Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Geralt of Rivia (Grandmaster Ursine)

BOYS (and Girls), after a break from making rad stuff, because college is taxing on the soul, I have once again set out on another adventure. This time, I am tackling the White Wolf of Rivia. Thankfully I have some giant shoulders to stand on like MaulCosplay, who already made an astounding version of the same armor I will attempt. That being Geralt's Grandmaster Ursine School armor which is pictured below in my reference:




Here's Ben (MaulCosplay) in his rendition (Stunning, once again)



However! In an effort to try and push myself more and more with each work I complete, I am actually going to attempt making my coat from real chain rather than the quilted fabric. I have no real end date that this needs to be completed by, so I want to take my time and do all the research and study I need to in order to do it properly.

I decided to start with the chainmail because as we all know, that junk takes forever to accomplish, especially for a newcomer. So I took some "shortcuts" to try and keep my sanity and my fingers from breaking. What I am making is more or less a "Fashion Chainmail", which is going to look like the genuine article, but only have the fortitude to withstand an aggressive toddler.

Methodology is pretty simple. I have a stick 1/2" across and 18 gauge galvanized steel wire. I take the stick and lay it flat on my lap, and using my thumb to guide the wire, I roll said stick along the length of my leg, and wrap the wire about the pole. As such:



Im doing it in a lighter 18 ga. wire because I have older, dull clippers, and I want room to make mistakes that can be easily fixed. Also it will keep my budget happy, as its 5 bucks for 110 ft ( approx. 1 pound of rings ). The weave is a traditional English 4 in 1. Nice and simple, and aesthetically appealing. Took me a second to figure out the proper way to stitch the rigns together but I'm on my way. If anyone is interested, the website http://theringlord.com/cart/ has excellent resources for making traditional mail.



Heres everything I got. I need definite measurements, and a boat load of patience.

Hail and Well Met

It's been too long since I last posted on this project, but going through your last semester of college and starting an 8 to 5 will really mess you up as far as finding free time goes. Either way, I did manage to finish this one up for GenCon this year, since the debuted a new Witcher tabletop system there I really wanted to stop by. Pic heavy update inbound.

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Tried awfully hard to make some authentic gambeson style sleeves, sewed a layer of thick cotton batting between the outer tan fabrics to give it a nice padded feeling and look.
Those arent actual rivets sadly, I just put those cheap walmart push pins in and used pliers to bend the point back on itself.


Swords were all 3D printed parts, nice and clean like using 123Design. I can't shell out for that good good modeling software so I keep it simple. For a cheap prusa knock off I was surprised the silver sword pommel did so well. The blades are just shaped poplar board with a 3/4 inch tang so the parts can slot through.


I had to revise my first pommel for the steel sword as you can see, the left side is the first draft and the second is when I remembered curves were a thing.

This here is the bandoleer thats one of the signature elements of the Ursine Armor. The girlfriend actually helped make this one, she hasnt ever had the opportunity to make things like this and she was really interested, so we went into crash course mode. Tried to add some texture with that old "crumpled aluminum foil and a hot iron on the foam" trick.


Here's the chainmail after it was all said and done.

Since I went ahead and pick thin wire, and large ring size, the chain only weighed 9 pounds at the end of the day. Still enough to dig into my shoulders since the supports were made of faux leather strips, but not enough to make the day miserable. And no, I did not leave it this shade, I took it outside, grabbed a can of brown spray paint, and a hammer, and just brutalized it in a dirt patch.



Heres the swords all nice and sexy. Painted, wrapped, sealed and the like. Basic techniques, nothing all together complex. The scabbards are just black poster board youd make a science fair display on.

Thats it for this burst, I'll post more con pics when I get them back. Cheers!

Looking good!

Somehow I haven't played the game yet, but the costumes from it look like something I should probably attempt.

Ayyy, finally got all the pictures in order that I liked. Didn't really have access to a stellar camera but my girlfriend was so kind to offer her Google Pixel 2 which honestly still pulled off some banging shots. Might do some edits to make my hair silver and eyes all cat like. Maybe some glowing runes on the blades too, but still!




Also, from GenCon 2018, I stopped by R.Talsorian games, because they debuted the new Witcher themed tabletop system, and I definitely hyped up their work, absolutely stellar. Met the author of the new player handbook too and geeked right out about everything.


P.S. Shameless plug, I was in the GenCon event booklet for my Thor Ragnarok costume circa 2017.

This costume looks great! I especially liked the chainmail. I need some mail for a costume I'm working on and i might just use your method of making it.