Full Metal Alchemist FullMetal Alchemist Mail Vest

Hi everyone... I wanted to share this ^_^


(click for a larger picture)

This photo was taken at the last anime con I've been at: the X Salon del Manga de Barcelona 2005.

[Shameless Self-Promotion]
This chainmail vest was made by hand, winding stainless steel wire into rings and weaving them with pliers. The red inlay was made with red anodized aluminum rings, the same size as the stainless steel ones.

The whole thing has approx. 15000 rings, weighs 12 lbs, and took 6 months to make.
[/Shameless Self-Promotion]

For a photo of the front (and a cosplay of Lime from Saber Marionette) see this thread.

 

Points for originality and hard work. But I don't see it much as cosplay. Still love the fact that you wanna show your FullMetal Alchemist love!

-Seishin

 

Props for making a full out vest; my friend made chainmail dicebags for a while and gave up.

 

you... didn't make it, did you? if you did, it'll be *HOLY CRAP!!!* but heck, still looks pretty cool. yet... how about as a bullet vest?

 

Thanks As for originality, can you believe there is a girl out there who had the same idea as me? I was shocked when I found out.

I never said it was

Yep, I did, and hopefully I'll be making more chainmail items soon You 'd be amazed at the amount of people out there who makes chainmail as a hobby. I'm glad I learned, I find it very relaxing.

It won't stop bullets like a bulletproof vest does (remember that scene from Wild Wild West? it's a big fat Hollywood lie.) Chainmail was designed to stop cutting and piercing weapons such as swords, knives and daggers; but blunt weapons (maces, axes) still worked, so chainmail was usually worn over padded clothes known as 'gambesons' to disperse the energy of the blow and the weight of the mail itself. Arrows can pierce chainmail because they concentrate all the energy of the blow on the tip, enough to split open a couple of rings.

Unlike arrow points, lead bullets deform on impact, but they have a lot more energy than arrows, so the results are the same.

 

That is one sweet vest. I want one. Seriously. But I can see it as easy as wearing that meshy chain fish vest (used to protect yourself from shark attacks) and spraypainting the FMA symbold on the back. Oh well, it's cool.

 

That takes skill, hard work, and dedication to make that. I give you props. Good job.

 

I'm impressed beyond a doubt. The skill you put into it is amazing and the detail as well. The way it hangs is in perfect.

btw. I am wondering on how much this cost you, cause I may just do this sometime in the future.

 

One of my friends from high school did almost the same thing, all it took was a crapload of wire hangers, a pair of wire cutters and a pair of pliers.

All of them are pretty inexpensive, too Might give it a try myself, too.

 

You know... I once thought about making chain with the nails from an air nailer... But just making a bracelet took plenty of work. That's the sort of stuff that would happen when I had spare time in technical theatre class. Two pliers and some used air nailer nails + Jackabee with extra time = Bracelet... I wonder where I put that thing, I liked it bunches. Hmm there is some spare copper wire in my dorm.... hehehe now all I need are pliers =)

I say that your vest looks much better... the red contrast better than the blue.... the blue just sorta blends too well and so the line doesn't look as sharp.

 

heh, i think i just found myself a new hobby.

 

Do you have pictures of that bracelet? I'd like to see it could you post them if you find it?

It's a cheap hobby on terms of money but it's very time-consuming.

-A big roll of stainless steel wire (the size of a car tire): $50 at a local hardware store
-A steel rod (a mandrel) to roll the wire into springs (coils): $2, from the same store
-A pair of mini bolt cutters to cut the rings from the coils: $44 + shipping (you need high quality here, trust me, cheap ones won't do)
-A couple of pliers (you need 2, one for each hand): $8 at the same store
-Lots of spare time: Priceless
Total cost in money: $104, and I still have more than a half of the wire roll left, enough to make another vest, with sleeves.
Add to that $25 for half a pound of red anodized aluminum rings and that's all the money I spent on this vest.

Some people prefer to buy spare rings instead of the wire and the mandrel to save time, but they're harder to find locally and cost a bit more than just the wire.

It's better to start with small projects first such as keyrings, bracelets, bags, hackey sacks, maybe a coif (a chainmail hood) so you actually finish some pieces to appreciate your progress, otherwise it's easy to get tired and give up before making anything.

I recommend to start with galvanized steel wire because it's easy to find and work with, but it tarnishes easily and becomes dull grey. Stainless steel is harder but keeps its shine, nice for bracelets and necklaces. Once you get the hang of it you may want to try other metals such as brass or aluminum to add some color, or even gold & silver for jewelry...

Well, there's a quirk of titanium: you can change its color by anodizing it, but the red is out of its spectrum. You can get yellow, gold, green, blue, violet or even pink, but not red (that's why that girl Vacacita's inlay is blue: she's making it using titanium. Cool, huh? ) I wanted it red over steel (like Alphonse's shoulder) so I used common aluminum in red.

...
Wow, this post came out sort of like a sponsored infomercial or something... :sweat:

 

Nice vest. I couldn't have never done it. I still have yet to complete a christmas sock from 3 years ago.