Ned Kelly’s Armour

While talking about famous Australian Bushrangers and the famous Ned Kelly, the boys asked if we could try and make the armour like Ned Kelly wore.

To make this armour, we used 3-4 large sheets of black cardboard.

For the helmet, I measured the boys heads and used the largest number, and then added about 10 cm for overlap when doing it up. I also measured the height of the boys heads from their shoulders to about 5 cm above their heads. I used these measurements to cut a rectangular shape out of the cardboard.  I just guessed the spot for the eyes and cut an inch wide hole that was about 8-9cm long. I stapled and taped the rectangular shape up to make the helmet.

For the body piece, I stapled two large pieces of black cardboard together, leaving about 15-20cm at the top open, so the boys could put their arms through it. I really should have left it a little bigger, as it was a little hard to get on and off.

Ned Kelly had another piece of armour that covered him down to just above his knees. This seemed to be on the front only.

To make this I cut out a piece of cardboard that was the same width as the body armour and about 10 inches high. I probably made this a little too long for the boys, which made it quite difficult for them to move around. I taped this extra piece of cardboard onto the body piece. This is done on the inside, so you can’t see it in the photo. We did add a couple of buckle type this on the front as well.

For the shoulder armour, I measured around the boys arms and cut a 1-1 1/2 inch wide rectangle and make ‘bracelet’ type thing that would fit around the top of their arms. I then cut a big rectangle with rounded edges of the cardboard and stapled them to the bracelets. These slide up and down the boys arms and are very easy to get on and off.

The boys had a great time with Ned Kelly’s Armour and a small plastic gun that we found at a cheap shop. They also talked about how much trouble they had getting in and out of this armour and walking around in it and how much trouble Ned Kelly must have had with his made from harder materials.

What other bushrangers have you heard about?