Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Iodo wrote: ↑Sun Feb 20, 2022 9:07 am it is possible to dye wool different colors.

Iodo wrote: ↑Sun Feb 20, 2022 9:07 am Yey! that is the BEST bit of this hobby and you can start right away, as soon as you have a tunic and pants you can wrap a snack and a water bottle up in one of these: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=4187 and hit the trail for a morning or an afternoon, don't wait until you have assembled a complicated kit to have fun

Eofor wrote: ↑Mon Feb 21, 2022 12:16 am There may be an Australian supplier for that wool soon, if I hear more I will keep you updated.

Eofor wrote: ↑Mon Feb 21, 2022 12:16 am I try not to do shameless plugs but you really want to go over and have a look at our group as we specialise in travel of the early middle ages. We hike and camp in all weathers using only period equipment, we climbed Mount Kosciuszko last year through knee deep snow in full kit, we sleep our in sub zero, just this weekend gone we canoed down the shoalhaven and camped overnight in the shadow of the great sandstone cliffs (there were so many Argonath references)

Iodo wrote: ↑Sun Feb 20, 2022 9:07 am Rohan is best??? Nahhh, you got that all wrong, Dwarves are best! Totally the best and without question! Adventure, fighting dragons, axes, mattocks, mining, prospecting, and not forgetting gold! just think of all that treasure you be missing out on...

ForgeCorvus wrote: ↑Sun Feb 20, 2022 4:18 pm But all in all, Dwarves are the best. Humans are taller because the material isn't as good so they had to be made bigger to compensate

Elswyth wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 4:29 am Goddamn it why didn't I decide to move to Sydney area when I had the chance (

Eofor wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 10:45 am

Elswyth wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 4:29 am Goddamn it why didn't I decide to move to Sydney area when I had the chance (

Nothing is ever set in stone, some of the members of the Eastway have been invited to the snow with us in the past and would have attended but for state lock downs.

You would need to achieve a high standard of gear and have spent some time with us on smaller events but there's no reason you couldn't come along one day.

Elswyth wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 4:29 am I already go on walks in just some brown trousers and a modern green button-up shirt lmao, I'm not waiting for the eternity it'll likely take me to assemble a full kit that I'm happy with. Thats a super cool roll thing you linked tho, I'll have to try it

Elswyth wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 4:29 am Ah, but in this day and ago I'd have to buy my own gold alas.

Elswyth wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 4:29 am First of all, bolder to assume I'm taller than a dwarf...

Elswyth wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 12:08 pm I have so many time periods / fantasy vibes planned it'll be a miracle if I ever finish any of them

Iodo wrote: ↑Wed Feb 23, 2022 10:04 am

Elswyth wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 4:29 am First of all, bolder to assume I'm taller than a dwarf...

very true, I am also taller than a dwarf, but I am short compared to most of my friends/family so I can mostly get away with it, you have to make compromises to follow the persona you love somewhere

ForgeCorvus wrote: ↑Wed Feb 23, 2022 8:03 pm In fact the only clothing I own that fits is either fantasy garb or my re-enactment uniform.

Iodo wrote: ↑Wed Feb 23, 2022 10:04 am
thank you, it was just my quick fix to needing to carry stuff and a modern bag spoiling the look

Elswyth wrote: ↑Sun Feb 13, 2022 2:39 pm Hail and well met my friends!

You can call me Elswyth or Cedar (neither are my "true" name, but I gather names like one might gather nuts in the autumn), I am an aspiring ranger from Australia. I've had a long love of fantasy and particularly Tolkien, and have been intending to put together a ranger kit for a long while now. I only have a few items so far - quiver, a dagger, an eating knife, a some boots that can serve me short-term, and I am in the process of sewing a green tunic out of linen (I also have a hood made out of the leftovers of said linen). I have a little experience in medieval reenactment, and am honestly delighted to find a group of people with the same dedication to historical reenactment except it's middle earth reenactment! (Idk about the "re" ... middle earth enactment?).

I am interested in making a kit that is more than just "cosplay" - an outfit or two that feels to me like actual clothes, that are comfortable and practical for the lifestyle one imagines a ranger to lead. I plan to base a lot of my kit off what I know of early medieval patterning - my tunic for example is very similar to the Bocksten Tunic, though it does not have the gores in the front and back. I mostly work with the easy geometrical patterns of the pre-1400's, I still consider myself a beginner seamstress and have yet to work with much that isn't rectangles, squares, or triangles lmao. I figure this would be fitting for the Middle Earth vibe anyway.

Anyway, I'm super excited to have found a forum for other people like me!! I'm amazed already at all the resources available here, some of which will make my job far easier than researching it all on my own. I hope to have something beginning to resemble a kit that I can show y'all soon!

And lastly - I'm curious how many (if any at all) people might also be Australian? Our climate and in some ways ... unique landscape often mean (in my experience with reenactment at least) that European-based sources have to be tweaked a little. For example, pure wool fabric is nearly impossible to come by, and it would be unwearable for at least half of the year. We tend to deal with extreme heat rather than extreme cold. I would love to know if there is anyone I could discuss things like this with!

I look forward to being a part of this forum!

Hanasian wrote: ↑Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:10 pm and attending the medieval faires [...] Barossa MNedieval Faire in South Australia...