Black Raven Armory's Leather Shoulder Armor DIY kit. (Part One)

We look at a great kit from Black Raven Armory, sold by Larp Fashions (www.larp-fashion.co.uk).

The Kit retails for $75.94 and comes with everything you need to make stunning armor for yourself. They also have other kits available.

As we complete the rest of the kit we will add more videos.


Thanks for watching!

~Thorwald

LARP Bow! part 2

The conclusion to the LARP bow by Epic Armory review. We took it out to the field and tested both the original 25 pace shooting test and long distance shooting.

Items of note:

1) With the IDV arrows effective range was approximately 25 paces. At that range and aiming about 5* above the target we could get continual hits on a man sized target.

2) Effective area range was between 30 and 40 paces. We could drop arrows into that range band but lacked the accuracy of the 25 pace distance. With an angle of about 45* this is a very good area effects weapon. If it was employed en masse against a large group target (say a mass formation of enemy troops) the results would be devastating.

The weather was great with light winds blowing across the field at about 5 mph.

Other than some camera issues and problems with the body mic (sorry about the wind noise) a simply beautiful day to be out and having fun.

Conversations on Larping in the USA.

Oh, boy.... we've done it now.

Thorwald talks about the growing pains of LARP in the US and replies to an article in Larping.org by Spencer. I highly recommend you go and read it as it is an excellent article.

Warning- Thorwald uses adult language and talks about adult situations...

Epic Armory Fails the test... then redeems itself. Sort of.

It's Monday so ****** ****** ******* ***.

A company is only as good as it's product and here E.A. *****s the *****.

Check out where one of my favorite companies fails totally. On a Monday. After the cat got me up early.

And then- because I hate being negative, I look at a pretty cool item. Hint: It's ALMOST to cool to be seen.

Thorwald's Regret

"Thorwald's Regret"

This post is a bit different. It deals with the real world struggles that face those men and women who have returned from the war and struggle to get through daily life. In this video I talk about my own problems with dealing with the past and PTSD. After tours in Iraq and Afghanistan I am just one of the thousands who are facing the war years after coming home.

The words I speak are mine and are real, even if the setting is not. It is how I feel. It is how I get through the days.

PTSD symptoms are hidden within us and fight to come out when we loose our control over ourselves. We know they are there, just below the surface... waiting...

We are not going to go off the deep end and take up a rifle and murder a bunch of people. We are just...

Hurting.

Symptoms are often unseen by the people around us. 

Bad memories of the traumatic event can come back at any time. You may feel the same fear and horror you did when the event took place. You may feel like you're going through the event again. This is called a flashback. Sometimes there is a trigger: a sound or sight that causes you to relive the event. Sometimes there is no trigger at all. 

You may find it hard to express your feelings. This is another way to avoid memories.

You may be alert and on the lookout for danger. This is known as increased emotional arousal. It can cause you to:

• Suddenly become angry or irritable.
• Have a hard time sleeping.
• Have trouble concentrating.
• Fear for your safety and always feel on guard.
• Be very startled when someone surprises you.

Other symptoms also may include:

• Physical symptoms for no reason you can think of (called somatic complaints).
• Feelings of shame, despair, or hopelessness.
• Difficulty controlling your emotions.
• Problems with family or friends.
• Impulsive or self-destructive behavior.
• Changed beliefs or changed personality traits.

If you are suffering and need help you can Contact the VA or The Veterans Crisis Line.

The Veterans Crisis Line connects Veterans in crisis and their families and friends with qualified, caring Department of Veterans Affairs responders through a confidential toll-free hotline, online chat, or text. Veterans and their loved ones can call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1

Production begins!

Holy ****!!!!!!! We have begun production on the movie! WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

The very first rough edit is in the can and here it is:

We begin principle photography next week. Can't wait!

(except... Let's not hit any more deer on the highway, Thorwald!)

Dawn on the Borderlands

It was an absolutely beautiful morning for the sun to peak over the horizon so your good buddy Thorny headed out to do some filming.

Dawn came silently with only the Crows making comments.

You forget just how stunning nature is when you live in the modern world. It is only when, away from all the nonsense of people and the noise of civilization do you suddenly realize all that doesn't matter a bit.

LARP BOWS!

Today we take a look at the Epic Armory LARP Bow package consisting of:

Large Black Leather Hunter Quiver for $34.30. Item number 101712
Medium Ready for Battle Bow for $68.60. Item number HU703402
LARP round head arrows, Dark Red for $10.50. Item number IDV-010101

NOTE: It was only in editing did I notice that the string of the bow was not completely in place during the testing. I will retest in another video and also conduct distance shooting then.

See you later!

Unboxing the Ratio Helmet and review

The Ratio Helmet from Epic Armory (lists for $154.58 from Dark Knight Armory) came in today and it is awesome.

I think I've found my new helmet...

Battlefield Roles and Armor!

A longer video today about various roles on the battlefield and armor.

Scramasax and Sporrans! [oh, my!]

A short video today of a couple more items for your character. They are the Rob Roy Sporran from Celtic Croft (www.kilts-n-stuff.com) and the Calimacil Scramasax "Beowulf II" (www.calimacil.com)

The scramasax measures in at 19 1/4 inches in length! It's a great addition to any nordic or celtic impression. The belt sheath I made from 12 oz leather, making a paper pattern first to insure it fit and then the wolf on the side was carved and tooled into the leather. I almost forgot that I had added the phrase "Bow down to Thorwald" in old norse in runes  as well. Yeah... Thorwald might have an image problem.

If you want to learn more about the sheath and how I made it let me know and maybe I'll do a video on making a different one for another weapon.

(Thorwald's normal gear in both TLotB and NERO Empire)

All right, that's it for now- see you soon! Oh= there is a video in production for our LARP coming up sometime soon. Hopefully out before Christmas as we just started production. Look for it here and on our Face Book Channel and of course, 'll let you know when it's done.

Thanks for the support!

~Thorwald

The Standard Adventurer's Pack.

Today we delve deep into the weeds of RPG and Role Play and discuss the pack no one really talks about...

The Standard Adventurer's Pack!

See you next time when we talk about rations for the D&D/LARPer...

or... not...

eh.

~Thorwald.

Building an Oseberg Chest!

Today we talk about how to build a chest for LARPing.

With the new editing software on hand (Corel Pro X9) the videos should be getting better and better. I suppose sometime I will read the instructions but for now I hope you enjoyed this one.

See you soon!

~Thorwald.

October 1st Product Reviews!

A quick video today on a few cool LARP items that are definitely worth having in your pack! The Audio is still acting up but I have new software coming in that should fix that little problem. So, sit back and relax while you watch the latest video!

Thanks for watching and please, if you have questions or comments just drop me a message!

Thorwald.