Hey! Just like my first wife except you spelled slut wrong!

Well the photoshoot is this Sunday, barring any last minute cancellations. Hopefully I'll have some shots to show soon after that. I'm not doing the photography myself; just providing the stuff for a studio shooter friend.

This is one of the models he's using:

http://www.modelmayhem.com/2977846

Well that was an interesting experience; my first studio shoot and I was playing Amourer for it. There were two models called in for it. The first is the one whose Model Mayhem page I linked in my last post. She's a young specialty/tattoo model. Her boyfriend also came along and was used in some shots as he's got a virtual Viking look to him. Then there was the second model, who is more of a runway type.

Both models were very personable and outgoing types, but there was a marked difference in how they plied their craft. The first was very demure and would disappear for a few minutes to get suited up, apart from the specialty bits I had to demonstrate. She took instruction very well and fed back what my studio photographer friend was asking for.

The second model just changed on the spot. I guess when you work in the fashion world you get used to changing with a half dozen people around, because it's necessary if anything is going to get done on a schedule. Where the first model took direction well, the second anticipated what was needed. She was more active and virtually attacked the camera, if you understand what I mean by that.

Both got the job done and were very professional about it, while still having fun with the concept of the shoot. My friend should have some shots back to me by the end of the week, so I can show a few. In the meanwhile the first model posted a couple of selfies. Halfway through the shoot she was saying that she had already had two inquiries from people who were asking where they could buy my stuff.

http://ink361.com/app/users/ig-22264...rkiller/photos

Looks like an interesting girl. You were quite correct on the boyfriend's look!

He just got a look at one of the edited shots of him, by himself, and to say he's pleased would definitely be selling it short. My buddy got shots of him in both my leather armour vest and gambeson, and black scale armour hauberk.

Well here are a few of the shots.

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...ew_8002589.jpg

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...li_8002671.jpg

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult..._8002529-2.jpg

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...en_8002501.jpg

Those are seriously awesome!!

Did you make the dragon scale armor?

Yup, it's about 15 pounds worth of anodized aluminum scales and aluminum rings. I wore it as my Hallowe'en costume.

That is absolutely amazing! Do you have any videos showing how you made it? The level of quality you put into your work is impressive! My hat's off to you sir!

I've got some videos of making the rings I use. The scales are purchased already punched and ready to go, so it's just really a matter of assembly. My supplier has some pretty good videos about how to put them together. I don't really work from patters, though, but instead just pull the designs out of my head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psIG...llR_TdPCpIf2FA

..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOBa...llR_TdPCpIf2FA

And this is a video from The Ring Lord, my supplier. It shows making scale with split rings (essentially like key rings), where I use plain rings cut from aluminum, but the principle is the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD8X...k2je8yfFbyB8Zw

The girl who first modelled the Japanese 6-in-1 shirt, back in post #98, ended up buying it. I gave her a deal; just enough to buy my next load of stock material, including a 20 pound roll of 16 gauge bright aluminum.

Ah, yes. My first screen credit; Season 3, Episode 2 of the web series "Standard Action." The tall skinny guy with the moustache in the tavern is wearing this piece. Doesn't look nearly as good on him. I was hoping it would go to the redhead, but they thought it looked funny on the guy.

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...l/Q5050291.JPG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwbpQHjqDFw&list

Funny thing: The photographer friend who I did the photoshoot with just asked me if it would be possible for me to make a chainmail bra and thong for another shoot :lol:

I also decided it was about time that I got something a little more "culturally appropriate" to myself, so I picked up a 24" targe and a Scottish basket hilted backsword. I'll be facing the targe in sand coloured pig split, so the reflections won't be an issue in photoshoots.

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...tuff/targe.jpg

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...f/Q1250239.JPG

Another piece I'm working on. It's not done yet (I want to add some flashy bits). This will likely be going to another web series:

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...l/Q1290240.JPG

:tremble: Waiting for pics of model in said chainmail bra and thong...

So now I'm waiting for photoshoots do be done and posted, online, by the following:

Jen Page (Model/Actress who has been in various productions by Zombie Orpheus Enmtertainment and, most recently, the web series "Chop Socky Boom) - she has some scale pieces and a chainmail dress that I made.

Sarah Moore (actress/director who is best known for her own web series "Gamer Chick") - I sent her that most recent piece that I posted, after adding some jeweller's brass scales along the front opening.

I'm pretty sure that Jen already did the photoshoot with the scale pieces, so it's just a matter of when she starts posting the shots.

Actress Sarah Moore, with her new acquisition.

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...arah_Moore.jpg

I chatted a bit with Jen, yesterday, and she hasn't done a shoot using the pieces that I made yet. She did say something interesting though; that she wants to use them in an underwater mermaid shoot, in a pool. I've always liked underwater photo shoots :D

I can see it now...."Uh, you seem to have forgotten some of the scales?" "Oh, nonono! That's for realism! Mermaids were topless and everybody knows they didn't have scales around their hoo-hah! Now, get in the water and lets take some pics!"

Well I only did some scale add-on bits, so Jen is in control of the rest of the costume. When you look like her, you don't have to do the skin stuff anyway ;)

http://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/382561/viewall

That's some good shit right there.

Edit: All the chain mail / armor pics. I forgot how these forums worked, thought I was posting on page 11...

Also Scott C. Brown and Andy Dopieralski of the Two Bards Productions podcasts (and various Zombie Orpheus Entertainment productions) received their chainmail coifs last week, which they discussed on the podcast #87 around the 29 minute mark.

Scott:
https://www.facebook.com/TwoBardsPro...type=1&theater

Andy:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

The Podcast: (*Do not listen to this at work, on the off chance your boss doesn't have a sense of humour)
http://www.twobards.com/podcasts/Two...7_20150308.mp3

And the guys from Two Bards Productions wore the coifs in their Patreon video :)

https://vimeo.com/123569969

Well Jen hasn't used the chainmail dress or the scale pieces yet (that's still coming up), but she did model a necklace that I threw in.

Love her eyes!

They are dangerous :)

And another, though still nothing from the larger stuff that I've sent to her.

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...rass_Scale.jpg

I just did a server upgrade that changed all of the links so I figured I would come back to update them, plus add a coupe of new pictures:

Here's a pic of Jen weaing the brass scale piece I made to GameHoleCon in Indiana.

(Link for the Facebook crowd: https://www.facebook.com/thejenpage/...53265956542404 )

Here's a coif that's made for a rather large Bengal Cat.

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...t/Q9140767.JPG

And the current project; stainless steel and anodized aluminum scales that are going to be mounted on 25 year old, 4mm thick leather.

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...s/QB300877.JPG

I have an urge to requisition a chain mail sock puppet...

I would be afraid of what you would use it for.

This one has my mind going in some not altogether PG directions:

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...9/Q3270930.JPG

What I'm up to now. Just have to find the right model.

interesting stuff.

It's also going to have a skirt, but I'm still working on that.

that does look awesome. also looks like tons of work.

It's not so bad with scales, because fewer rings are used to assemble a piece. A little more than half the number of rings that I would use for a chainmail piece are used in a scale item. That one is still 70+ hours and not complete yet.

After that I want to rebuild my personal anodized scale shirt, using the things I've learnt since originally making it. I'll als be making myself a stainless steel chain shirt. Seriously considering buying a resistance welder so that I can weld the rings closed, making actual combat grade armour.

are you still doing the rings by hand? not sure I would have the patience for it.

Yup, all by hand. My wire supplier created a system for linking and welding rings automatically, then sold it off to a company called Mailletec, that was formed by a couple of their former employees. After seeing how complicated that build was, I knew it was beyond me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YBIa-9-lus

I am surprised there is actually that much demand for chainmale etc. that it could support some pretty good investment at that point.

In addition to producing wire, rings, and scales The Ring Lord also does custom work. They made some massive chain curtains for some hoity-toity hotel and have made props for a lot of movies. There really aren't that many companies doing it at that sort of production level, so they have a good chunk of the market.

http://www.theringlord.org/forum/ind...comment-106927

ah yeah, hadn't even thought about movies. the chain curtains would have been interesting to see. I suppose if they were light gage that would look really cool.

If I remember correctly the curtains were made of "bright" (polished) aluminum. I had the opportunity to work on them, but was shooting at the track that weekend.

nice, back when I worked in fabrication I had the opportunity to work on some projects that were somewhat high profile. it was always fun to go see the work I had done in public places.

I feel that way every time I rewatch season 3 three of "Standard Action" and see one of my pieces in it, plus the "special thanks" note in the credits :D

oh that would be awesome, to see your name rolling by on the screen. LOL

My resistance welder should arrive tomorrow. Let the experimentation begin!

well we know what you will be doing this weekend.

enjoy

So it takes somewhere between two and three times as long to make welded mail, but it's a hell of a lot stronger than butted rings. This is 5/16", 16 gauge stainless steel.

that looks very interesting and very difficult to do. nice pattern to it, somehow I could see me screwing that up. LOL

looks good.

The pattern is European 4-in-1; the most common pattern for medieval European armour. Each ring links to 4 others. Every now and then I do screw up and have to cut a ring out, then secure a new one in place.

hoping to see Jen CosPlay with this piece, sometime soon. She wanted to try and make the chainmail minidress work for it but I knew that it wouldn't, and so made her the new piece instead.

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...n/P2190045.JPG

Also, now that my skills have improved, I'm remaking Sarah's piece for a better fit. Off with the sleeves, better contouring, a scale pauldron for the right arm, and maybe more that we haven't discussed yet.

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...d/Q7161535.JPG

wow those look incredibly difficult to make. very well done.

The second one is back to make it look even better :)

I thought so but wasn't entirely sure. the accents do add a lot to it.

The first one is made as a base layer for a CosPlay, which is going to have a lot more armour to it. I needed for it to hit the right sexy buttons, without taking away from the rest of the costume ;)

Here's the final version. The scales on the shoulder are actually silver, with protective blue plastic on them for shipping purposes.

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...d/Q7251546.JPG

final product looks great. have you sold any yet?

I've sold a couple of larger pieces and tons of jewellery. Most of the large pieces that I've done have been donated to web series though.

I'll hopefully have a shot of Sarah in her modified shirt some time this week and she's hoping to do a shoot with it soon.

That looks fantastic!! Any idea if she'll be at DragonCon this year? If you were to sell that piece what price would you be looking at? My girlfriend and I will be at DC this year. I'll be Ghost Rider and she's doing a video game character I'm not familiar with so I can't tell you the name but, the costume is fantastic! You should post some videos of the resistance welder in action!

Both Sarah and Jen might be at Dragon Con, because they're associated with the upcoming web series "Chaldea" by Peter Adkison (former CEO of Wizards of the Coast), but I'm unsure of that. If so, then they would likely wear their Chaldea character costumes. Sarah lives in Indiana, so GenCon is an almost certainty.

A piece like that one would go for $300+ and at that I would be paying myself maybe $2-$3/Hr labour.

I've been thinking about a video of the resistance welder once I've got my space better set-up, and I've become more proficient with it. Right now my work area is a mess, but at least it's not a fire hazard ;) I have a more advanced version, but this is a video of my supplier's older version gives an idea of how it works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWQ6ifucFhY

It's hard to see but, I'm guessing there is a groove in the tips of the electrodes and when you push the ring in it keeps pressure on the joint and then welds. Is it always live or does the pressure of pushing the ring in activate the welder? Nice device!
You're definitely underselling yourself with your labor costs but, that's often the way it works out I suppose. I've done a lot of metal, wood, mechanical stuff for people over the years and always short myself.

This is the unit that I have. Both the original and my later unit have a foot switch to control the welding action. The old unit required manually tuning it, via variable resistors, to set the pulse power and duration. My newer unit has 30 digitally selectable levels of pulse, so getting repeatable welds is theoretically easiler. In truth there's a fair bit of art to the science.

The flat electrodes make it easier to get solid contact on my model than on the original. I just have to burnish them occasionally with a fine file or sandpaper, in order to maintain good contact and remove oxide.

One problem with pricing is that you're always being compared to what comes out of India and Pakistan, at cut rate prices. Ultimately if I can build the skills to make high quality custom stuff, that'll no longer be an issue ;)

Nice rig! The price isn't too bad either if you plan on scaling up production! I have no ide if this would work but, if it can, it might save you a lot of time! Could you load a rod with open rings and then turn the welder on its' side and hold the rod in front of it and use your pliers to grab the rings and push them against the electrodes one after the other down the rod and when done, load the second rings on the first and load the rod again and repeat with the new rings that are hanging of the first rings and so forth until you get a sheet of mail? Don't know if that made sense but, it did in my head. :skep:

Ooh, ooh! Have a rod with a groove lengthwise and insert a thin strip of metal so when you slide the first rings on, they will have the gap lined-up on the strip and then you scoot them down and off as you weld them! Clear as mud? :D

I tried something like that and, in practice, it didn't really make thins any faster. If you have a rod and give it a little bounce, all of the cuts in the rings pretty much go right to the top. Given how fast I've gotten and finding and aligning rings prior to welding, the time saving was almost zero.

I take a pile of rings, split it in half, then open up half and close half. The closed half gets welded shut. I then make chains that are the length of the sheet I want to make, which are two rings, joined by one, joined by two, joined by one... I then weld those closed. When I have the chains, I then weld them into sheets. It takes several passes this way, but it's the fastest way that I've found.

This is where experience trumps theory! It usually does! :D

have to say $300 for that piece seems incredibly low, that is a lot of labor to basically give away.

That's a yes to both.

Picked up a gambeson and started on a set of welded chainmail for myself, to go over it.

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...9/P3073872.JPG

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...9/P3203874.JPG

And a quick video of my ring welder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgMM8VTGgDY

I love that coat! You're making some cool stuff! I can't imagine how long and tedious it is to do all those welds not to mention the assembly and everything leading up to the welding! Well done sire!

The gambeson is multiple layers of quilted fabric, between cotton outer layers. Something like it was frequently used at the only armour worn.

Doing welded chain takes 2.5x-3x as long as just doing butted mail. After I make a patch, I then have to tumble it to clean up the sharp edges on the welds. So far the best thing that I've found for this is ceramic tumbling media which, in roughly 3 days, gets me to 90% deburring. I need to figure out how long it takes for 100% because hand filing, like I did in the pictured piece, is far too labour intensive.

The current state of affairs:

And now after contouring and edging.

This one got some interest. Suddenly I was hit with 5 requests. This one went to a burlesque performer in Indiana.

Progress.

Badass, man.

Thanks :)

Hoping to eventually have some pics of the women who have various chain bits and pieces, but it's taking a looooong while.

Here's the first pic, from Nova Scotia, from a photoshoot a friend did using one of my chainmaill bras.

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult..._ed_dawson.jpg

And the current status of my personal chainmail project.

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...9/Q7303987.JPG

I really like the look of this stuff! https://www.youtube.com/user/WuffJaye

So, was your friend the one behind the camera or the bikini?

I've been seeing JayeCReations' stuff everywhere lately. It's scales over knitting.

Behind the camera. I've got a couple of female friends who are working up their own photo shoots.

Same here! It's been popping up on FB a lot and other sites. Looks like it would be comfortable but, If one were to wear it for reenactments or something very active I would be concerned the knitting would stretch.
Anybody you know of taking your stuff to DragonCon this year? We'll be there Thursday through Sunday.

Knit stuff would also tend to be pretty damned hot to wear for LARP, but would be comfortable for CosPlay. At least it would be if the venue wasn't too hot, which just sort of happens when you get thousands of people together in the same place.

No one who has my stuff is in the Atlanta area. There are some around Chicago and Seattle, so it could show up in places like GenCon, GameHoleCon, ECCC, SpoCon...

Here's the current state of my personal chain:

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...9/Q8154103.JPG

The first rule of cosplay is: YOU'RE GONNA SWEAT! Nice progress on your mail! Can't wait to see the finished product!

Main body is done. I'm going to start on the arms and, once that's done, I'll add 8-12 inches to the bottom.

http://www.morallyambiguous.net/mult...9/Q8274107.JPG

Saw a lot of mail and scales at DragonCon! Don't think I got any pics of any though. Too many hotties to focus on! :boobs:

What, no Red Sonja cosplay?

I don't think I saw any this year but, with 80,000 people it's hard to see everything.

Slow but steady progress. This is how long it will ultimately be.

Progress is progress! Keep rollin!

It's been a while and no one seems to be around but I did say that I'd post progress. I guess that "done" counts as progress and I've started working on more topical projects too.

Very nice! Did you do your own tooling on the red or did it come with the weave texture already?

Did it all myself; both colour and tooling on All pieces.

That's some quality work then!