Tag Archives: Scalemail

Dragon Queen Scalemail Shoulders

May 26, 2014 snkynnj 1 Comment

Sara

Since our full scalemail order arrived in the mail, I have temporarily suspended work on the horns, and began construction the bodice for my costume. Although excitement is the primary reason for temporarily leaving work on the horns, equally to blame is the fact that the scalemail is much cleaner (in terms of workspace upkeep) and easier to work on at a moment’s notice, in addition to the fact that I might have to create a replacement for the horn I botched during sculpting, and I’m possibly delaying the inevitable. Although seemingly more straight forward, the scalemail has been equally challenging in its own medium, and there are an equal amount of assembly questions to address in the near future.

For now, however, I have been simply creating basic shapes that presented themselves during my initial diamond (100 scalemail) trial. Pleased by the diamond shape on the shoulders, I decided to incorporate dual diamond shoulder sleeves/ caps, into my design. This section would not only be the easiest to complete first, as there was no technical skill involved in creating the shapes, but it was also a necessary step for transitioning into the chest/ breast area, which Continue reading Dragon Queen Scalemail Shoulders →

Dragon Slayer, Stefan, Torso

Dragon Slayer: Scalemail

May 23, 2014 snkynnj Leave a comment

When someone asks you what you did over the weekend probably one of the most nerdy responses you could muster would be “I made chainmail!”.

To have a connection in our costume theme both Sara and I are incorporating scalemail. I chose the larger sized tempered high carbon steel scales from The Ring Lord. I wanted a more worn look “Authentic battle Damage!”, which I felt would be a good contrasting look when compare to the cleaner look Sara’s scalemail dress will have, which would more reflect a guy who’s been out in the world gaining his experience points and getting beat up from time to time. The pattern is the basic one also shown on the websites tutorial videos. The process is surprisingly easy but rather time intensive. I found that using a towel as a work surface keeps the area clean but most importantly it as a bit a friction so that all the scales you just assembled aren’t constantly shifting and slipping around while your working. I use two mini cheap pliers simultaneously to handle all the ring bending and scale handling. I find the smaller pliers allow me to still use my free fingers to grab stuff while not having to constant set them down.

After a couple of after work assembly sessions I got most of a full sheet done.

From the back side of the sheet of scales the ring pattern that holds the scales together:

And the result of all those hours hunched over a pair of pliers:

At this point I just need to repeat this process to get one more strip of scales. The next big step is to work through the best method of attaching the two together and the system that the final assembly will attach to so that this can be worn. Attaching the scalemail to your body is usually fairly straight forward; you make a enough scalemail until you have a shirt shape then you just throw it on and bind up whatever side you left open since this stuff allows no stretch. For my plan I’m only applying scalemail to the lower torso, between the sternum and hipbones as you can see in my concept sketch.

I need to design some kind of suspenders system or have it mount to the interior of the future leather chest plate

Dragon Queen, Dragon Slayer, Sara

Scalemail Torso & Bodice- Purchase

May 22, 2014 snkynnj 1 Comment

100 scalemail with champagne, brushed gold, and bronze.

When I was first browsing the web (more notably Pinterest) conceptualizing the design of my costume, I was instantly drawn to the idea of using scalemail within the design, as the scale would be perfect for portraying the idea of a dragon. I was particularly inspired by a variety of bodice designs that appeared on the runway and in couture fashion, as I imagined the dragon being regal, majestic, and very queen like. Although it took me quite a long time to identify the medium, it did not take long to find a distributor. Although Etsy would like you to believe that you should spend an exorbitant amount on 10 individual scalemails, I found that The Ring Lord was a better retailer where you could by bulk cases of scalemail, connectors, and patterns if your heart desires. In addition to being one of the cheapest, the colors available leave little limitation to achieve the design I most desire, even though I still had yet to determine what that is.

Instantly I recognized that I did not want a purely dark bodice, as I feared it wouldn’t show well in photographs, or the scalemail detail would be lost. So I decided to stay away from black altogether, and instead actually stick with brighter colors, primarily towards the stomach region which is traditionally depicted as being lighter if not Continue reading Scalemail Torso & Bodice- Purchase →