Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Recently a customer commissioned a replica of boromirs shoulder bag/tool roll. It was scrapped before productions so this seems to be the only known photo of it.

The outside and strap setup seems straight forward enough. My issue is the inside. I'm thinking of doing it like a straight forward tool roll with a larger pouch with a flap for loose stuff, but I'm curious if any of you had any ideas for the inside. He's not picky about what it has, he just wants it functional.

Ooh...nice looking prop.

Rob

Not sure if it’s just me but looking at the ends it appears to be stitched and constructed in a style similar to a portmanteau. If you zoom in close you can see the stitching and the ends seem to suggest a duffel bag type shape to my eye. I may be imagining it or it could just be folded and stitched to make a clean border. A soft bodied portmanteau could be an interesting concept though.

Ursus wrote:Not sure if it’s just me but looking at the ends it appears to be stitched and constructed in a style similar to a portmanteau. If you zoom in close you can see the stitching. I maybe imagining it or it could just be folded and stitched to make a clean border. A soft bodied portmanteaus could be an interesting concept though.

That's possible, but it seems like a soft bodied one would have issues keeping stuff inside... definitely worth toying around with though.

Opening it seems a little awkward. It looks like you'd have to take it off your shoulder, lay it down, slide the straps over the sides and then unroll, unless I'm not seeing something.

You know... looking at it again, I'm not certain it *is* a bag.

... I think it might just be a blanket cover.

That said, no reason one couldn't do any number of bags or rolls on that general pattern. I'd be inclined to go the portmanteu route as well, but yeah - soft sides means a comparatively small opening and maybe a stiffener to keep everything in place.

It could be a blanket cover, but the label says "boromir bag" so maybe not. My standard style knife roll is the basic guideline we're going with for the inside. I could definitely do something more functional, but keeping the outside screen accurate is the biggest priority, so I can't stray too far.

Peter Remling wrote:Opening it seems a little awkward. It looks like you'd have to take it off your shoulder, lay it down, slide the straps over the sides and then unroll, unless I'm not seeing something.

It looks like it loops around and through some D rings so it cinches closed as you carry it. I need to play around and see if I can set it up in a way that makes sense but still looks right.

That's interesting, it's hard to tell exactly what it is from the photo, I agree with Elleth that it might just be a blanket cover.

Here's my idea: if you want it to be a bag how about going the route of this, I've done some experiments to make it more secure and easier to use, the tarp is now a tiny bit bigger and is stitched inwards at one end to speed up rolling it, that seems to work. For this you could have a slightly thiner lining inside the outer roll that can be folded inwards to hold the stuff - it would be quite waterproof but with two straps it wouldn't be good for quick assess so it would be best used to carry anything you weren't likely to need to often, spare clothing maybe?

Hrmm...

In line with Iodo's reasoning, I was doing some research on the great "outdoor gear revolution" of the late 19th-early 20th century and came across the manner of thought that became the M1928 haversack. It's basically Iodo's picnic roll, with a bunch of extra buckles and straps to hold everything in place, and some shoulder straps sewn on one face. Here's someone selling a reproduction with good pictures:

https://www.atthefront.com/product-p/usgbpm28c.htm

From what I understand it wasn't well thought of at the time compared to a proper bag-knapsack, but certainly did the job well enough.

I think if I were to render that thing of Boromir's, my first attempt would be something along those lines: a great big primary panel, with side flaps sewn to it on at least 2 and probably all four sides. Flaps hold things in, then the whole thing would roll up blanket roll style for security. But I think a toolroll construction meets the available evidence just as well.

I don't think ether would be as handy a solution as a proper bag, but both fit the visual evidence better.

FWIW, I've had some luck hearing back from WETA just asking for info. Have you tried contacting them to see if anyone remembers how that item was made?

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edit - gah. no, looking at the side material again on a bigger monitor, it does look the same leather as the roll. And it wouldn't poof like that if it was a roll, as opposed to a portmanteau.
Hrmph. I'm confused.

Yeah, nobody at weta that I've been able to contact has any memory of it. I did come across a scene from the special features where Peter Jackson is on the phone and says something along the lines of "get rid of boromirs bag, I don't like it."

The idea I have in my head is something like a cross between the knife roll and a portmanteau, I'll definitely keep you updated as it progresses.

I too see a portmanteau when I look at it.

Also, the use of stitching as a aesthetic element is interesting as well. A bit annoyed at yet another example of the overuse of the white tree. But I suppose if anyone's got a right to use it, it would be Boromir.

I finished up the bag today. Me and my client opted for the half tool roll, half portmanteau/pouch. For the closure I did two straps with D rings at each end that were riveted in one spot on the bag right underneath the decorative leaf/feather/things.

The shoulder strap is a single strap that you thread through all 4 D rings which actually does a really good job of holding the bag closed, and if you loosen up the strap you can slide the loops off of each end and open up the bag without having to completely undo the strap. I'm really happy with how it turned out, I stuffed it full of tools and assorted junk and wore it around for a few hours as I worked on other stuff, and it's super comfortable and kept everything really secure.

Shout out to Elleth for the shoulder strap buckle.

Nice work!

Yes excellent!