TheFrankTurk
Active Member
Hi SnoKone -- as a fellow n00b to this forum, I say welcome!
The first-gen shield is tricky for a couple of reasons -- specially if you want one that looks like it has been through the war like the reference you posted. However, I think that the "First adventure" Cap costume is by a long shot the most fun to try to put together because it's really a sort of Steam Punk Cap, and it has such a great period vibe about it.
Here are my suggestions for your shield build:
1. I honestly think you want to stay away from metal for two reasons: cost and tool requirements. Unless you have a metal shop or you don't care about your budget, building this shield in metal is going to cost real money because it is bowed, and frankly it is huge. You can easily buy 24"x36" sheets of aluminum at Home Depot, but I think they will wind up being too small (my guestimate measurements are 26x35, as in the attached JPG), and frankly getting metal to bend in a curve reliably is a pain.
2. I think you will actually have great success with mat board (for example: a 30"x40" sheet from Hobby Lobby will run you about $7) as cutting and painting mat board is really very simple, and getting it to bend will be relatively easy (hint: damp mat board will sag, and you just need to get it to sag around something with the right curvature, like a 55 gal trash can or a 55 gal drum). Making it reasonably durable is also easy as you can use wood hardener or a few coats of waterproof wood glue to both prime the surface and make the paper more rigid. If you're a fanatic, you might also use more than one sheet of mat board to get a denser layer in the middle of your piece which can also help you hide the rivets you'll want to use to mount your strap hardware.
2b. If you have to have the dents, again it's easy to do this to mat board -- just make the curved surface you use for bending the material also appropriately distorted.
3. Visually, you might be happier with real leather straps on the back, but for $20 you can get nylon straps in the camping isle at WALMART, and those will be both inexpensive and easy to trim and attach.
4. The only issue with painting mat board is getting it well-primed, but here;'s a tip: get a bottle of waterproof wood glue, mix it 4-1 with water (mix THOROUGHLY), and applying it in 2 coats to both front and back of your object. Apply it in thin coats to avoid warping the paper in a way you don't want, and let it dry someplace really warm. After that, you can use almost any paint to finish up, but especially Krylon MasterColor is very serviceable if you can handle a spray can and know how to mask properly.
Hope that helps -- good luck!
The first-gen shield is tricky for a couple of reasons -- specially if you want one that looks like it has been through the war like the reference you posted. However, I think that the "First adventure" Cap costume is by a long shot the most fun to try to put together because it's really a sort of Steam Punk Cap, and it has such a great period vibe about it.
Here are my suggestions for your shield build:
1. I honestly think you want to stay away from metal for two reasons: cost and tool requirements. Unless you have a metal shop or you don't care about your budget, building this shield in metal is going to cost real money because it is bowed, and frankly it is huge. You can easily buy 24"x36" sheets of aluminum at Home Depot, but I think they will wind up being too small (my guestimate measurements are 26x35, as in the attached JPG), and frankly getting metal to bend in a curve reliably is a pain.
2. I think you will actually have great success with mat board (for example: a 30"x40" sheet from Hobby Lobby will run you about $7) as cutting and painting mat board is really very simple, and getting it to bend will be relatively easy (hint: damp mat board will sag, and you just need to get it to sag around something with the right curvature, like a 55 gal trash can or a 55 gal drum). Making it reasonably durable is also easy as you can use wood hardener or a few coats of waterproof wood glue to both prime the surface and make the paper more rigid. If you're a fanatic, you might also use more than one sheet of mat board to get a denser layer in the middle of your piece which can also help you hide the rivets you'll want to use to mount your strap hardware.
2b. If you have to have the dents, again it's easy to do this to mat board -- just make the curved surface you use for bending the material also appropriately distorted.
3. Visually, you might be happier with real leather straps on the back, but for $20 you can get nylon straps in the camping isle at WALMART, and those will be both inexpensive and easy to trim and attach.
4. The only issue with painting mat board is getting it well-primed, but here;'s a tip: get a bottle of waterproof wood glue, mix it 4-1 with water (mix THOROUGHLY), and applying it in 2 coats to both front and back of your object. Apply it in thin coats to avoid warping the paper in a way you don't want, and let it dry someplace really warm. After that, you can use almost any paint to finish up, but especially Krylon MasterColor is very serviceable if you can handle a spray can and know how to mask properly.
Hope that helps -- good luck!
