theblueraja
New Member
I've been working on a Mark V Ironman suit for a while with little progress, and got sidetracked into constructing a Captain America shield for a friend.
I think I could safely say it's been a learning experience!
I decided to work it up in card and fibreglass then cast as you might do a pep file. To be honest, I probably should have left it at this stage! It was sturdy enough to walk around with and obviously quite light, but I really wanted something durable enough to withstand a night drinking.
1) I used a Polycraft silicone kit sourced from Ebay. It worked quite well and gave good detail, but that is a heck of a lot of surface to cover... not cheap!
2) I made the mistake of checking to see how the mould had taken which meant that it didn't sit right again when I made the reinforcement. Basically I ended up with a bumpy mould.
3) I tried paper mache as a reinforcer as I was concerned about weight. It wasn't strong enough.
4) I tried plaster of paris as a reinforcer, which was heavy and cracked under it's own weight. I did manage to cast from it once though.
5) I tried a card former and expanding foam... disaster :cry
6) (I would probably use the plastic I cast the shield in on any future attempt) :confused
7) I cast the shield using Easyflo 95 from the same EBay suppliers. I initially filled the centre star section to weigh down the mould and then tilted to fill the rim, moving round bit by bit. It seemed to work OK but as the mould reinforcement was cracking I rushed the cast and it ended up with a much thicker shield than necessary. This made it heavier than I wanted at around 5kg with straps.
8) Bumpy shield means lots of sanding... :unsure
9) ...and filling and sanding again. :cry
10) I used gate latch fixings, temporary chain links and a velcro box carrying strap for the strapping. I hot-glued them in place then screwed them in and then used more Easyflow to cover. The hot-glue really didn't help.
11) I used car body paints starting with a filler primer. It didn't take very well so I ended up with a second, standard primer coat (red).
12) I masked off with tape and plastic decorating sheet. The tape was rubbish and allowed some bleeding through and so I ended up hand painting to touch up using some acrylics I had sitting around. This gave me a chance to add texture to the silver but I didn't get the clean finish I was hoping for.
13) Lacquer coat to finish. If it isn't perfectly dry it leaves finger prints when you move your shield inside. (and pieces of the plastic sheet that you leave it sat on too) :cry
I hope that some of the things I've picked up will help someone. Maybe I haven't lurked enough and these are all real rookie mistakes(?)
Back to Ironman.
I think I could safely say it's been a learning experience!
I decided to work it up in card and fibreglass then cast as you might do a pep file. To be honest, I probably should have left it at this stage! It was sturdy enough to walk around with and obviously quite light, but I really wanted something durable enough to withstand a night drinking.
1) I used a Polycraft silicone kit sourced from Ebay. It worked quite well and gave good detail, but that is a heck of a lot of surface to cover... not cheap!
2) I made the mistake of checking to see how the mould had taken which meant that it didn't sit right again when I made the reinforcement. Basically I ended up with a bumpy mould.
3) I tried paper mache as a reinforcer as I was concerned about weight. It wasn't strong enough.
4) I tried plaster of paris as a reinforcer, which was heavy and cracked under it's own weight. I did manage to cast from it once though.
5) I tried a card former and expanding foam... disaster :cry
6) (I would probably use the plastic I cast the shield in on any future attempt) :confused
7) I cast the shield using Easyflo 95 from the same EBay suppliers. I initially filled the centre star section to weigh down the mould and then tilted to fill the rim, moving round bit by bit. It seemed to work OK but as the mould reinforcement was cracking I rushed the cast and it ended up with a much thicker shield than necessary. This made it heavier than I wanted at around 5kg with straps.
8) Bumpy shield means lots of sanding... :unsure
9) ...and filling and sanding again. :cry
10) I used gate latch fixings, temporary chain links and a velcro box carrying strap for the strapping. I hot-glued them in place then screwed them in and then used more Easyflow to cover. The hot-glue really didn't help.
11) I used car body paints starting with a filler primer. It didn't take very well so I ended up with a second, standard primer coat (red).
12) I masked off with tape and plastic decorating sheet. The tape was rubbish and allowed some bleeding through and so I ended up hand painting to touch up using some acrylics I had sitting around. This gave me a chance to add texture to the silver but I didn't get the clean finish I was hoping for.
13) Lacquer coat to finish. If it isn't perfectly dry it leaves finger prints when you move your shield inside. (and pieces of the plastic sheet that you leave it sat on too) :cry
I hope that some of the things I've picked up will help someone. Maybe I haven't lurked enough and these are all real rookie mistakes(?)
Back to Ironman.
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