Was there ever such thing as colored armor like in MUH RPGs?
Short answer: Yes.
Lacquer provides a solid base for paint, allowing otherwise metal armours to show brilliant colours.
Late 16th century full plate harness could also have a few finishes - the steel could be "blued", "browned", or "russeted", leaving either a blue-black, brown, or crimson hue to the steel. This wouldn't be paint or dye, but a method of treating the steel to get a certain look.
A harness could be assembled of pieces with different treatments for aesthetic effect or parts of the harness might be gilded for contrast if you really wanted to show off your status.
Finally it was common throughout the history of armour to wear a considerable amount of brightly colours cloth with or on top of the armour.
"Naked" suits of armour that are seen in museums tend to be that way because the cloth accoutrements worn with or on top of the armour have not survived the passage of time.
>>1328678
>I'm guessing they weren't widely used
Lacquered armour was quite common in Japan through all of it's history and also in some parts of Asia. The lacquer finish, aside from looking very sharp, also protects the metal sections of the armour from rust in the humid environment.
It was very common for all armours from the Sengoku onward, as the pressures of constant war meant that production of armour needed to be sped up, leading to simplified construction and straight lacquer finishes as opposed to the more elaborate lacings of earlier Japanese armours.
>>1328712
The Japanese o-yoroi of previous eras was also lacquered, but the colour of the armour came from the thousands of lacings that held the metal plates of the armour together, giving it a very "textured" look.
The underlying structure is not significantly different from the armour in >>1328639 or >>1328712 - note though how the laces that run through the breastplate sections in the later Sengoku example are very simplified and don't actually cover the exterior.
The lacquered/laced look of most Japanese armours might also lead the ignorant to believe that the samurai armoured themselves in wood or leather - this is pretty patently false. While there is some other composite materials in there the essential sections are made from steel.
>>1328712
Neat thanks for the info
>>1328678
As for plate harness finishes, they weren't as commonly used for the main reason that full plate harness tended to be the domain of the rich and wealthy only, in which case the finish served as a nice status symbol.
On an unrelated tangent, it's often forgotten that the era of plate armour is coincident with the era of early firearms, and actually did provide decent protection against early guns so long as you weren't getting shot at very close range.
Tokugawa training manuals like the Zohyo Monogatari (meant for the training of ashigaru troops) noted that gunners has a better chance of penetrating armour at 30 yards or less - this is for Japanese armour, of course, but probably gives some scale and a bit of a benchmark.
>>1328739
A search for "16th century plate harness" will net you a wealth of images. "Greenwich armour", "Maximilian plate armour", "Milanese plate armour", and "Gothic plate armour" will also net you late 16th century examples.
Yes. The Ancient Greeks loved to colour their helmets and armour
>>1328678
Finally, one thing I haven't mentioned is that armour could be directly painted. Paint doesn't survive the passage of time nearly as well so it's unclear how prevalent it was or when it began. There was also the unfortunate habit of museums in earlier decades to "restore" armours by stripping the paint on top.
>>1328667
Depends on the period but yeah pretty much.
>>1328779
This might be the most unprofessional looking piece of armour I've ever seen,
First marble statues, now plates of armor. Humans just want to make everything colorful!
yes. painted, etched and enamelled armour was actually far more common than those mirror-clean plates that you see in MUH RPGs.
>>1328657
Whats that thing coming out the front of the visor? Also what year is thst armor from?
>>1331189
Thats for lifting the visor
not sure about the year, im not that anon
lots of examples have obviously faded in colour
Gambersons, brigandines and jack of plates where all very common armour during the medieval period and commonly used colour.
>>1328625
Cloth on armour is something people forget as people have mentioned in this thread. People wore surcoats livery and the like. Colored and enameled armor was morecommon than people think. I know at least in england during the war of the roses naked plate was popular as by this time the respective lords' armies were made up of mostly proffessional men at arms wearing armor that would have otherwise been unavailable to men of their standing at an earlier time
>>1331238
Knight pics to keep thread a little alive
brigandines were often trimmed with velvet or other dyed cloths.
i have a few pics of sallets that was paintet but i dont know how common it was
>>1331510
>>1331511
>>1331512
>>1331513
now this is something I could get into
>>1331511
>the flames make you go faster on horse
>>1331517
>>1328625
Hoplite armour/helms were often painted
>>1331306
I can clearly see the smug fuck smile through his helmet
>>1328639
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkgCW-z-31w
How grueling and slow it must have been to lacquer armor. I wonder how many Japanese were employed in the creation of lacquered wares for their feudal lords?
>>1328759
and statues
>>1331877
Nothing weird about that
>>1331218
What is this? Korean? Japanese? Chinese?
>>1328752
why is he wearing a skirt, what a fag xD
>>1331935
please get off this board
>>1331931
Chink. Though Koreans also used Chink-Style Brigandine.
>>1331931
Qing multipiece brigandine of late Ming origin.
>>1332034
>Late Ming.
Nope. That style of Brigandine was invented in the Yuan Dynasty, while the Chinese were supposedly tinkering with bits of brigandine-like armor as early as the 5 Dynasties/10 Kingdoms Period/Late T'ang.
Where do you think knights painted their insignia after shields fell out of use?
>>1332041
>Nope. That style of Brigandine was invented in the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan brigandine was mainly one piece.
Qing armor was direct copy of late Ming armor.(armpit,groin,throat guards.)
>>1332069
R u sure?. I have a book that says otherwise.
>>1332097
Book is wrong,or rather the Mongol Invasion Museum of Fukuoka is wrong.
>>1332128
Well the book did show two kinds of Yuan Armor.
I suppose this one piece thing was the armor of the day?
>>1331218
Chinese brigandine looks comfy to wear in the winter.
>>1331877
this always trips me out.
>>1332135
This style was retained in the Ming but the sleeveless,waist/knee length version supplanted it.
>>1332163
Cool, thanks.
