Before continuing with the assembly and finishing of the helmet, the men-yoroi (face armour) must be addressed.
Men-yoroi, especially menpō (full half-mask), are a characteristic component of a full gusoku (harness); but, in reality, were seldomly worn. The most common functional variant was the hanbō, a half- mask protecting the cheeks, jawline, and chin, which also served as a protective barrier between skin and helmet cords. Our base sculpture is equipped with a hanbō.
If menpō would have been seen on the battlefield but occasionally, then sōmen (full face-mask) would have been a bonafide rarity. And as far as "cowls" (as in what superheroes wear) are concerned, I have seen a few late Edo-period examples, but these were extremely rare. Herein lies the rub: the Silver Samurai wears men-yoroi that looks like a cowl, protecting the upper half of his face; but, the lower half of his face is bare!
My approach to this quandary is to add a "cowl", integrate it with the provided hanbō, and thus create a historically-sound sōmen. To this end, I have already "roughed-in" the cowl portion of the sōmen with MS.
More to follow. . .
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