This type of armour is believed to have appeared around 40 A.D. and was widely used for the next 50 years or so. See the Legio XX website for a thorough explanation of how to make the brass fittings, and links to the Armamentarium photos of recovered plates. Appropriate helmets for this armour include the Gallic and Italic styles, and possibly the older Coolus. Period armour would have been made of sheet iron: modern reconstructions use 18 ga. mild steel, or possibly 16 ga. for contact fighting. Experiments have shown 14 ga. to be too heavy.
Sources for Hardware
Copper roofing nails (period-type rivets); small 4 or 6-hole mending plates (sturdy eyes for Corbridge "B", "C", and Newstead); crafts and hobby stores (beads and buttons for ornamental disks around exposed rivets, unattached 0.75" to 1.5" belt buckles).
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