Ranger Masks

[Ernildir]

Greetings,

I've been wanting to craft a new Ranger mask. I don't like mine. It wasn't very well thought out, and rather inefficient.

What patterns or concepts do y'all use to craft the traditional Ranger face mask? I'm looking for new ideas. Thanks.

[Mirimaran]

Give these folks a try:

http://dunedain-germany.de/

http://www.cosplay.com/costume/178744/

I don't wear a mask myself, having a beard and mustache

[kaelln]

That German group is awesome! I'm using chrome and it translated for me; I found a page with costuming hints here:

http://dunedain-germany.de/gewandung/gewandung.html

They call the mask a "mouthguard". The link for it is:

http://dunedain-germany.de/gewandung/mundschutz.html

[Eledhwen]

I do not bother with masks; I do not really care for them. For the life of me I cannot remember references to them; an indication I should go back and re-read some stuff. The medieval ninja look has never appealed to me personally.

Not for me, but best of luck in finding something you like.

Eledhwen

[kaelln]

It occurs to me that the shape shown on that site is little different from the old cowboy bandana masks, which is just a square of cloth folded diagonally into a triangle.

[Jon]

Though the masks may not have been talked about in JRR's writings, I think rangers may well have used them, at least some of them. They would help with keeping one's identity secret and would offer camouflage. The part of the body most people notice first is the face.

I shouldn't really, but sometimes I tend to think of rangers as being the Middle Earth equivalent of the SAS. Speaking of which, I wouldn't put it past a group of rangers to lie under the ground for a week before springing up and taking out an orc camp.
Anyway, they would want to blend into their surroundings as much as possible and for this reason, at some point in time, one of them would have come up with the idea of a face mask. If not even painting their faces!

However, in the book, the Rangers as not seen as gorilla style hit and run fighters but as noble warriors who are well practiced in the lore of nature (not the type who paint their faces green )
So I'm totally torn apart between wearing one or not. I'm so bad at making decisions. As a desert ranger however, I would go for the more practical option of a mask, as i would really help when the wind got up and the sand would be blowing everywhere...

So there are my 3 paragraphs of bla bla for you to ponder on.

[Cleddyf]

They call the mask a "mouthguard". l

thats a literal translation, mund=mouth schutz= protection
a more accurate translation would be somehthing along the lines of face guard,

[Mirimaran]

From my ever present copy of The Lord of the Rings (50th anniversary one-volume edition):

"Green gauntlets covered their hands, and their faces were hooded and masked with green, except for their eyes, which were very keen and bright,"

Book 4, Chapter 4 Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbits.

[Chris Russo]

I just took two white handkerchiefs, dyed one green and the other brown. They work as masks (cowboy style), bandages, headbands, small pouches, napkins (that serviette to you, Elegost), all sorts of things.

You can see me wearing mine in my signature.

[Eledhwen]

Thank ya kindly!

Those would be the Ithilien Rangers. I remember now.

Eledhwen

[Greg]

I don't have a pattern handy, but I've been planning one out in my head, and on paper, for a little while now. Instead of making one akin to a cowboy bandana that would tie on, I've been planning one that would essentially be a tube attached to a small mantle, so that it would function as a neckwarmer/cover when not in use, and I could just pull it up over my nose, tightening it with a drawstring at the back. The reason for the small mantle it would be sewn to, which would reside underneath my tunic or jerkin, would be so that it doesn't pull up leaving a gap between my shirt and the mask where cold air could get in.

I need to find that drawing...I'll dig it up and post it.

[Eledhwen]

Rather like a balaclava without the stretch, is that it Greg?

Eledhwen

[Greg]

Essentially, yeah. And I plan to have it handy mostly for the sake of windy/cold weather rather than concealment, though it could come in handy for that as well, I suppose.

[kaelln]

They call the mask a "mouthguard". l

thats a literal translation, mund=mouth schutz= protection
a more accurate translation would be somehthing along the lines of face guard,

Remember, I'm just using google's translation there. I'm not capable of translating it myself. Someone else using the same service would probably need the word as the program translated it.

[kaelln]

As a desert ranger however, I would go for the more practical option of a mask, as i would really help when the wind got up and the sand would be blowing everywhere...

Which is almost exactly why the cowboys wore them on the dusty trail while following massive herds of longhorns... that is, when they weren't pulling them up to hold up the stagecoach!