The armour I think you are trying to produce is called Lorica Segmentata and it was made of iron. In previous decades/centuries people look at various funerary stella, monuments, architectural decorations, etc and thought the stuff was made of leather. Not too long ago, two complete specimens (still intact!) were found in Britain. "Leather" scholars threw the towel in immediately and everyone now agrees the legionary armour was of iron. If you would like to see some outstanding examples of reproductions in use try: http://freehosting2.at.webjump.com/1fc9f4696/le/legioxx-webjump/images/atcrowd.JPG See if your local college library has Russell's Roman Armour book. This partucular group even has patterns available. . . hmmmm I wonder if the patterns would make modeling easier? Hope this helps. Verg