Padded Armour

[adamparsons]

With regard to rawhides durability and mouldability. It can be moulded into quite complex designs even the thicker stuff (2mm). I have seen little faces made from it (and leather) from Greece. I have also used it quite a lot myself and would be confident of getting a quite high level of detail from it. (I want to make the Dura Europos shields but its so damn expensive for a sheet over here).

As for its durability, it will last as long as a natural veg tan leather which is one of your other organic options for a musculata. I have seen many chrome tanned and/or coated leather musculatas and it lasts ages but is unauthentic as a material. You can obviously preserve natural leather with oil, but then again you can do that with hide too.

Sue Winterbottom (durham conservator) told me that some of the armour she had looked at had a crusty orange deposit where the leathers were and she suspected that was down to an oil preservation (rather than just waterproofing) of the hide/leather used, and not a more conventional tanning process. I think preserving with oil leaves a messy type of material though, and may not harden enough for moulding, but you could still mould and shape the hide and cover in oil after wards? Maybe someone should try waterproofing some hide?

Just my two pence?
Adam