07-15-2006, 12:30 AM
Iupus,
Yes quite right, most modern reproduction armour is made from brass, and depending on the amounts of copper and zinc you will get colouring that is different to bronze.
Polished bronze will also give a darker finish than polished brass which can be made to look almost like gold.
Yes, again the amount of colours present in modern hoplite re-enactors is a bit on the 'bright side' the pigments used in the ancient world were a lot more subdued. They did have a wide variety of colour though, look at the frescos in Pompeii as an example. The adhesive for the paint was milk based which can be extended to be a glue.
The other glues in the ancient world were hide or animal, which is a collagen based and pine resin.
I am not a blacksmith either, I am actually a history and economics teacher, when it cam to learning how to make things i took my lead from Matthew Amt
http://www.larp.com/hoplite/index.html
who has been bumbling away at this for years and has learnt how to make almost anything with nothing!
Just remember to have fun, if its not fun you will probably give it away after a short time.
and if all else fails check out manning imperial in Australia
http://www.manningimperial.com/
Who sell very good stuff, unfortunately they have prices to match, but it is nice to dream!
Jason
Jason
Yes quite right, most modern reproduction armour is made from brass, and depending on the amounts of copper and zinc you will get colouring that is different to bronze.
Polished bronze will also give a darker finish than polished brass which can be made to look almost like gold.
Yes, again the amount of colours present in modern hoplite re-enactors is a bit on the 'bright side' the pigments used in the ancient world were a lot more subdued. They did have a wide variety of colour though, look at the frescos in Pompeii as an example. The adhesive for the paint was milk based which can be extended to be a glue.
The other glues in the ancient world were hide or animal, which is a collagen based and pine resin.
I am not a blacksmith either, I am actually a history and economics teacher, when it cam to learning how to make things i took my lead from Matthew Amt
http://www.larp.com/hoplite/index.html
who has been bumbling away at this for years and has learnt how to make almost anything with nothing!
Just remember to have fun, if its not fun you will probably give it away after a short time.
and if all else fails check out manning imperial in Australia
http://www.manningimperial.com/
Who sell very good stuff, unfortunately they have prices to match, but it is nice to dream!
Jason
Jason
"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." Maya Angelou
