Help needed

[Julius Verax]

Hi ,
Can anybody please help me with this . Iam in need of making a Linothorax and an Aspis for work but I dont have any good step by step instructions .

Could anybody please tell me where to get some instructions / diagrams ? or if any of you have any you have worked off that you could email me I would be very grateful .

Thank you ,

Julius .

[Materfamillias]

Can anybody please help me with this . Iam in need of making a Linothorax and an Aspis for work but I dont have any good step by step instructions .

I have to ask.......what do you do? I have images of a man on the bus in the rush hour dressed as Greek sitting behind a man in a Toga- I've never been up to Tyne and Wear but if thats what it like I may have to!

kind thoughts
Materfamillias

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Hellow Julius. It's nice you need a linothorax and an aspis for your job. What are you,a Greek mercenary :lol:
I'm not sure what exactly do you need as instructions. Go to M. Amt's site,there is detailed description of an aspis making and linothorax.
This is my linothorax and how I made it (simplified)


There is also the "linothorax design/construction" thread but unfortunately it doesn't deal so much with how you can make it. Worths a read anyway.
If you have specific questions about the linothorax,you can ask. However everyone interprets differently the evidence and there is more than one way to make it.
Khaire
Giannis

[Julius Verax]

Thanks for the Info Giannis . Iam a Historical Interpreter for Tyne & Wear museums . Ive been asked to do Greek Hoplite for the museums and I need to get my kit ASAP so I need as much helpas possible with the linothorax and Aspis.

Julius .

[Materfamillias]

Ahh now I understand, but I think my image of the Tyne and Wear rush hour was very, er, interesting :lol:

kind thoughts
Materfamillias

[Julius Verax]

Yeh I bet it was :lol:



Julius .

[hoplite14gr]

www.4hoplites.com

Good luck!

[M. Demetrius]

Thre is also a step by step with instructions and experiences on Matt Amt's site there is a section on his linothorax, but right now, for some reason, I can't find the URL.

Some day, I have to organize those favorite link lists. What a mess![/url]

[Kallimachos]

I think you thought about this page:
http://www.larp.com/hoplite/linothor.html

[ouragos]

Shields can be difficult to source, although I have been working with some people in India to commercialise an old pattern they produced. You will see examples on www.4hoplites.com . I think that Historical Solutions might have just ordered some in (I spoke with them a couple of weeks ago and they were planning to place an order). Might be worth a try?www.historicalsolutions.co.uk
email: [email protected]

If you want a better quality one, you will also see a link out to Wulf on the 4hoplites site. He has some at the moment I believe.

[Julius Verax]

Hi Ouragos , thanks for the help . I dont think I will have much trouble with the linothorax but the shield is worrying me so I need all the help possible .


Julius .

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Andy,in the 4hoplites site there's a shield,unfinished in that photo, said to be made after the Achilles and Patroclos vase. I like that shape very much,but haven't seen any update on that shield. It looks like Paul Allen's shield in shape to me. Any news from that pattern?
Khaire
Giannis

[ouragos]

The 'patroklus' shield you refer to is my design. I used an academic research paper that evaluates the scale with regard to the shape of the dome and reworked that into a practical shield type which, as closely as you can to what is an inaccurate scale illustration, represents a good version of a deeper dished shield.

The one on the site is the very first prototype (which now has the black octopus on a yellow base - Eritria). It was slightly on the heavy side but the shape off-sets any weight problems in use. The later ones are all, give or take, 14lbs. Wulf still has a couple of these I believe and if it is that specific one you are interested in drop him an email. The email boot is on the site.

These are very well made, and quite labour intensive, so the price reflects that. To my opinion, and I accept I am bias as I designed it, this is about as good a shape as you can get for this type of shield and it far outperforms any other version we have.

In blind tests with the heavy prototype against a standard 14lb shield, when people lift them they all want the lighter shield. When people bring them to their shoulder for use they all want the patroklus shield... and this has been widely tested with both reenactors and the public alike.

These are nothing like Paul's 'bottletop' that he tried to have made in India. He didn't quite get the shape correct (I did point that out to him at the time but he believed, wrongly, that he could liaise with the Indian manufacturer to correct the errors). On such a complex thing when, to be honest, we are all a little 'anal' as regards little detail, this was never going to work. All the samples he received were quite poor and squared off at the curve and we (HA) would not have accepted the shape.

More recently, I discovered a manufacturer in India that had made some rather ropey shelds after we bought up a lot of old stock from a retailer in mainland Europe. These turned out to be 'servicable' with a bit of work, but once I found the manufacturer and discussed these with them, we then bought in a much improved version and this is the one, with a few final amendments, that 2 or 3 retailers across Europe should have access to very shortly. The manufacturers are also trying to copy the patroklus pattern, but I know how difficult it is to get that shape and I am waitng for sight of the prototype still.

This manufacturer is both reliable and capable, thus in high demand. Consequently new patterns are not 'instant' and a bit of patience is required. For example, they have a series of designs for corinthian, chalcidian and Illyrian helmets which they are doing for us as well so that we can finally get away from the 'deepeeka compromise'. The HA does not 'retail' though and works for its members only, but all of our designs will be available without condition to any retailer from the supplier once they are perfected. I have already spoken with a few about this and expect them to be commercially available once perfected.

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Hey Andy! I had to look to a hundred pictures from your site to check if there is an old and a new yellow shield with black octopus! The newer one seems good indeed,but have you got any more detailed pictures of that shield?
Khaire
Giannis

[ouragos]

These?