BattleHeat brings Azerothian armor to life
by Alex Ziebart 
Apr 4th 2008 at 1:00PM
The interview gives some cool insight into the creative process of the armor, in addition to Tobias's training and experience as a Blacksmith. It is interesting to hear that while he has extensive technical training as a Smith, most of his know-how of crafting armor is largely through practice. It boggles the mind how much practice and hard work it must have taken to get to the level of expertise required to make a Judgement replica, but I'll admit I have no knowledge of the field myself.
There are some incredibly fun details on this armor that you really should see, and I've tucked some of it just behind the cut!
Being the absolute nerd that I am, the very minor details like the text here on the gauntlet just makes the armor so much cooler. It isn't just some big set of armor. It's a set of armor that someone really cares about. The little flavor is wonderful.
And of course, this couldn't be a Blizzard inspired piece without some humor, either.
And of course, this couldn't be a Blizzard inspired piece without some humor, either.
Does it get more epic than that? No, my friends. It truly does not get any more epic than that.
Filed under: Paladin, Blacksmithing, Fan stuff, Blizzard, Interviews
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Marc Apr 4th 2008 1:10PM
Just like Frostmourne, WoW gear looks FANTASTIC in the game, but does not translate well into real life. That's just my opinion, though. I'm a dork. Kudos on making it.
Jewbanks Apr 4th 2008 1:21PM
I have to agree well clearly a very well crafted piece, the game graphics just look gaudy when brought to life.
KateJaneway Apr 4th 2008 1:42PM
I think it has a lot to do with the materials this person used. I think I'd look really amazing if it was made with iron, steel, gold and silver. The stuff they used looks like gold-aluminum and plastic and none of the badges are actually fabric like the game conveys.
I mean, the gems don't even look realistic. Although it's nice workmanship :)
KateJaneway Apr 4th 2008 1:46PM
Now that I'm looking at it more fully... It's just too disproportionate for a real human.
http://212.227.150.184/sites/battleheat/modules.php?set_albumName=album37&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php
Lab Monkey Apr 4th 2008 1:13PM
Finally, 100% protection against STDs.
imxiaozhu Apr 4th 2008 1:44PM
This seems to be around for quite some time already... I remember seeing it somewhere about half a year ago.
Badger Apr 4th 2008 1:47PM
I dunno about "a year and a half ago," but a friend linked me to this story on Kotaku yesterday.
Heilig Apr 4th 2008 1:49PM
"Half a year" =/= "a year and a half"
Reading comprehension FTW
kr3wman Apr 4th 2008 3:37PM
That isn't reading comprehension.
That's just reading better.
Badger Apr 4th 2008 4:15PM
Sorry, misread. I work in advertising and I've been crunching numbers all day, so words ... ain't not had be mah frendz 2day roflzorz
... Ugh, I think I wanna throw up now.
imxiaozhu Apr 5th 2008 3:34AM
Ok... after some googling, I found this link http://wow.tgbus.com/tupian/comic/200709/20070918184200.shtml
It's not a key logger, but feel free not to click in. The same pictures, dated 09/18/2007. Though it's not the place I originally saw them, at least i had the right approximation about the time.
Devon Apr 4th 2008 1:44PM
unfortunately, i think it doesn't look very good. However this is easily fixed i believe. First tailor the outfit to the model this is a very important detail, just ask any fasion designer or movie costume designer. The second detail is another one taken from the film industry, give the costume a little bit of a dusting, age it slightly. This will heighten the realism and make certain pieces of the armor actually look heavier and more robust. I think they did a good job on the craftsman ship, it just needs a bit more TLC and to get it from looking like store bought costume to movie quality costume. Not knocking it at all, but it needs a bit more love.
Marc Apr 4th 2008 2:01PM
I totally agree with you. You said it better than I did.
GreatLich Apr 4th 2008 6:58PM
What the hell is up with all the bitching? "tailor to the model"? It's sitting on a mannequin ffs...(and the pictures of it with a guy in it actually make it look more impressive imo)
I think they did a marvelous job of bringing it to life. Within the limitatations of reality ofcourse: where metal and eyes and gems do not glow (under normal circumstances obviously, I'm well aware of certain materials' physical and chemical properties)
There's a picture flaoting around the internet of a ugly guy commenting on a girl "how he would not hit it". It applies.
Detractors, admit it: You want this.
Aurdon Apr 4th 2008 2:11PM
You can't always scream "OMGZ WOWINSIDERZ IZ TEH FURST!!" Stories are posted when the bloggers get around and feel like writing them. I agree, I saw this some time ago but I'm not about to post about "this is old news".
...I reserve my posts for taking pot shots at other comments :)
Deusmortis Apr 4th 2008 2:43PM
Hmm.. It looks more like a plastic toy model than an actual forged set of armor.
enkafiles Apr 4th 2008 2:46PM
They use "real" materials - the shoulders and helmet are visibly steel, they also used leather and cloth, the daggers and books on the shoulders are brass - the translation on wow-europe.com is a bit sketchy - where they have him saying the shoulders of the priest set are very plastic, the German word he uses ("plastisch") means "three-dimensional", not "made of plastic".
These armor sets weigh anywhere from 44 to 77 pounds. Wow - I know "real" armor was much heavier than that, but most people today could not run around in that...
I agree that some artificial aging would make them look more realistic. Nice
Hood Apr 4th 2008 4:04PM
That weight is about right for combat armor. The super heavy plate you're thinking about was for tournaments and wasn't used in actual field combat. Having done SCA field combat and worn armor (coat-of-plates and steel leg, arm and shoulder, steel helm) I can attest to it being heavy but not super heavy.
Then again very little of the upper end armor and weaponry in WoW wouldn't be practical for combat anyway. There's no way you're lifting your arms over your head with most of the shoulder's in the game.
Alchemistmerlin Apr 4th 2008 3:35PM
A lot of the people who say it looks fake or gaudy need to go to manhattan and see the Arms and Armor gallery at the Met or one of the other museums. Some of the shit really WAS extremely gaudy.
The french loved putting huge phallic objects on the codpieces of their armor.
Nick S Apr 4th 2008 3:52PM
i think parts of this armor came out exceptionally well, and for a first effort, it's pretty damn good.
those into armor re-creations as i am may find this article interesting - it's about forging the weapons and armor for the LoTR movies:
http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/0211/Byko-0211.html