Samurai Armor (Total War: Shogun 2)

In this fine Instructable i will be showing how to make a full suit of samurai armor that i got the idea off of the game Total War: Shogun 2

The Armor i built was a fairly simple design but due to my small body structure was a little difficult to form the armor. how ever it worked out and i only messed up once during the whole build process! (drilled the wrong holes in one of the armor panels.)

I built this for fun based on several other instructables and my wanting of a costume that i built from the ground up and designed myself as well as having a sweet costume for dragon con 2012 ;).

the total cost of this project was $110 and took just under two weeks by myself :)

the armor i made is made out of HDPE 3/8" or cutting board. this armor made from a design from a video game will be used in stunts with sharpened knives and swords and compared to other armor types of the period made out of the same material after the testing well be doing a "deadliest warrior" style challenge were we have a face off in the many armor and compete with real swords!

what youll need:
2 sheets of HDPE plastic or your choice of armor material. you can use ABS,Sintra etc. (noobies use sintra its easy to work with and cheap!)*** Some one mentioned that you can get used acid drums made out of HDPE and cut them out, that way the armor is already shaped and rounded.***
Lots of thread i used a 7/8" ribbed thread to thread the armor together and about 12 Spools of it.
sewing machine
thread
scissors
fabric (i used Brocade/Sari)
lighter for (burning the edges of the thread)
drill press
band saw
dremel
hot glue gun
sandpaper.



this is a moderate build took only two weeks at full time hours but it does require a lot of drilling and threading.

feel free to make your own changes to what ever you like! like paints, fabrics and threads!

feel free to ask questions and share comments with others! best of luck!

Step 1: The Soft Goods (Robes and Pants)

lets begin with the sewing...

you don't have to be a seamstress to do this part of the build, I'm not one that's for sure. go to your local sewing/crafts store and get a template for Bath Robes. use these templates and measure them to your body accordingly. pick some awesome fabric! what you see in my build is red with black Japanese writing and symbols. its called sari or Brocade, its a very light fabric and looks amazing in the sun light but be warned it is difficult to work with because its just like satin or silk.

there's not much to be said here just follow the instruction in the template and they'll turn out great! :D i did some edits on my pattern i made it a tighter jacket and made it shorter so it didn't drop down below my waste to far. you want it a bit baggy so don't tapper it.

for the gloves socks and sandals i just went to a thrift store and dropped 6 bucks for matching set.

pick your own colors and add your own trim to it to make your own flare!

Comments

[stunami]

Btw, how did you get the nice vertical bend on the shoulder pieces? And I see you laced on the front and back on one side, but how did you latch it on the other side?

[ToweringProductions]

they are actually 2 different pieces. the whole shoulder armor is bent a a crescent shape, once it was formed i just drew a outline on paper with it and added a couple inches and cut a piece out of the material based on the piece of paper.
pretty simple, just used a bit of epoxy and hot glue. im not sure what you mean by "latching it to the other i side" can you explain it a little more for me? :)
thanks!

[stunami]

By latching, I mean, how did you close the body section on the sides? You have to get in somehow, so it has to open. Did you use clamps? Ties? Frogs? Buttons? Zipper?

For your helmet, it would look a little better and be a bit more accurate if the lamination are tied outward so it gets successively wider instead of inside so it goes towards your neck. It's why the flange on your helmet looks so narrow.

Also, where did you get the inspiration for this design? It's always nice to site your sources ;)

[ToweringProductions]

oh! well since this ive modified the basic design for putting on the chest... what i ended up doing was keeping the lacing on it as decorative trim and make 3 holes about 2 - 3 inches apart under the arm on both sides of the armor and using the same gold trim rope as a tie off. essentially i tied a knot at the front holes, (each hole had its own cord) and threading in through the back holes you pull tight and tie it off the the access on the front. its simple and works but you may need an extra set of hands to tie it off.

i agree on some of the armor bits needing to be more accurate but this was a 2 week build after all and not one of my major costumes. also the material chosen is incredibly hard to shape it to flange out like you mentioned and i also like to look up with out a band of plastic burrowing into the back of my neck and shoulders.

viola! http://www.instructables.com/id/Samurai-Costume/

[poofrabbit]

Congratulations on being a finalist in the Halloween contest!!! Can’t wait to see if you win! Good luck!

[ToweringProductions]

thanks so much! cheers!

[Cmdr. Vik]

Great tutorial and awesome work!

[kcli]

Quite impressive and obviously a lot of research went into your costume. You got me vote!

[kcli]

Quite impressive and obviously a lot of research went into your costume. You got me vote!

[kcli]

Quite impressive and obviously a lot of research went into your costume. You got me vote!

[LordSchoenfelder]

Can I use steel? I like this type of armor due to how light it is compard to plate armor and it would just be even cooler. The steel would be cold-steel.

[ToweringProductions]

oh yah you can use steel, it would have a great effect on it too if you added dents and weathering. i've personally never used steel for armor so i have no advice to give but im sure you could use the same instructions. here is a great diagram for metal samurai armor, note the difference in the chest as its one whole piece.
http://www.japanese-armor.com/images/source/Samurai_Do_maru_armor_piece.jpg

[LogTrotter]

Hey !
I have made the chest plate armor with interlocking mats, it was pretty hard but people can punch and kick me with it on and it doesn't hurt.

[ToweringProductions]

haha, funny how that works out right? well great job! ill be looking forward to seeing it finished!

[LogTrotter]

Is the armor on your back the same as the front?

[ToweringProductions]

yes it is, its pretty much the exact same template used. the only difference is that the ring/ hole for the neck is less of that on the front piece of armor.

[LogTrotter]

Thanks

[LogTrotter]

Where did you buy the HDPE from and would those interlocking foam mats work? Cheers

[ToweringProductions]

oddly enough Menard's had them with their plexi glass and acrylics in the windows and doors section. if your familiar with grainger you can also order it from them. they also have thickness selections which helps if you want thinner armor. you could very well use E.V.A foam (interlocking mats) would be easier to form but much harder to thread because it they give a lot cause of there density, you would also need to get the thinnest mats you could order but i personally recommend not using EVA. ill look for some other materials that would work and get back to you!

[LogTrotter]

Cheers

[ToweringProductions]

So I did some more looking around I found out yoga mats are the same material as eva foam. Once heated and formed it does harden and keep shape. Your more then welcome to try that out for the armor. I haven't attempted yoga mats yet but im going to try soon for a differnt project.

[LogTrotter]

Ive bought some foam mats and i'm going to start making it soon.

[ToweringProductions]

Alright let me know how it goes, best of luck.

[stunami]

Cool design. It looks good.

[Aleator777]

Great work. This is super cool!

[rocketman7]

Better Shoes?
They would not protect, and get wet very easily in your area or snow.

[ToweringProductions]

i have made a seperate sandals out of bamboo with ayou heel lace since then to be more period but they really did where sandals in battle. some late period armor from the shins would come down ontop of the foot but do to restricting mobility wasnt very common.
in battle the last thing you would worry about is getting your feet wet haha. :)

[EmcySquare]

The Flag is called Sashimono
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sashimono

Could be a little taller than that or your pals won't see you in the battle field

Great Job !!!

[ToweringProductions]

thanks was trying to find it!
yah i wanted to make it tall but going through doors would have been a bit of an issue haha xD

thanks!

[tinker234]

nice job love the armor

[monsterlego]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeet