Conan the Barbarian (1982) armor

[John Hart]

I am recreating Conan's horseman armor and since Ultra Lamex chainmail is expensive and difficult to obtain, I found an inexpensive alternative. Aluminum pop tops. Here is a sample of my progress so far.

Although it is not exact, it does give a similar look. And my local American Legion is saving them for me.

 

[MightyEssoq]

Wow! I love it! Never would have guessed those were pop tops. Can't wait to see more...


Brent

 

[boshuda]

Those can be kind of sharp and even if they don't cut you I'll be they get abrasive when worn for any length of time. Are you smoothing them or will you be wearing them over some insulating fabric?

 

[John Hart]

I'll recreate and wear Conan's gambeson that he wore riding the camel.

 

[Korrigan]

I am recreating Conan's horseman armor and since Ultra Lamex chainmail is expensive and difficult to obtain, I found an inexpensive alternative. Aluminum pop tops. Here is a sample of my progress so far.

That is impressive! Such a clever use for pop tops A little weathering and it will look really good

 

[Nial]

As a die hard Conan the Barbarian (82) fan John i appreciate what you are doing and truly look forward to your progress. Good stuff.

 

[John Hart]

Found a picture of Conan in the armor, standing. Not very big, but it helps with proportions and measuring.

 

[Velluminous]

How much beer did you drink to get that many tabs? J/K!!

That really looks very good; I honestly didn't realize it was can tabs at first glance, it took a moment of looking closely at it. Keep up the awesome work!

 

[Jjaysavaloi]

thought this might help 2600 + POP - COLA - COKE - BEER - SODA TABS PULL TOPS ALUMINUM CAN ARTS & CRAFTS | eBay

 

[John Hart]

After many fits and starts, and life getting in the way, I finally completed the hauberk. Many thanks for the donations from the local American Legion.

 

[John Hart]

Get this. After knitting together all those pop tops, I found that the butcher aprons are available at a decent price.
http://www.millsupplies.com/Honeywell-Lamex-70-cm-x-45-cm-Apron_p_12623.html
Who knew. But the pop tops were free.

 

[nick daring]

Cool project!

Very unique choice from the film. Can't wait to see it come together!

 

[John Hart]

Thank you Nick. Especially for the picture of Arnold seated in the chair. That's one I hadn't seen before. Getting pictures of the footwear is always one of the hardest. Now, finding out the size of the plates used in the Lamex from the site selling the aprons are 20mm, I see that the pyramid studs I used, 1", were too big. 20mm is approximately 3/4" and the size of the studs are about the same size as the plates. When I make a more screen accurate version using the Lamex aprons, I can resize it all. If I can just find a good picture of the belt now. Judging from a screen capture, the helmet seems to be made of brass, because it and the cheek plates have a golden sheen to them. Maybe it's the lighting but the rest of the armor doesn't have it except that vambrace on the right arm that changes from Lamex scale to brass plate depending on the picture. Recreating stuff is a lot harder than making the original pieces for movies.

 

[Swordguy]

I know Im late to the party, but John, you did an amazing job with that chainmaille!!! You should be totally proud of that!!