Hi Gord

As your doing the 12 month build you will recieve parts quicker than I did as it was around 14 monthly issues here. So I think that by the time your around pack 7 you should have all the sides of the upper armour fitted along with the around half or more of the tassets. Hanging the armour on the stand will make the fitting of the tassets much easyer , well I thought it did anyway. One other thing I will mention is that the sweat band for the helmet can be a tight fit but you do get another piece for this in the next issue if i remember rightly.

Regards

Andy

Hi Gord

She is starting to look the part now and when on the stand gives a good idea of the sheer size of the completed armour. Great work.

Regards

Andy

Hi Gord,

Looking good,

I`ve got this one in my stash for a later date and this and some of the other diaries will be an excellent guide for me, "when I get started".

Keep up the good work I`m really liking this.



Regards
delboy271155
(Derek)

Just read through your whole diary. Rally good stuff!! You almost had me convinced to look at doing one of these until you said CA glue, that stuff scares me!!! Then all the precision necessary to get all that threading to match, holy Christ you must have some serious patience!!! Your build is looking exquisite, looking forward to you future installments.

Ohh, digging the monthly trivia as well!! Keep it coming.

Welcome to Pack 6 of 12.

First off, thanks to all who stopped by to take a look!




In the previous post was the following question:

Is the following statement true or did I just make it up because I’m running out of meaningful Samurai trivia?

“The most famous feature of the helmet was its Darth Vader–like neck guard, Darth Vader’s design was actually influenced by samurai helmets.”

The answer is it’s true, because the internet says so… How's that for a Millennium Falcon tie-in?




Now, on to Pack 6.

The Shoulder Pad:

This pad is added to the inside of the suit to cushion the shoulder plates and the top of the shoulder area at the back. it was secured to the shoulder plates and the back plate with some thread included in this pack.



Helmet Lining:

This was the most challenging part of the kit to date!
It had some folds from packing so I ironed out the wrinkles before proceeding. You start by pulling some threads in order to draw the fabric into a cap shape. The next step is to sew, by hand, a stretchy strip of fabric to the perimeter. My kit came with 2 strips, one stretchy and one that isn’t stretchy. The one that isn’t stretchy was different shades of blue on each side, and this is the one the instructions said to use. So I sewed it to the lining with the correct colour facing out. Because it wouldn’t stretch it was impossible to install as per the instructions. Thats when I noticed the extra one is stretchy but the same colour on both sides. So I cut all the threads to remove the non-stretchy strip and sewed on the stretchy strip. That was the one to use. I don’t know why they give you two strips when the parts list only shows one is included. I glued some thin upholstery foam on the inside of the helmet, this made it feel better when done and it fits on the wooden stand just right.
With the lining stretched over the edge of the helmet, the completed neck guard assembly is added with three rivets secured with CA glue. The neck guard covers up the part of the stretchy strip that got glued on.
In reading the instructions, this part looked hard so I left doing this part to the end.







Tassets:

Three more assets were made up and attached to the cuirass. I think three more to go and thats it for the tassets.

The Guard Pad:

A guard pad that comes pre-finished was attached to the main body of the suit with lace at the top and thread at the bottom..



The Beard:

This was a very interesting procedure to do. You are supplied two packages of hair, can’t tell what animal its from…
The amount supplied was way more that you need, I’d rather have too much than too little. With the hair in and trimmed it really looks good, very pleased.






Here is a pic of the suit so far. I got a box that is just the right size for the wooden stand to sit on. It’s really coming along!



The question for this month is:


Which of the following is a name of a famous Samurai?

1. Alan Whicker
   
   
2. Herr Gambolputty de von Ausfern- schplenden- schlitter- crasscrenbon- fried- digger- dingle- dangle- dongle- dungle- burstein- von- knacker- thrasher- apple- banger- horowitz- ticolensic- grander- knotty- spelltinkle- grandlich- grumblemeyer- spelterwasser- kurstlich- himbleeisen- bahnwagen- gutenabend- bitte- ein- nürnburger- bratwustle- gerspurten- mitz- weimache- luber- hundsfut- gumberaber- shönedanker- kalbsfleisch- mittler- aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm, and ask you - just quickly - if there's any particular thing that you remember about Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern- schplenden- schlitter- crasscrenbon- fried- digger- dingle- dangle- dongle- dungle- burstein- von- knacker- thrasher- apple- banger- horowitz- ticolensic- grander- knotty- spelltinkle- grandlich- grumblemeyer- spelterwasser- kurstlich- himbleeisen- bahnwagen- gutenabend- bitte- ein- nürnburger- bratwustle- gerspurten- mitz- weimache- luber- hundsfut- gumberaber- shönedanker- kalbsfleisch- mittler- aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm
   
   
3. Date Masamune
   
   
4. Michael Ellis
   
   

That’s it for this month, cheers, Gord.

Welcome to Pack 7 of 12.

First off, thanks to all who stopped by to take a look!

In the previous post was the following question:

Which of the following is a name of a famous Samurai?

1. Alan Whicker
   
   
2. Herr Gambolputty de von Ausfern- schplenden- schlitter- crasscrenbon- fried- digger- dingle- dangle- dongle- dungle- burstein- von- knacker- thrasher- apple- banger- horowitz- ticolensic- grander- knotty- spelltinkle- grandlich- grumblemeyer- spelterwasser- kurstlich- himbleeisen- bahnwagen- gutenabend- bitte- ein- nürnburger- bratwustle- gerspurten- mitz- weimache- luber- hundsfut- gumberaber- shönedanker- kalbsfleisch- mittler- aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm, and ask you - just quickly - if there's any particular thing that you remember about Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern- schplenden- schlitter- crasscrenbon- fried- digger- dingle- dangle- dongle- dungle- burstein- von- knacker- thrasher- apple- banger- horowitz- ticolensic- grander- knotty- spelltinkle- grandlich- grumblemeyer- spelterwasser- kurstlich- himbleeisen- bahnwagen- gutenabend- bitte- ein- nürnburger- bratwustle- gerspurten- mitz- weimache- luber- hundsfut- gumberaber- shönedanker- kalbsfleisch- mittler- aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm
   
   
3. Date Masamune
   
   
4. Michael Ellis
   
   

The correct answer is number 3. The others are characters from three of my favourite sketches from Monty Python. Oh yes, there will be more Python references.



Now, on to Pack 7.

The Tasset Plates:

The last of the tasset plates have been made up and atached to the main body of the armour. So 11 in all. Now it really looks proper.



The Neck Guard:

Three neck guard plates were attached to the chin area of the face armour. The lacing method was similar in concept to the tasset plates but quite challenging because of very little clearance between the plates to thread the lace through with fat fingers. A length of lace is used to hang the face plate from the wooden stand.



The Gaunlet:

This month saw the start of the gauntlets, starting with one arm. You don’t have to assemble it from individual links, you receive a sheet and a strip of pre-assembled large and small links, you simply remove the links that are not required. There is quite a few links to open and close to join sections but it was much easier and quicker than the instructions would have you believe. Also supplied this month is a very nice pair of smooth jaw needle nose pliers for this very purpose.



So, looks like the bulk of the build going forward will be gauntlets


The question for this month is:

Emperor Meiji abolished the samurai's right to be the only armed force in favor of a more modern, western-style, conscripted army in what year?

1. 1853
   
2. 1873
   
3. 1877
   
4. 1867
   

That’s it for this month, cheers, Gord.

Very nice work Gord, the sleeves take a lot of work but all worth it in the end and you have done a great job

Welcome to Pack 9 of 12.

First off, thanks to all who stopped by to take a look and comment!

Now, on to Pack 9.

The Thigh Guard:

The first thigh guard that was started last month was finished this month. Four more rows of plates were added for a total of six rows of plates. Next operation was to add the blue fabric backing which was held in the proper position with a drop of glue at each corner. Then, the faux suede edging was folded over onto the edge of the blue fabric backing and glued down with CA glue. This was done all around the edge. The very top edge isn’t sealed, but I’m sure the reason why will be revealed in a future pack. It turned out very well.












The Second Guantlet:

The second gauntlet was started and finished with this pack. Good thing the instructions said to make sure its a mirror image of the first one! Wouldn’t want to end up with two left hands!










The Second Thigh Guard:

This month also saw the start of the second thigh guard. Two rows of plates were added, just like the first one. Tiny white dots indicate were to punch the holes for the lace, no guesswork here. Rather than using the recommended awl to poke holes, I used the supplied punch and sharpened it, then used a hammer to punch a nice clean tiny hole. I sharpened it by putting it in the cordless drill and spinning it against successively finer grades of sandpaper.











That’s it for this month, Cheers, Gord.

Hi Gord

Great work on the thigh guards, the reason the top is left open is that both thigh guards when finished will be added to a silk belt that attaches both guards together. Keep the pics coming.

Regards

Andy

Hi Gord, have to give you credit for producing a beautiful piece of work, can see you have put a great deal of care and attention into this.... Absolutely fab....

Regards

Alan