Would This 16th Century Helmet Terrify a Jousting Opponent?

Posted by Minnesotastan in Weapons & War on November 10, 2009 at 6:00 pm

helmetThis embossed, etched, and gilded steel close helmet is attributed to German armourer Kolman Helmschmid.  It currently resides in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where there is a relevant essay on fashion in 16th century European armor.

Helmets fitted with masklike visors were a popular German and Austrian fashion about 1510 to 1540. With their visors forged and embossed as humorous or grotesque human masks, such helmets were often worn in tournaments held during the exuberant pre-Lenten (Shrovetide) festivals, celebrations somewhat akin to the modern Mardi Gras. Substitute visors of more conventional type were often provided for everyday use.

Interestingly, the postulated 1515 date for this helmet would make it contemporary with the “horned helmet” previously posted at Neatorama.

Link, via Titam et le Sirop d’Erable.  Photo credit Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 
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Neatorama Shop » Home & Garden » Dishware, Drinkware & Flatware

Wearable Hummingbird Feeder

Posted by Marilyn Terrell in Animal, Gadget, Home & Garden, Video Clips on October 24, 2009 at 12:00 pm

If you’d like to see a hummingbird’s beak just millimeters from your face, this wearable hummingbird feeder is for you:

Hit play or go to Link

 
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Remote-Controlled Human

Posted by John Farrier in Everything Else on October 23, 2009 at 11:51 am


Image: Edgadget

Look at the picture. When the man moves his joystick to the left, the helmet on the girl’s head pulls her left ear, signally that she should go left. When he moves his joystick to the right, the opposite occurs.

Thomas Ricker of Engadget speculates about the most obvious application for this device from Kajimoto Laboratory: a navigation aid for the blind. With a GPS system added, it could be used to give the visually impaired greater independence.

Four years ago, Alex wrote about a similar gadget.

Link (Google Translator version) via Engadget

 
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A Visual History of Football Helmets

Posted by Minnesotastan in Sports on October 18, 2009 at 9:07 pm

football helmetsFor the past ten years The Helmet Project has been assembling images of football helmets.  The current array includes professional teams (American, Canadian, Arena, and others) and NCAA divisions I, II, and III, and even NAIA and some junior colleges.  The time period covered goes back to 1960.

Please note that my interest lies only in the “helmet design”, by which I basically mean the shell and faceguard colors, the logo decals (if any), and the stripes running over the top of the helmet (if any). No attempt is being made here to illustrate the physical variations of helmets produced by different manufacturers, or the many different styles of faceguards, nor do I intend to show changes in the physical structure of helmets over the decades (at least not in the near future); partially for these reasons, 1960 has been somewhat arbitrarily chosen as the cut-off date for all the historic helmets for now. I am also not attempting to display fine details like “award decals” that would not show up well in the image size I am using here, or those details that would not be visible from this perspective (such as numerals on the back of the helmet). It is not my intention to illustrate every variation worn by every individual football player on any of these teams, just whatever was “the” design for each team at a particular time.

Link, via Archaeoblog (!)

 
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Iceman by Robert Longo

Posted by Alex in Arts & Crafts, Pictures, Weapons & War on July 15, 2009 at 2:28 am


Iceman (2009) by Robert Longo

Robert Longo draws amazing portraits using charcoal on mounted papers that are so life-like one could swear they were black and white photographs. This one above, Iceman (where’s Maverick and Goose?) is part of a series of helmeted fighter jet pilots titled Yingxiong (Heroes).

For more, check out Robert’s website: Link (Don’t miss the Beginning of the World, 2007 series)

 
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Neatorama Shop » Toy & Games » Action Figures
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Steampunk Chicken ... er, Hawk Flying Helmet

Posted by Alex in Fashion, Funny, Pictures on April 4, 2009 at 12:32 am


Photo: brucethelesser [deviantART]

Today, the question of which is the most awesome steampunk gear has been conclusively answered: Behold the Steampunk Hawkman flying helmet by deviantART user brucethelesser.

Here is a picture of the Hawkman’s flying helmet, goggles and mask.

Costuming Tip: Look closely at the crest feathers. When any decent light falls on them they look like shards of glass. To achieve this affect back paint thin cheap plastic (microscope slides) with translucent paint and metallic pigments and stick them together. you now have your shards of bottle glass and the paint can’t flake off since there sandwiched between two layers of plastic. Additionally there is no danger of shattered glass on the floor if the "feathers" get hit.

The mask is made of wonderflex, a themo-formable plastic.

Bravo, Bruce, bravo! Link – via Brass Googles

 
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The Horned Helmet

Posted by Alex in Pictures, Weapons & War on February 15, 2009 at 1:18 am

Dark Roasted Blend has a really neat post about some of the strangest medieval suit of armors ever made. This one is the the Armet of Henry VIII or better known as the Horned Helmet, made by Austrian goldsmith Konrad Seusenhofer as part of armor presented by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I to King of England Henry VIII in 1514 – via Royal Armouries

If you’re wondering why the glasses, it’s because Henry VIII was near-sighted.

Link

 
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Daft Punk Helmet

Posted by Miss Cellania in Fashion, Gadget on December 4, 2008 at 11:10 am


Casey Pugh wired LED lights to a motorcycle helmet and programed them to flash patterns, a la Daft Punk! This was his Halloween costume. See a time-lapse video and a discussion of how he did it at Vimeo. Link -Thanks, Gene!

 
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