Building the kote (armored sleeve).

The metal parts of each kote are comprised of a hinged crown plate topping a kusari (chain-mail) section for the upper arm, shinno (slats) surrounding the forearm and a two-part tekko (hand guard). Each of the hard sections is linked together by kusari.

Assembly required first moving and removing links from a “sheet” of kusari. Reading through the instructions, I imagined keeping track of where to add and subtract a large number of tiny metal rings to be more difficult than it actually was.

The kusari was of the butted variety so adding and removing links was simply pulling open and pushing closed thin metal rings. Working with the kusari wasn't difficult but required focus. I found the process somewhat Zen-like.

A few steps back, I purchased a magnifying visor to help with the small detailed work. This was a lifesaver.

For the initial task, it was crucial to keep the kusari aligned to the provided cardboard template that indicates the sections to remove. Once the kusari was aligned to the template, I used several toothpicks to hold it in place. It was very easy to move the kusari out of place, so I used more toothpicks than were shown in the instructions.

I placed a padded shipping envelope under the template to serve as sort of a pin cushion so I could keep the template flat while keeping the toothpicks more secure. It also affixed the template in place reducing the chance of bumping the kusari out of alignment.

A pair of needle nose pliers is provided. I wanted to prevent chipping the paint with the pliers so I coated the jaws with a layer of Plasti Dip.

No matter how careful I was, chipping the paint on individual links was inevitable. Just the act of flexing the metal to open or close the link would sometimes chip the paint. Fortunately, I was able to touch up the links using Rust-o-leum Painters Touch gloss black. I happen to have some handy.

The touched up areas blended in a lot more seamlessly than I thought they would.

Under magnification, I used a sewing needle as a paint applicator. I frequently rotated links as sometimes paint was chipped in more than one area.

You are doing a great job you must have lot`s of patience looks awesome regards Phil

Not problematic just to get the lacing that joins the two sides of the sleeve together looking right takes time to get to be uniform and looking good . I recommend making up a test piece to practice on.

Below are a few more pictures of the metal sections being assembled.

Then, it's time to attach the metal sections to the cloth backing.

The backing material for the kote arrives partially assembled. To accommodate the bend in the elbow, the backing has a pleat. The pleat on the left side looked fine, the right side, however, looked like it had been mis-stitched.

Laying out the backing, I realized the material was just creased in an odd way from the packing process and the stitching was correct. A quick ironing and I was able to restore the pleat to its correct shape.

Attaching the metal assembly to the backing was straightforward. The key was keeping the chain mail securely in place while doing the stitching.

All went smoothly until I added the suede cords for the male end of the toggle that secures the kote to the torso armor. The cords pass through holes in the crown plates on the shoulders. These holes seem too small to loop the cord through the required numbers of times.

After struggling using wooden skewers and tweezers to push and pull the cords through the holes, I finally managed to get the two male toggle ends secured to the metal crown plate. Repeat frustration for the other side.

Thanks! Planning on tackling the facial hair after the kote.

Some great work here love the detail regards Phil

Just caught up with this. Very neat and tidy work there Zeta Forge. This model is going to look outstanding when completed.

Regards,
Phil W.

For the kote, one of the last steps is forming it into a sleeve using a cord to tie the two ends together. It's here that I tried my best to make lemonade out of a lemon of a mistake.

Holes must be punched in the backing to accommodate the cord holding the kote closed.

I punched the holes from the back. I was concerned about making them too close to the edge so I punched the holes further away from the edge. What I didn't realize at the time was how much wider the suede border is on the back than on the front.

So the punched the holes were within the border in the back but, on the front, they missed the yellow edging in the black material. Fortunately, the holes were consistent and all inside the border.

Now, a couple steps back, arpurchase gave me a heads up about getting this lacing to look right. Well, the left and right sets of holes were now too far apart. Since the holes were off, I decided to try something entirely different. I laced the kote like a shoe.

It is an entirely different look but, the ends are tied in a bow (like shoes) so I can redo the lacing in the future if I decide to try a different way of lacing.

On to more frustrating matters...

Like the kote crown plate, the holes for the toggle cord in the watagami (shoulder straps) seem way too small. These cords form the female side of the toggle that attaches the kote to the do (torso armor).

I ended up spending a couple of hours fighting to pass just one of the cords through the holes the proper number of times being careful to not damage the finish...or the cords.

During this step in construction, I tried to avoid using the awl. If it slipped, it would gouge the paint on the watagami. The do side was tougher to lace than the kote side. In fact, it was so tight, tweezers could not pull the cord through.

I resorted to needle nose pliers. However, the force needed to pull the suede through was enough to break it. After about an hour of attempts using different techniques, I resorted to using the awl...which slipped and gouged the shoulder plate.

It's battle damage...that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The picture below is after I touched up the gouge with black paint. At some point, I may revisit trying redoing the touch up depending on how visible it is when taking in the armor as a whole.

In the end, I resorted to trimming the suede cord to reduce its diameter. Repeat frustration for the other side.

Did anyone else run into problems with the kote toggles? I don't recall seeing any mention of issues with the toggles in other build diaries. Did I miss something?

Looking good and nice work

tigerace, arpurchase - thanks.

macky42 - A little reassuring to know someone else had the same problem.

I also believe the sleeves are too short.

From reference photos, the kote usually starts under the kohire (the shoulder winglets attached to the watagami) and is long enough for the tekko (hand guards) to rest on the "lap" when the armor is displayed "seated".

This causes the kote to bend at the elbows when being displayed giving the "hands on hips" look.

The kote on the model leaves a gap at the shoulder and kind of hangs straight down.

The pic below is of a Tengu themed armor from the LACMA exhibit a few years ago. It was the only reference shot I had of an armor without sode (shoulder guards).

It gives an idea of the proportions of a typical kote.