Most boys, and not a few girls, love to play at "soldiers" and there is no reason why each boy should not make himself a complete suit of armour, so that the game may be more real.
The Helmet.—With care this is not at all difficult to make: what difficulty there is lies in the adjustment and the size. First it is necessary to find out the distance round the head. This can be done with a piece of string; or, better still, with a linen inch-tape. Suppose the distance round is 21 in.: then the helmet can be made in seven sections, each 3 in. wide at the base. When these are brought together, they converge at the top to form a typical Norman headpiece (Fig. 10).
Fig. 10.
Using stiff paper, cut the seven sections as in Fig. 11. These should be glued together, so that the connecting flanges are inside. (N.B.—In doing this, it is very necessary to let the glue get nearly dry before pressing the pieces together: if it is quite fresh, the strain will pull the pieces apart.) Then at the apex of the sections glue on a circular piece of cardboard, about 1-1/2 in. across. For the ring at the base, cut a strip, just about 22 in. long, and having ornamented it in any fashion you please, glue the two ends together so as to form a circlet which will just go round the sections. Fix this to the seven sections with dabs of glue.
Fig. 11.
All that is necessary now is a coating of aluminium paint to give just that real dull metallic appearance. If this paint is not available, you can cover with silver paper, but this is not nearly as effective.