Spent $500 on a reenactment kit for a scenario that never happened

I got real into the idea of a world where the Spanish Armada actually succeeded in 1588. Spent about 6 months reading up and then dropped $500 on a full Spanish soldier outfit, proper boots, the whole deal. Found a group online that was planning a big weekend reenactment in upstate New York. Showed up last September and there were maybe 8 people total, including me. The organizer had a family emergency and the whole thing fell apart by lunchtime. Now I've got a suit of replica armor sitting in my closet collecting dust. Anyone else sunk cash into a niche alt-history event that just fizzled out?

2 comments

2 Comments

vera_lewis21mo ago

My buddy did the same thing but with a Viking reenactment group that fell apart after one weekend. What worked for him was finding a local historical society that does general "living history" days. He just shows up in his armor and tells people about the Spanish Armada, even if it's not the exact event. A lot of those groups are happy to have anyone with a costume, and they don't care if the scenario is a bit off. He turned that $500 into a fun thing by being flexible about where he wears it.

karen_sanchez491mo ago

@vera_lewis2 thats such a smart way to make it work even when the group falls apart. Your buddy is lucky he found a group that doesnt care about the exact timeline, those living history people are usually pretty chill. Glad he turned that 500 bucks into something fun instead of it just collecting dust in a closet.