Here is the breastplate we had in stock... It was essentially unwearable, had broken shoulders and looked nothing approaching 'authentic'. It was more like an interpretation of armor by someone who had never seen any.
The first thing I did was detatch the busted back and the cardboard deco from the front. Then I mended the shoulders with some thermal plastic.
Next, add a massive amount of hot glue to the holes. Then I covered the shoulder patches and front with a molded vinyl from the fabric store, and used a little piping along the edges to seal the edges... this is the point where I questioned my chances of success...
Finally I coated the body in gesso and sand, then painted it black. After that dried, I sponged gold over the whole thing.
How about that? Not so bad after all.
