Schembart visor

The Schembart visor is said to have been named after the masked participants of the medieval Schembartlaufen. In similar fashion, helmets sporting grotesque visors were worn by the younger members of patrician families from the city of Nuremberg who participated in tournaments held during the Shrovetide festivities.

Another story suggests that these visors originated from the Hussar tournaments organized by Emperor Ferdinand I, in which participants dressed in Hungarian and Turkish costumes used sabres to strike off feathers attached to the helmets and shields of their opponents.

Most images of these visors seem to associate them with Maximilian armor.

I don't think that I've seen any 1/72 knights with this type of helmet, but I recently picked up a figure that I would like to think has a Schembart visor (though in all likelihood, he is just a landsknecht sporting a gigantic mustache).

I was unable to identify the maker, but there seem to be some kind of markings on the base.

Right now I have the figure primed, but I'm not sure if I want to paint him as a landsknecht with a Schembart visor, just a regular landsknecht, or if I want to transfer his head to a fully armored body.

I'd be interested in finding out what line of figures he comes from if anyone has any ideas.

Arts of War: Artistry in Weapons across Cultures

I visited Harvard University over Spring Break and found an interesting display of weapons and armor at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, which runs through 2017.

Armor from Kiribati in Micronesia with a porcupinefish helmet.

Front

Back

Tlingit armor from the Pacific Northwest.

Ring mail fashioned with Chinese coins

War helmet representing totemic killer whale

Pictures of other pieces of armor in the collection.

Spanish breastplate

Moro armor from Mindanao

Yi armor from Western China

Ifugao shield from Luzon (left)
Papuan shield (right)

Shields from Papua New Guinea

Spanish shield (Adaga) from Mexico (top left)
Pueblo shield from New Mexico (lower left)
Kayan shield (Kliau) from Borneo (right)

Indian shield (top)
Persian shield (middle)
Ethiopian shield (bottom)

African shields

Pictures of various weapons in the collection.

Maces

Clubs

Clubs

More clubs

Spear throwers

Axes and daggers

Swords and daggers

More bladed weapons

There is also an online exhibition which features some of the weapons and armor on display and additional items in the collection.

The final picture is of a small scale model (not quite 1/72) of the main temple at Tenayuca that is on display with the museum's collection of Mesoamerican artifacts.

Do you like movies about gladiators?

Well, I'm back from a great vacation in Europe, and thought I'd share some photos from the Gladiatores exhibit that is currently on display at the Colosseum. I'll have to apologise for the pictures beforehand, since there is a lot of glare from the morning light reflecting off of the exhibit display cases.

The armor is part of a collection belonging to Silvano Mattesini, an architect and historian who has commissioned various craftsmen to create reproduction armor and clothing based on his original research. I was only able to find a reference to one of his books, Le Legioni Romane, which has a preview on Google Books.