Weta Workshop Chainmail

troopermatthew

troopermatthew

Sr Member
Hi!

Does anyone here own a piece of Weta workshops chain mail? If so would you be able to kindly supple the dimensions of the rings used. I am trying to replicate a set of it but without a scale its driving me insane :facepalm

Thanks!
 
I've seen some with 1/2" rings, not sure of the metric conversion, but this was a pvc piece.
 
Years ago I went to the first LOTR exhibition at Te Papa in Wellington. They didn't allow cameras to be used, but I managed to measure a small sample of the plastic mail they had on display.

It was 14mm OD, 10mm ID, with 2mm wall thickness. I used a 6" steel ruler, and got a fairly accurate measurement.

Hope this helps.
 
Oh, just remembered the other thing - the links were sliced from a plastic tube, so they had a square section. It will hang a bit tighter than the same dimensions made with a round section link.
 
I made some PVC maile for my General Kael costume a few years ago.

I used 1/2in with 1/16th inch walls. (The actual diameter of them is about 5/8ths inch) PVC that I hand cut with a pvc cutter. I would highly recommend machine cutting them though.

These measurements line up exactly with the 14mm/2mm wall measurements listed above. I'm guessing that they used the same pvc size that I did.

It's super cheap at any hardware store.
 
Just visited and got a tour of weta workshop yesterday unfortunately not allowed to take photos in there but the chain mail system the used is actually an injected cast ring with a clip system to fasten each ring. Apparently they originally prototyped using pipe sections but found the sectioning of each ring to be too time consuming.
 
The rings for the mail varied depending on there role - hobbit scale/ close up etc from 15mm diameter up to around 25mm

There was around 6 different size on display
 
Last edited:
Well, concidering "historically" chainmail was about 2mm thick wire, and the loops were 10mm on the inside, 14mm on the outside.

You can use 8mm too.
 
If it helps I went for a 10mm id and 14mm outer. When I get some put together I will perhaps put a picture up with an accurate LOTR prop for scale.
 
This thread is more than 11 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.

Similar threads

Galdon
Conan the Barbarian (1982) screen accurate chainmail
Replies
2
Views
188
Storm
Storm
M
cheap but very decent chainmail shirt I bought
Replies
0
Views
649
MystArt
M
L
Workshop rentals?
Replies
3
Views
730
SmilingOtter
SmilingOtter
BobasDent1138
Chainmail Help!!!
Replies
5
Views
1,403
SmilingOtter
SmilingOtter
SaraParker
VIKINGS: Lagertha Costume w/ leather and chainmaille
Replies
17
Views
36,187
cstickley
cstickley
Back
Top