Coolus Helmet construction

[Anonymous]

Hello!<br>
<br>
Been a lurker for sometime now. Finally getting around to ask a question......I have been planning on building a Roman Coolus Type E Helmet for sometime now. I have a nice steel bowl (18 gauge) for the skull. I know that these were originally made in bronze and not steel. But this is a experiment and a project for the otherwise useless steel bowl. I have read that some helmets were tinned. Would this make the final project acceptable within the Living History community? <p></p><i></i>

[Matthew Amt]

Ave!<br>
<br>
The "acceptableness" of a steel Coolus helmet, tinned or not, will depend on which group you end up participating with. Some will love it, others might forbid it. I once made a Coolus C out of a Civil Defense helmet, which you can see on the Legio XX Helmets page near the bottom,<br>
<br>
www.larp.com/legioxx/helmets.html<br>
<br>
But it was only meant as a "loaner" helmet, for new members or visitors who lacked their own helmets, never for use as anyone's primary headpiece. Now we have enough people with better spare helmets that I'm retiring it, selling it off to a minister friend to use in his church's Christmas and Easter plays.<br>
<br>
So in my group, I wouldn't allow a regular Active member to use a steel Coolus, unless it was just a temporary measure while a better helmet was on order. Even then, I might loan him something better.<br>
<br>
In all fairness, there is a helmet shown in Robinson which he classifies as an iron Coolus type C, so that could be used to rationalize a steel reconstruction. But it's just a lump of rust, really, no way to be sure if it's Roman or what style it might have been. There are Celtic Coolus helmets of various sorts, of course, so it's not such a wild concept. Just no solid evidence for the Roman version that I know of. Safer to stick with brass or bronze, and leave iron to the Gallic and Italic styles.<br>
<br>
If you have no unit to play with, though, and can't afford a better helmet right now, go ahead and build it! Not like this project is going to cost you much, and it will be good practice for the future. And when you do get a nice brass Coolus or some other helmet, you can use your steel Coolus to loan to someone else, or sell it off to pay for something new. I try not to discourage people from making things!<br>
<br>
Good luck and Vale,<br>
<br>
Matthew/Quintus, Legio XX <p></p><i></i>