Assassin's Creed and other EPIC resources for inspiration in our garb and kit

[B. Patricius]

Hey all,

I don't wish to hijack the SCA culture thread with this, so I really thought about it and felt it was worth it for its own thread.  I also think this would be a great place to store any and all inspirational resources we may find.  There's amazing amounts of information out there for us to help us in our quest, easy tricks to play; forced perspective in paint, as an example, and they're out there waiting for those willing to explore.

Those kits from AC aren't cheap, despite being Windlass made.  I flirted with doing an assassin persona but they don't wear any armor (well,bracers, pauldron and greaves- a BP if you go into AC2, Brotherhood and Revelations) - and what they do wear is quite ornate; but what is available is rather cheaply made - polyurethane mostly.

Not cheap indeed.. the full Ezio outfit was around $2,000 when I looked. Haven't looked again because of the shock.

Sir William, and Sir James, with all due respect,

That depends, it all depends on what a person is willing to do as far as man-hours, just like anything else with re-enactment.  The most I've ever spent on garb was $48 on six yards of gorgeous green upholstery fabric with a pinstriped jacquard.  It's not a period garment because of the material, but beyond that, it's amazing and looks totally 1660s justacorps with my matching vest and trousers.  Same with all my friends that do cosplay... epic kits for maybe $200.

Beyond that, I have a friend who is custom commissioning from an armorer Ezio's armor pieces for cut and thrust combat.  Needless to say the armorer is a bit daunted, but he's excited as all get-out too! 











me in my Jedi-




- experience: proud member of the 405th, 501st, Rebel Legion, Mandalorian Mercs, and Assassin's Creed Costumer's guild    we make our kits, I haven't been able to finish mine because I'm working on this medieval stuff, history is more interesting.  I do have my jedi though

Also, be on the lookout here boys 
My templar is almost done, basically years of weaving mail is about all I have left for that kit
then,
on to my 15th, 16th, and 17th century "Spanish" kits and THAT is heavily influenced by Assassin's Creed's Ezio.

beyond that, all of my costuming buddies like to look at their massive 48" HDMI 1080p game screens, then check out that "expensive" stuff, make fun of its inaccuracies either from in-game or historical, like Ezio's Altair outfit, it obviously has slashed sleeves but don't look it in any game, and then talk, plan, and plot "how do I make it better, more accurate to the game and history, and for a tenth the price!"

love the enthusiasm

OK, so I'm going to go with easiest first, followed by more detailed answers for everyone

First, Corvus, and all those admirers of LilTyrant's Kat build from Halo: Reach:
http://www.405th.com/forum/armor-uniform-and-prop-making/elite-showcase/36670-kat-armor-build-with-custom-undersuit?s=e0bac2bb516600f72ada5eb4fddb1891 and my God, it gets sexier
also, she does an excellent job of showing and instructing on all the skills required for making such armor, it's amazing. 

Now on to the little bit more involved:
Assassin's Creed outfits, GOOD ones, without the sword, can be made for under $200 with believe me (I know, I'm a novice sewer - 1 garment made!) simple sewing and very good guide to get it done:
http://www.assassinscostume.com/altair/ the best news, he has Youtube tutorials for every piece


it's really not that difficult guys, and please by all means, Windlass' kits on these things are just as cheap and not accurate as anything else they make.  We all know Windlass, they're close, but they're no Albion  I know a swordsmith that would make a custom Syrian Sword, Shiavonna (Ezio), or Altair's Eagle sword in a heartbeat and get it done NICE.  We all do.  Spend the money there, the rest is actually easy with good tricks and such.

A little leather craft, a little foamies, a little elmer's glue, a TON of time, and these dreams can be realities.  Live the dream, isn't that why we're here after all? 

As for garb, any and all questions related, I'm more than happy to assist.  I'm new to sewing, but I do make my own patterns.  My first try at that was that Jedi outfit.  All based on movie publicity photos and "what should work."  I was honored by the RebelLegion with a "best real-life interpretation" award.  I don't know if that award is even "real" per se, and I don't care, it was great to be appreciated for the work involved and my mom (my seamstress at the time) was in tears of joy.  It's worth it, and it can be a ton of fun.  And now, versus 15 years ago, we have great communities to work on them with.

Here's resources for those amazing cosplays that can inspire for sure. 

http://rbf-productions.deviantart.com/art/Assassin-s-Creed-Altair-Cosplay-331812979


http://moisuke.deviantart.com/art/Assassin-fallen-188599236

and I'm sorry, but how does THIS:
by windlass
every truly compete with THIS:


or

or


I firmly believe that anything available, not by a small shop or single person, like so many things out there are... but from big companies, just CANNOT compete with the tenacity and innovations of the fans.

I've always been a huge fan of the late 12th, early 13th world, ever since first watching Disney's Animated Classic: Robin Hood for the first time and researching the history behind it.  Assassin's Creed allows me to wander those very streets of the middle east from the comfort of my home.  Any time I get frustrated with my kit, playing a bit as Altair always brings out the best and reminds me why I do what I do.  Assassin's Creed 2 and the others that followed it also breathed life into a beautiful and complex world of the late 15th century as well.  Truly now, those are my favorite time periods in history, and I can't help but think AC helped make them that way.

[Sir Edward]

I firmly believe that anything available, not by a small shop or single person, like so many things out there are... but from big companies, just CANNOT compete with the tenacity and innovations of the fans.

Boy, that is so true, in almost any genre. Anything mass-produced has to find a balance between cheap manufacturing and how many fans are willing to buy it, considering that it has to be marketed to kids and "soft" fans to get a large enough market.

People who want really perfect stuff and are willing to pay for it are significantly in the minority. So they're stuck using their own ingenuity, often to fantastic results.

[Sir William]

Those are some truly inspiring creations...in short, the outfit by Windlass can't compete.

Thanks for the AC tutorial (in the other thread)...may try my hand at that.  Of course, I say that all the time. 

Who is the one who can make the swords?  Does he have a link?  I've always wanted that curved scimitar-like sword that is the full upgrade from AC1, with the brass knucklebow.

[B. Patricius]

For the swords, Christian Fletcher http://www.christianfletcher.com/Christian_Fletcher/Welcome.html can make you pretty much anything you want, however he seems to be booked until the end of the year with custom commissions, which is great for him, bad for us 

beyond that, I personally think Baltimore Knife & Sword http://imakeswords.com/falchions.htm can fit the bill for Altair's Syrian sword.  I too, really would like one, it fits my Iberian persona to a tee.  This is another one he made, looks to be more of a two-handed type but the blade is almost spot on and the hilt shows the detail he can achieve


and I'm a fan of them, have been for quite a few years.  Basically I love their blades for re-enactment work because they're so stout and nigh un-breakable.

Sir Edward,
Yeah, to me it's sad.  I remember when Master Replicas had some really nice stuff out there, now it just seems to be mass-produced plastic and pretty much anything I've seen Assassin's Creed related (I held an Altair sword), just is bleah, it's functional, but the details and such are missing.  The one I held had it's hilt's "wrap" if you can even call it that, already peeling off.

Also as a fun little twist to ruin the illusion and such with all those kits, the weapons, are all FOAM! Like blue, insulation foam!  I have found personally that using foamies on them can add quite a bit more detail, but for a 10 foot rule SPARTAN, just the blue foam works great. 
most of the events we go to, we can't have anything heavy, or that can actually shoot anything.  Which is a shame, because I loved being a part of the Treckies trying to take on the Star Wars troopers and Mandos.  LOL then the HALO Spartans came in and dominated all with their nerf guns, but alas, it's no more now.  The tricks used can make some pretty believable melee weapons too, just in case y'all ever go to an event that won't let you take your sword in, just take a foam one

[Ian]

I remember spending a lot a lot of time as a teenager looking for a Graflex 3 cell flash tube at antique stores all over central FL to reproduce a Luke ANH saber, but I wound up dremeling the shape out of chrome bathroom piping.  I wish I still had that saber hilt.

[Sir William]

BKS, of course...don't know why I didn't think of them myself.  Thanks, B. Patricius.  You wouldn't happen to have any stills of that sword, would you?  When I was playing the game, my crappy cell phone cam wouldn't take a good shot of it in-game. 

[Sir Edward]

I remember spending a lot a lot of time as a teenager looking for a Graflex 3 cell flash tube at antique stores all over central FL to reproduce a Luke ANH saber, but I wound up dremeling the shape out of chrome bathroom piping.  I wish I still had that saber hilt.

Those graflex tubes have gotten scarce due to fans buying them up for that. At one point, they were over $1000 on ebay. I think the price has come down considerably, but there still aren't many of them out there.

My mom has one (complete set, camera and all), and I keep teasing her that she has a "really nice lightsaber" there in her collection.

[B. Patricius]

Sir Edward,
that's awesome!  I've heard the graflex all complete is quite valuable too. 

Sir Ian,
I too, built quite a few lightsabers in my day, and the first, and my favorite is still my home-depot special from a bunch of random parts.  Who knew a shower knob would be so perfect for a pommel? 

Sir William,
here's a great in-game cap I've found:

and some others as well:

and from AC2


hope these help

[Sir William]

That's great, thanks B., that'll work. 

[B. Patricius]

Found something today, while it's heavily fantasy based, check out the detail!  Someone like this would have no problem making armour like Altair or Ezio or any other idea.  If plate wasn't needed, I've seen leather and foam up close and personal, and with the proper techniques, until you thwacked it with your hand, you'd swear you were looking at a metal armor.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aox5_ZKG1WA#!

[Sir William]

Wow...that is incredibly detailed and handsome looking.