soldiers from Theban bas-reliefs.

3. Egyptian coat of mail. Some coats which have survived to the present have bronze scales, each scale measuring an inch and a half tall by three-fourths of an inch wide.

4. Egyptian coat in crocodile’s skin. From the Egyptian Museum of the Belvedere, Vienna.

5. Egyptian buckler with sight-hole.

6. Sword-breaker

7. Egyptian quiver

8. Egyptian hatchet

9. Sword

10. Scimitar

11. Dart

12. Sling

13. Unknown weapon

14. Unknown weapon

15. Hatchet, from bas-reliefs of

Thebes.

16. Scorpion or whip-goad. These were most likely 25 to 27 inches long. They were probably in bronze and iron.

17. Egyptian wedge or hatchet, bronze (4 inches). From the Museum of Berlin.

18. Egyptian knife or lance-head, iron (6 inches). Also from the Museum of Berlin.

19. Shop or khop, an Egyptian iron weapon (6 inches). Museum of Berlin.

20. Egyptian lance-head, bronze (10 and a half inches). Louvre.

21. Egyptian poignard, bronze. The handle is fixed upon a wooden core.

22. Egyptian hatchet, bronze, bound with thongs to a wooden handle of 15 and a half inches. British Museum.

23. Egyptian hatchet, bronze (4 and a half inches), fixed into wooden handle of 16 and a half inches. Louvre.

24. Bronze dagger (14 inches). Louvre.

25. Egyptian poignard, bronze (11 and a half inches), found at Thebes. The handle is in horn.

26. Egyptian poignard and sheath, bronze, 1 foot long. Ivory handle, ornamented with studs in gilded bronze.

The illustrations and descriptions have been taken from An Illustrated History of Arms and Armour: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, by Auguste Demmin, and translated by Charles Christopher Black. Published in 1894 by George Bell.

Useful Sites

It’s Friday. Take a break.

I’m in North Carolina visiting my wife and talking to her classes about being a props person (she teaches scenic design at Elon University). So enjoy the links below and have a Happy Halloween!

Still looking for Halloween decorating help? Check out the Haunter’s Digest forums and the Haunt Forum.

The Craftster forum has a good summary of the different types of resin available to the artisan.

Finally, here’s a tutorial for a cool armor mask.

Have a good weekend!