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Samurai Costume
by Atrophius on October 19, 2008

Table of Contents

Samurai Costume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro: Samurai Costume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1: The Do (chest and back armor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 2: The Sode (Shoulder armor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 3: The Kusazuri (upper leg/groin armor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Step 4: The Kabuto (Helmet) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 5: Watagami (shoulder straps) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 6: The Kote (arm armor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 7: The Suneate (leg armor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 8: The Haidate(lower thigh armor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 9: The Under Armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Step 10: The Menpo (face armor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Step 11: Detailing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Step 12: Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

http://www.instructables.com/id/Samurai-Costume/
Intro: Samurai Costume
A samurai costume I made using Sintra (PVC foam board). This costume did take about 3 weeks of construction to complete, and could be even more time consuming
for some.

I had an interest in making this after running across the website sengokudaimyo.com. There is an armor manual on that website that shows traditional methods of real
samurai armor construction. I did not follow every step because it probably would have taken more like a year to make. I did a few variations based on how real samurai
armor is made. What is great about samurai armor is the variation in lacing color and decoration that you can do.

Through making this, I did not take as many pictures as I should have to make an Instructable, so there may be some pictures that dont look that great because the paint
may be between coats or something like that. Feel free to ask any questions though, or to visit the Samurai Armor page.

Some items you will need to make a suit of samurai armor are:

4'x8' sheet of Sintra ~$40

3-4 cans of Rustoleum plastic paint ~$4.00 each
1 folkart paint for details ~$3.00
1 Mod Podge hard coat ~$5.00
Hot Glue gun
1 Pkg of glue sticks
A bunch of shoe laces
Decorative lacing
a box cutter or carpet knife
A drill and 1/8" drill bit

So the most expensive part is the sheet of Sintra that you will have to find from a plastic distributor found locally. Don't buy it from a sign store because they will mark it
up a lot. Can sand the sintra if you want prior to the painting, but I found that with a few coats of the paint, it came pretty smooth.

I broke each step down by armor piece and the traditional Japanese name for the piece.

Things that should be noted about sintra. It is a thermoplastic, which means it has a low melting point so you can heat it, shape it, cool it, and it will hold that final shape.
Some people have used their oven to heat it and some use near boiling or boiling water. I chose to use water because it heats it faster and I could get more pieces
contoured faster because the sink was close to run a trickle of cold water over it to keep its shape. You may want to use some gloves that will keep some of the steam
and heat away from your fingers. Also when cutting the sintra, be sure to score it a few times and take your time cutting it. it is easy to skew off your line and end up
having to re cut or sand the error down after cutting. If you are going to cut on the floor (since it is a big sheet) be sure to use a piece of plywood under the sintra and sit
or kneel out of the way of your cut. I cut myself twice on this project and I am lucky i didn't need stitches!

Diclaimer : Please read the directions on some of these paints and chemicals, and make sure you are using proper safety equipment for them. THIS IS NOT A KID
PROJECT, parental help and or supervision is mandatory in my opinion. There is a lot of cutting, painting, and using hot things, like glue guns and hot water.

So on to the first piece......

Image Notes
1. Watagami (shoulder strap) This piece holds the shoulder, chest, and back
armor together.

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 Image Notes
1. Kabuto (helmet) There is 3 parts to this helmet, the bowl helmet itself, the
Shikoro is the skirt portion that hangs off the sides and back, and the Maedate
which is the gold decorative piece on the front. Also the Menpo (face armor)is
separate from the helmet.
2. The Do (chest armor) made of strips of sintra and laced together.
3. Kusazuri (upper leg and groin armor) Made similar to the shoulder armor, just
usually on a smaller scale.
4. Haidate (lower leg and under armor) Tied at the waist, the Haidate covers the
full thigh but is under the kusazuri.

Image Notes
1. Sode (shoulder armor) These are made of 2" wide strips of sintra cut at 9"
long.
2. Kote (arm armor) 2" strips molded to fit my forearm.
3. Suneate (lower leg armor) This a one piece item.

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Step 1: The Do (chest and back armor)
The Do has 4 parts to it, the abdominal section, the chest section, the lower back section, and the upper back section. All the strips( I will refer to the strips as lames
though, as it distinguishes a piece form a section) for each section were made 2.5" wide, but the lengths are different for some sections. Before starting to cut, you need
to make some measurements. The main measurement you need is the widest point on your waist. There are variations and more measurements to take, but I found it to
be a little to complicated to make a "V" contour to the piece. Besides, my waist is not so small ! Ok, so measuring your waist. Once you have that add .5" to 1" to it to
allow for under clothing, divide it by 2 so that the lower 2 sections(abdominal and lower back) equal the waist size plus our added inch.

Abdominal section : Once you have the needed length for this section, you have to cut it with one side straight, and the other side curved. This makes more of a
rounded appearance for the abdominal section that most breastplates have. One way to do this is to use a poster board template the same dimension of the abdominal
lames. Find the center point on the poster board piece and use a flexible ruler or something else to make a subtle curve out to the end of one side of the lame. You only
want to take of about .5" on the outer end. Trace the curve on to your template and cut it out. Now you have a template that is half the length of the lame and you can just
flip it to get both sides the same. I added a pic below to illustrate this, but its in MSpaint ! Also, you want to drill a series of holes along the sides of the abdominal section
to add a 2" x 10" panel of sintra to overlap the lower back section. This is for velcro so the Do can be removed easily enough. Just try and make sure the holes on the
abdominal section and the 2x10 panel match up in spacing. You can just send a lace through these 2 parts to attach it.

Chest section The chest section is done in the same way that the abdominal section is, only that the top 3 lames are only 12" across. The bottom lame of the chest
section is made 2" longer to make a transition curve from the chest section to the abdominal section. It seems small, but it will give you room to move and it fits on me
well at 6' tall. The top lame of the chest section was cut using a glass to trace the round parts and a straight edge to connect them. This adds a more decorative look to it
and the curved sections left were bent forward for a better look. That is where your shoulder pieces will attach.

Lower and upper back sections These are fairly easier to make then the abdominal and chest section. The lower back section is 4 lames at 2.5" wide and half of the
circumference that you calculated earlier. The upper back section I made 4 lames at 2.5" wide and 14" long. The upper back section should be wider then your chest
section. Again, the lowest lame of the upper back section was made 2" longer at each end to make a transition cut to the lower section.

So that was the front and back Do construction, however, there is more. You have to shape the plastic to contour to your body.Try and do this forming before you drill the
holes. With the holes i found it to be a weak spot and it wont form a smooth curve. You can flatten these pieces out to drill and it will spring back. It actually goes pretty
fast once you get the hang of it. I used a big pot of near boiling water to heat up the sintra. I just ran the piece end from end through the water until I felt it getting loose.
You may want to practice on a scrap piece, oh, and don't burn yourself.

Traditional samurai armor was contoured and laced (or riveted) together. It is best to consult the website on my intro page if you want to follow it to the "T". It is a lot more
work and I could not justify it for this costume. The holes for the lacing also follow a certain pattern. I recommend cutting your lames, sanding if you want, shaping the
sintra, then drilling the holes for the lacing. There are templates for the holes that can be printed out here . the best way to add the holes is find the center point (which all
ready should be marked from your cutting) and measure out equal distances to the sides. I think I went every 3" for mine from the center of the lame.

For drilling these holes, I found it best to drill all the holes for an abdominal lame and then use that for the template. You can use this lame for drilling all of lames of the
Do, just be sure to line up the center lines of the lames so your lacing matches up. You can stack 3-5 lames to drill at once as long as you have clamps to hold it in place
while drilling.

After drilling, its time to paint ! I put around 3 coats of paint on all the armor sections but depending on how you spray, you will be able to tell when it looks uniform in color
and has a semi-gloss look to it. Once paint is dry, you can tack all the lames together using the glue gun and see how it looks. Samurai armor usually had an overlap of
the lames but I felt the sintra was to thick for that look, so I put them together edge to edge. It still turned out well, just need glue to hold them together instead of the
lacing doing it.

Lacing If you used the lacing templates from that website, you might have had to modify the height of the pattern to fit your lame width. That's fine, just use the picture
below to see how the lacing goes in. You can refer to the samurai armor website again if you have any problems.

This is the biggest and hardest part of this costume!

Image Notes Image Notes

1. Abdomen section. You can see how it curves along the top and bottom of 1. Lower Back section. This section is just like the abdominal section, only the
these 4 strips due to one side of each strip having a curve to it. strips do not have a curve on one side of them.

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 Image Notes
1. Top strip of the chest section that has been cut and bent forward to be laced
to the shoulder section(watagami)
2. The lowest strip of the chest section that is a bit longer then the other strips.
This is to cut a curve in the ends to transition the chest to abdomen sections.

Step 2: The Sode (Shoulder armor)

The Sode are constructed about the same way the back armor of the DO is. Only this time, the pieces are 2" wide and 9" long. The lacing holes still need to come off the
center line of the lame, and the lame should have a steady curve to it.(not to much curve though) There is a top lame where all the other lames attach to, and on that
piece i made a fin of sorts to use for connecting to the rest of the armor. To make the fin, take your top lame and sit it upright so you can trace the curvature of the lame
lengthwise, then just move it down an inch and trace the curve again. Then you will have a piece to super glue onto the top lame that sits up 90 degrees to it. On the
underside of the fin, I used hot glue to re-enforce the super glue.

The lacing for this piece allows for the lames to actually overlap 1/4-1/2".Look at my MSpaint design to show how the lacing goes with the overlap. This is how samurai
armor was laced, and the option I didn't do on the Do. It makes it look and lay better though when worn. There is a special lacing at the bottom of the lowest lame called
"Hishinui no ita". This lacing is a series of criss cross lacing that is decorative and should be at the bottom of the lowest lame.

The order for construction should be the same as the do. Cut, Form, Drill, Paint.

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 Image Notes
1. This is the very top lame of the Sode. You can see it only has 2 holes at the
edge for each lacing to attach. The "fin" also has holes for attaching to the
watagami.
2. This is the bottom lame. You can see all the extra holes use for a decorative
lacing called "Hishinui no ita" It is just simply 2 rows of 4 holes that allow for
decorative lacing to cross in.

Image Notes
1. The reason that bottom hole is skipped is because in traditional samurai
armor, a stronger leather tie would actually hold the lames together, not the
Image Notes lacing. That would have passed through the top 4 holes of one lame and into the
1. Here are the 2 holes that are drilled on the fin to allow attachment to the bottom 2 of another and tied off. But since this is a costume, we dont need it.
Watagami(shoulder straps)
2. You cant see them well, but here are the other 2 holes for attachment.
3. Hishinui no ita - the decorative lacing that is on the lowest lame of the
shoulder piece.

Step 3: The Kusazuri (upper leg/groin armor)

The Kusazuri is actually done the same manner that the Sode(shoulder) armor is. This time the lames are made 2" wide and 6" long. I used 5 lames for each kusazuri
and some samurai armor had them going all the way around the do. I opted for a front one, and 2 side ones. It made it easier to sit ! They should suspend around 4" from
the Do.

The cutting, drilling, and painting are the same as the Sode for these pieces.

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 Image Notes Image Notes
1. Notice there is no top lame for attachment like the sode have. 1. Dont mind the mess! Lot of work goin on! This shows how the Kusazuri
2. This is the length of lacing that is left to attach the Kusazuri to the Do. attached to the underside of the front of the Do. I just simply hot glued the lacing to
3. These pieces also use the "Hishinui no ita" decorative lacing. the underside and it holds pretty well.

Step 4: The Kabuto (Helmet)

There are 3 main pieces of the helmet. The bowl itself (kabuto), the "skirt" around the sides and back of the helmet (shikoro), and the decorative ornament on the front
(maedate). I wish that I took some pictures of the helmet I bought before I made it. However, it was just a typical army style helmet that I bought from Halloween express
for $10.00. It did have a curved out section all around it, but I cut it off around the sides and back so I could attach the shikoro. Note!...I left the front ridge on to serve as
the visor of the helmet, since most samurai helmets had a visor of sorts. you just have to merge your cut the right way to maintain this.

After I cut the ridge off the helmet, I sanded it with a fine grit and used the same paint as the rest of the armor on it. We let that sit and dry until we finish the skirt for our
helmet

The shikoro (skirt) was made almost the same as the shoulders and kusazuri. Only this time, we want the pieces a lot longer so they come around the helmet and just
short of the visor. The top most lame of the skirt is going to have to have 3" extra on each side in order to have the curved back pieces that traditional samurai helmets
have. As you make the lames , each will be longer then the last so to make up the difference in circumference since these will overlap. Ok, so you have all 4 lames
curved after running your strips through the hot water and cooling them. (It helps to keep the helmet on the counter so you can judge how well it is going to fit) Before
drilling these and painting these, you have to account for lacing space. The picture in MSpaint (yee-how!) shows how. After marking where your laces will be, you have to
line up the marks for each line to drill them. Once you get your holes drilled, fit the top lame to your helmet and mark the helmet where the holes line up. Drill the holes in
the helmet where the laces will attach the shikoro to the Kabuto. It laces in the same fashion as the Sode(shoulders)and Kusazuri(upper leg)I hot glued some of the top
lame to the Kabuto so the laces didnt have to do all the work.

The Maedate you will have to find a shape for. There are some good ones online from real samurai armor or you can make one up. Just be sure to contour it to the front
of the helmet and hot glue it on.

Image Notes Image Notes

1. The maedate is contoured to fit the front of the helmet before gluing.
2. This is where the lace passes through the top lame and into the holes you
drilled in the helmet.
3. You can see how the laces line up
1. This is the top most lame of the skirt where the extra 3" comes into play. They
bend out and usually have a decorative touch to them. Like I painted on there!
2. The big gold thing is the maedate. It is decorative and can have any number of
shapes.
3. You can see that I stopped cutting towards the front to maintain the visor for
the kabuto
4. I ended up hot gluing just the fronts of these lames together to stop them from
fanning out.

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Step 5: Watagami (shoulder straps)
This part got a little tricky. I settled on making 2 kidney bean shaped pieces. This is the piece that everything is attached to. The front and back of the Do, and the
Sode(shoulders). I got some nice decorative gold lace from Wal-Mart to put these all together. You can see in the picture how I did it. I would recommend trying some
shapes with poster board and seeing how it fits before committing to cutting and shaping this piece. The back part of the watagami attached directly to the back part of
the do. The front piece had around 2" gap from the front of the Do to the watagami.

This was tricky, because I had to finish the Do and the Sode so I could try them on and find where to drill the watagami so it would look right. So before knotting down
your pieces, see how they look hanging off the watagami!

There is another option though. Traditional samurai armor connected these pieces to the watagami by loops and frogs(wooden toggles). I didn't want to do all that though
because it is easy enough to get on and off with out the extra attachments.

Image Notes Image Notes

1. Here you can see where I found the right distances for the attachment of the 1. This shoulder piece requires 8 holes. 2 front, 2 back, and 4 for the shoulders.
back and front of the Do before adding the Sode(shoulders). Also the lacing on 2. I used some thread to tie off the rope so it didn't unwind, then used a comb to
the inside of the back of the Do. seperate the fibers on the lower end so is was a little more decorative.

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Step 6: The Kote (arm armor)
For this I just went with the forearm and hand armor. Regular Kote have an entire sleeve to it, but again, its a costume. I went with 3 pieces of 2" wide sintra formed to fit
my forearm. These were put in line to form the forearm armor. I made a plate to cover the back of my hand. After I formed these and painted them, I hot glued some
fabric to the under surface along with some Velcro to take them on and off easy.

Step 7: The Suneate (leg armor)

For this lower leg armor I designed a pattern that resembled an elongated fireman or policeman shield. It was all one piece and to big for the pot of water, so I did use the
oven to heat this one. If you do use the oven, don't go above 250 degrees. Just keep checking it til its floppy and conform it to your shin. Oh, and wear some clothing that
wont let the heat by. I just painted it, detailed it, then added some fabric strips with hot glue. Then I attached velcro to the fabric so they can come on and off easy.

Image Notes
1. These were pretty easy to make. I didnt do to much detail on them cause they were leg armor and I already had enough gold detail going on. So had to cut the
samurai bling down some!

Step 8: The Haidate(lower thigh armor)

The haidate was worn from the waste and hung under the Kusazuri. There are a lot of variations of haidate, and most had small armor plates all tied on together. I did not
want to cut 36 small pieces of sintra so I settled on 36 painted rectangles! It worked fine. I made this by going to Goodwill and buying some fat pants. I cut the legs off and
the knees, folded the waist line back over a shoelace, and there ya have it. A haidate apron! It wears like an original haidate and saved some time and money(cheapo
pants!)

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Step 9: The Under Armor
Under all this armor, I just wore a black button up shirt with the collar folded in and glued. It made a short collar like the ones you see on a lot of oriental shirts. It was
black and contrasted well with my armor I thought. The pants i wore were just some dark grey cargo pants I had.

The Final piece I made was the sash. While at Goodwill, I found this great oriental style shirt with good texture and a nice color. I cut the shirt from armpit to armpit and
removed the bottom half of the shirt. From there, I cut the bottom part of the shirt so it unfolded long ways and glued that to one of the sleeves that I cut off. It made a nice
sash that went around my waist 2 times and knotted in the front.

Image Notes
1. The collar tucked in and glued down.
2. The Double wrap sash i made from a pretty cool Goodwill find.

Step 10: The Menpo (face armor)

This was a pretty easy make also. I found a mask that was pretty cool at WalMart for $1.00 ! hehe, I cut the top part off, painted the part I kept, and put some Mod Podge
hard coat on it to make it more like face armor. I saved the strap on the mask and reattached it to the part I saved so it would go around my head.

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Step 11: Detailing
I used some gold paint that matched my attachment lacing for some details. It was all hand painted and I think it came out pretty good.

Step 12: Conclusion

All in all, this was very time consuming. I had a lot of fun making it and sharing it though. I took it to a Halloween party and I don't think anyone would have guessed that I
made it all from scratch. Hope you enjoy the step by step and if there are any questions feel free to ask in the comments.

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Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 65 comments

judo_shane22 says: Nov 27, 2010. 11:00 AM REPLY

Using the same website and some of your ideas (menpo specifically) I made this out of a black 55 gallon plastic garbage can and black shoelaces

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 erykthebat says: Dec 17, 2010. 11:12 AM REPLY
Did you use a viking helmet as the basis?

judo_shane22 says: Dec 29, 2010. 10:16 AM REPLY

yeah....and drilled holes in it and laced in the other pieces (after cutting the strips i threw them in the oven at its lowest temp for a few min so it will be
more pliable and will hold its new shape better

arveyda says: Nov 6, 2010. 1:40 PM REPLY

Just wanted to toss out to the author that I used this set of instructions to build a suit out of aluminum flashing. I took apart a square flotation cushion and
used the 1/4 foam pieces to add some structure and padding behind the chest and back and under the shoulder pieces. Looked great, was relatively
lightweight, and was a blast to make. Thanks!

tater252 says: Sep 29, 2010. 7:18 AM REPLY

yeah how many pieces did you use?

Don,t try this at home says: Sep 3, 2010. 8:56 PM REPLY

If i wanted to make this out of steel how thick should the steel be and do i do anything driffernt???

punkhead58 says: Sep 6, 2010. 7:40 PM REPLY

Aluminum would probably be preferable to steel since it is lighter, easier to work with, and cheaper. Thin gauge (16 or so) would be best. It's relatively
easy to cut and bend. (But it's also very sharp!)

The only different materials that you need are tin snips instead of scissors; epoxy and rivets instead of hot glue; and spray paint that is meant for metal.

As far as assembling it, I don't think that you would have to do anything different.

Don,t try this at home says: Sep 7, 2010. 3:25 AM REPLY

sorry i missplled that * want* lol

Don,t try this at home says: Sep 7, 2010. 3:24 AM REPLY

I ant it to be able to take a hit from a sword thats why i said steel lol i can just see one of my friends say lets try it out

Don,t try this at home says: Sep 3, 2010. 10:09 PM REPLY

O ya almost forgot shouldent there be more armor on the legs

The Jamalam says: Sep 4, 2010. 12:02 PM REPLY

I know this is slightly off topic, but I think I just remembered why the original pokemon Kabuto is named so - he is pretty much a helmet :)

Jonnyboy0121 says: Jul 14, 2009. 11:35 PM REPLY

Awesome job, this is some fantastic looking samurai armor! I'm thinking of making a set out of the same materials. But I have a few questions regarding the
durability of the sintra... because I've never had the experience of handling pvc foam board myself. Would it stand up to say... a beating from foam weapons
and possibly a few falls to the ground? Also, what thickness sheet did you use? I would assume either the 3mm or 6mm based on the price you said you
paid but I'm curious to know. Thanks in advance!

Atrophius says: Nov 1, 2009. 11:06 AM REPLY

I am not so sure it would hold up to mock battles or so. You would probably be better off using a material that big garbage cans are made of for that. The
sinta will break if hit to hard.

zwaan12 says: Aug 3, 2010. 3:25 PM REPLY

PVC piping! Use a heat gun to mold it and it's very strong, it could probably stand up to a knife thrust let alone mock battles

GameMasterNick says: Feb 8, 2010. 7:16 PM REPLY

Lammelar plates are a great choice. sengokudaimyo.com recommends Noble Plastics, Inc. which makes plates for the SCA. The effingham line are
made explicitly for Japanese SCA battles.

http://www.plasticlamellar.com/information.htm

http://www.instructables.com/id/Samurai-Costume/
 sebacoraje says: Mar 8, 2010. 11:49 AM REPLY
Tanks dude I'm going to make one of metal plates of hard plastic tanks

zwaan12 says: Aug 3, 2010. 3:22 PM REPLY

I'm going to try this out of PVC:extremly durable and easy to work with using a heat gun and normal woodworking tools

jjthejet29 says: Jul 25, 2010. 6:52 AM REPLY

Thanks this really did help me in so may ways.

dachandepredator says: Nov 9, 2009. 6:11 PM REPLY

How many peices of shintra did you use?

your dog says: Nov 3, 2009. 5:49 PM REPLY

You totally look like kensei from the show heroes!

stunami says: Nov 2, 2009. 1:51 AM REPLY

I made an instructable for my armor that I made. Your instructable was what originally peaked my interest for me to make mine. I gave you credit in my
instructable for the inspiration.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make a helmet, or the leg/ arm pieces, but next year I will. I also resorted to cardboard because I'm out of work at the moment
and didn't want to buy sintra. Once I get a job though I'll be working on a super authentic version.

Let me know what you think!

techdechman says: Sep 24, 2009. 3:35 PM REPLY

this is bomb

stunami says: Sep 5, 2009. 9:15 PM REPLY

Is the second picture new?

anonygrazer says: Aug 16, 2009. 3:51 PM REPLY

You captured the essense so well with such average stuff. Absolutely fantastic.

Jayvetron says: Aug 10, 2009. 8:27 PM REPLY

Thanks, the armor looks Awesome! Gave me great ideas!

Mobiusdiablo says: Jun 9, 2009. 8:52 AM REPLY

I'm having a real hard time trying to find some sintra. The only place where I can find it is online, and the cost for it is roughly $600. Is there anyway to get
sintra for a cheaper price?

http://www.instructables.com/id/Samurai-Costume/
 kentw says: Jul 5, 2009. 6:08 PM REPLY
Finally found a sheet of sintra for a reasonable price, plus they ship it:

http://www.rjsign.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Store_Code=RSS&Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=PVC

$25 bucks for a 48in by 96in (4x8ft) piece of sintra. Plus they ship it to you!

Enjoy.

Atrophius says: Jun 12, 2009. 8:29 PM REPLY

I would look for local plastic distributors. That is where I got mine. A sign shop or secondary source will cost you an arm and a leg. The thickness needed
should not cost that much. 3mm thick 4'x8' sheet should cost 40-60 dollars, depending where your from.

Mobiusdiablo says: Jun 15, 2009. 10:27 AM REPLY

okay thanks. I think there's a major plastic making factory a few towns over, so i might try there.

Draxis says: Jun 20, 2009. 5:52 PM REPLY

Very neat, I am making a Samurai-Roman-is body armor thing (and hopefully helmet) out of aluminum sheet metal, and this -ible has been a big help in my
planing and is a great example- thanks!

stunami says: May 23, 2009. 1:22 AM REPLY

I'm going to make this for my costume this year. But I'm also going to make one for my wife, who's Japanese. I'm wondering how I should mod it for this. Any
ideas? Were there ever women samurai?

Atrophius says: May 23, 2009. 10:07 AM REPLY

If you visit the samurai armor link above, they explain some of the sizing. The main thing is getting the waist and chest size. The shoulder and waist
armors can be done the same.

Acide Nitrique says: Apr 8, 2009. 7:24 AM REPLY

Juste one question ...

4' x 8' Sheet Of Sintra ...

What is the unit do you use ? Centimeter ? Inch ? Foot ?

( Sorry for the bad english ' )

Acide Nitrique says: Apr 9, 2009. 5:05 AM REPLY

1 foot = 12 inches = 30,48 cm (exactly) — 1 m ? 3,280 84 feet

4x30.48 = 121.92 cm
8x30.48 = 243.84 cm

121.92cm x 243.84cm =°

bluesquirrel says: Apr 8, 2009. 8:44 AM REPLY

Typically people use the apostrophe ( the ' symbol) when they mean the measurement unit of feet. It's an odd, and confusing method, but we use it a lot
in the US (Not sure of Atrohpius' nationality, but I know mine) instead of just spelling out the word. My own nation's writing methods confuse even me at
times :/

Acide Nitrique says: Apr 9, 2009. 5:00 AM REPLY

Okay , thank you

Anyway, if we use the cm, it would be armor of a mouse xD

And , if we use the meter ... it would be ... huuu ... POWER RANGERS ARMOR !

Huuu ... '

Atrophius says: Apr 11, 2009. 5:57 PM REPLY

I believe you can calculate the conversion. There is 2.54 cm per inch......12 inches per foot. The sintra actually cuts pretty well, a box cutter is
adequate, and you might want a large square to keep strips even. I have not had any problems with the plastic distorting. It becomes malleable
after a few seconds in boiling water, so you might have to leave it in your car on a hot day for some real disfiguring to happen.

ThePyroManiac says: Apr 7, 2009. 9:05 AM REPLY

You can use a styrofoam cutter (uses electricity and a taut copper wire) to cut the sheets. Or build one (Youtube "5 minute foam factory") based on the video
by MakeMagazine.

Acrylic cuts okay with the styrofoam cutter, but Sintra might melt a little if you leave it too long in one spot (ie cutting corners). I have never worked with
Sintra before, but it's nice to know that there's a cheaper alternative to acrylic!

I have built pepakura models similarly for about 3 years now. They are typically scaled to 1:50 and mostly Halo models. If I have piqued your interest, visit
405th.com . Feel free to send me a PM if you need help.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Samurai-Costume/
 I love this instructable. I didn't think someone would use it to make something as simple as an Odoshi. Lamellar armour works just right with this method.
Great work. I hope to see more great instructables from you in the future!

Syaoran4500 says: Jan 29, 2009. 6:23 PM REPLY

Whoa

laernmoer says: Nov 5, 2008. 7:02 PM REPLY

dangit, you beat me to it. I was going to do this year but ran out of time. (-: yours looks awesome BTW, AND you learned the words for the pieces, major
props for that extra bit!

bounty1012 says: Oct 29, 2008. 7:30 PM REPLY

the leg armor... Are they just shinguards?

Atrophius says: Nov 1, 2008. 6:12 PM REPLY

Technically yes, but I made them from the sintra. The samurai wore many variations of shinguard type leg armor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suneate

http://www.rhinohide.cx/tousando/yoriaku/suneate.html

bounty1012 says: Nov 2, 2008. 3:50 PM REPLY

I meant soccer shinguards... Lol

Atrophius says: Nov 2, 2008. 8:47 PM REPLY

Oh, nope....not soccer shinguards =p

ohbrandi says: Nov 1, 2008. 6:30 PM REPLY

Thank you. I will be using your instructions to make a costume for our marching band. We are going to Nationals and this will hopefully put the last perfect
touch on the whole show. Peace.

GaaraOfTheFunk says: Oct 30, 2008. 10:41 PM REPLY

Excellent job, i'm definitely going to make this for Halloween '09. Great Instructible.

bounty1012 says: Oct 29, 2008. 7:27 PM REPLY

+5

bounty1012 says: Oct 29, 2008. 7:27 PM REPLY

Awsome... PWNs all other samurai costumes ive seen...

slrusch says: Oct 23, 2008. 11:38 AM REPLY

This costume is AMAZING!!! Way to represent...

Atrophius says: Oct 23, 2008. 5:04 PM REPLY

Thanks!

view all 65 comments

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