How to Make Cardboard Armour

ReeMe

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posted on 17 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Are you trying to make some armour for cosplay with your friends? This article will show you how to make a suit of knight's armour using cardboard boxes. Read on to discover how to make a chest piece, shield, helmet, and more!

Steps

Make the chestplate.

Acquire an oblong-shaped cardboard box and cut the ends off. It should be big enough to place around your torso, over your chest and stomach.

Attach string to your chestplate.

Get two leather straps or nylon strings and attach them to your box. You can use staples or quick-drying glue so that they can be worn over your shoulders, holding the box in the right place (over your chest and stomach). Make sure to measure them and cut them to the right length. Alternatively, you can use string for this step, as it will not be visible in the finished product. You now have a breast plate.

Collect two small boxes to use for shoulder pieces.

Tissue boxes could be ideal for this. Cut them out so there are two sides open on each one - so they can slip easily on to the shoulders, and not restrict arm movement too much. Also, they must be on firm enough to prevent them falling off at every opportunity. These boxes will form the spaulders—or shoulder plates.

Build the greaves.

Greaves are the pieces of armour which protect the legs. The boxes you use for these will presumably need to be long and thin. They should be flexible at your leg joint—so you should create some sort of hinge there, possibly by cutting three sides and leaving the last.

Make a helmet.

You can use a shoebox about the size of your head. Cut out an oval shape for you to place your head through, and also the bottom end of the box, for you to put your neck through.

Cut out your shield.

This is by far the simplest part of the armour. You need to cut some thick cardboard into the shape of your shield. This can be square, kite-shaped, rectangular or any other shape you can think of.

Make the sword.

To do so, cut out a sword shape from a piece of thick cardboard. This will be rather floppy for use on its own, so you may want to attach a wooden stick to it.