Display options

Once I received the box in late September I had all I needed to display the armour. However, sometimes the absolute minimum required is just not enough, and the people at DeAGOSTINI were thinking along the same lines. They had prepared a wide range display items, options, and accessories for the person who wants a little more:

The simplest item was a hand painted wooden sign with the full name of the armour and it would be personally inscribed to include either the name of the person who assembled it, or the name of the person it was made for.

This next item I called the aquarium. It is an enclosed glass case to hold the full suit of armour if you wished to keep it permanently on display, while keeping dust and fingerprints off. I don't have enough room to keep the armour up all year so I didn't really consider this option. Although I still think the black and gold case looks nice.

If you wanted something a little smaller, and at a lower price, you could select this simple display stand. It gives your box something a little classy to rest upon and helps to make your armour stand out where you choose to display it. This is not a significant display item on it's own, but you could also purchases an accessory or two to accent it.

 Perhaps something like standing display? This black wooden screen has images of a one eyed dragon on it. I must admit this was a tempting purchases for me, The monochromatic art is not superb, yet I like it. I also think with a simple display stand, and the actual Samurai Armour, the total impact can be quite a bit better then the individual parts. On the downside, it is quite large and although it folds, I don't really have a place to put it when not on display.

I also considered a scroll. These would conveniently roll up when not in use. They had two options to choose from, one with the white crest, and the other only had a large golden circle. I did prefer the crest a little more than the golden circle. Although, if they offered one with a golden crest the choice would be obvious.

Finally what good is a suit of armour without a weapon? They offered a very nice replica of Date Masamune's Katana and I was sorely tempted to purchases it. However there was one drawback, it's full size.

Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but I have made a 1/2 scale suit of armour, and placing a full size sword next to it would look out of place. The sword appears too big while the armour too small. They don't look like they belong together. I really wanted to get the sword, but the mismatched size was pushing me away.

Finally was the most outrageous items DeAGOSTINI had for sale. A 1/2 scale replica of Date Masamune himself. He could wear the armour, rather then display it on a stand and empty box. There were a few conditions to consider before ordering it: First the minimum order was 30 pieces, so I had to believe that at least twenty nine other people would also want to keep a mini-Masamune in their homes. There was also the price. This extra large doll would cost a little more then the complete suit of armour he would wear!

After carefully considering my budget and display options I made my decision. What, if any, did I purchases? You'll just have to wait and see...