Montefortino/Coolus

[Nathan Ross]

Can anyone advise me on the best available replica of a mid-1st-century bc helmet? This would be the Caesarian/Civil Wars era, so a late Montefortino/early Coolus type would, I suppose, be ideal. I know Deepeeka have a couple, but the new one seems too early in date and I recall that the older (the 'Buggenum') had some problems in construction or authenticity. I know there are several others on the market, but opinions and suggestions would be useful...

[John M McDermott]

Here is a good Montefortino by Manning Imperial.
[url:ui81c15r]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/JohnMcDermott/409main1.jpg[/url]

[Nathan Ross]

John - I saw the Manning one as well - it looks okay, but has a very 'fat' rim on it:



I don't think I've seen an original quite like that. They have another, in iron, which again has a very thick rim:



Albion have a bronze Montefortino A, which looks a little early in date:



While Lonely Mountain forge have this Type C:



And lastly Deepeeka:





Of which the first is better by date but the second looks better in overall appearance. Quite a few to chose from, and all I have to go on is the pictures!

[Matthew Amt]

Avete!

Manning and Lonely Mountain Forge are both custom armorers, so they should be able to make what you want, provided you give them good instructions. That helmet shown by LMF is kind of squat in shape, but I know he's done nicer ones.

The first Deepeeka one seems to be based on one of the helmets found at Xanten. The crest knob is unusual in that the sides of the cone have been sort of cut back so what you're left with is like 2 triangles rising from a disc. It was NOT found with cheekpieces, by the way, though Coolus C cheekpieces were found loose in the same area. My guess is that this helmet was really a Coolus, not a Montefortino at all. The crest knob is certainly applied, at least. I saw one of these repros a while back, and what the Indians had done was cut a spun dome in half from side to side, and welded in a strip between them. This was to make the bowl more head-shaped, but I think they overdid it, so it ended up too long...

The second Deepeeka Montefortino looks great in the photos! But it turns out to be huge, so unless you have a VERY large head (over 24" circumference), it's going to look like a bucket. Too bad!

The crest knob on the Albion Montefortino isn't like any Roman example I've ever seen, which is probably why they market it as Celtic. It seems to be copper rather than bronze. You might be able to file the knob into a more common shape, maybe even tin the whole helmet, if the color is too coppery for you. Is Albion still offering this? They've dropped a lot of their Indian-made helmets recently. This one is by International Steelcrafts, not Deepeeka.

My own Montefortino is more like the Buggenum example, on the right in this photo:

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/Mont1.jpg

I made it from a spun bowl, with the knob from an old porch light welded on top! No, you can't have it!

My advice would be a custom piece by Manning, I think. Just get one like that brass one but without the thick cabled rim. Make sure he leaves the surface all irregular with hammer marks, and uses only one rivet in each cheekpiece hinge, for more accuracy! It still won't be cheap, though. Or get a spun dome and weld the neckguard and knob onto it--not exactly a fun job.

Same old song, the Indians are SO CLOSE to making something great! It should be easier.

Good luck and Vale,

Matthew/Quintus

[Nathan Ross]

Thanks for the advice Matthew - looks like custom is the way to go!

- Nathan

[john m roberts]

I think you can forget about that type A from Albion. I drooled over it for a long time, but last I heard they never got anything but the picture from International Steelcrafts and never took delivery of any real live specimens.

[Bryson Cadle]

I just noticed that the Second Deepeeka Montefortino isn't Dan Peterson Approved - I thought it was?

So besides the size (my head is big :oops: ) is it a fairly decent piece? I was looking forward to this helmet from them.


Bryson