Captain America Shield - Could use advice

J

Jeff C

Well-Known Member
I am currently in the planning stages of building a Captain America Shield. Unfortunately I don't have too much experience with these sorts of things, so I was hoping for a bit of advice and/or guidance.

I figured it would be a good idea to start with my plan as things stand now, followed by some questions. Please let me know if you see anything stupid.

  1. Build the Pepakura model from this thread on 405th.com http://405th.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=22031
  2. Reinforce the card-stock shield. Possibly with fiberglass resin.
  3. Build it out to a smooth curve using something or another.
  4. Make a fiberglass negative using the card-stock-and-something shield.
  5. Pull a fiberglass shield.
  6. Paint the fiberglass shield.

A few questions. What would you recommend to build it out in step 3? Also, I am at a bit of a loss when it comes to masking it off for painting. I've never masked anything on a curved surface like Cap's shield and I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to get the circles and star nice and crisp.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Fettclone had a great pictorial/ pic build up of his shield. I think it turned out fantastic.

Back in the day I noticed that he just used tape and a whole LOT of patience to get the masking done. You probably have to trim the tape with an exacto knife or something to get the curve...

see for yourself: http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=49459&highlight=captain+america+shield

all your questions should be answered as well - regarding what to use for the smoothing part etc...
 
ave4uevoli said:
Fettclone had a great pictorial/ pic build up of his shield. I think it turned out fantastic.

Back in the day I noticed that he just used tape and a whole LOT of patience to get the masking done. You probably have to trim the tape with an exacto knife or something to get the curve...

see for yourself: http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=49459&highlight=captain+america+shield

all your questions should be answered as well - regarding what to use for the smoothing part etc...
Click to expand...

I saw that thread, and it does have quite a bit of useful information. Unfortunately, he didn't go into a whole lot of detail.

ItalianNinja86 said:
I have a tutorial saved on one of my computers for doing the shield which i too plan to start this summer and this is what the creator suggested as a base for the shield

http://www.amazon.com/Flexible-Flyer-826-Steel-Saucer/dp/B0006N8WYM

hope that helps as a start to such an iconic piece
Click to expand...

I thought about using a sled for the shield, but half of the point of this project is to get some experience with fiberglass with a relatively simple shape.

It's hard to tell from the picture, but if that sled has the right curvature it would be almost perfect. I'm excited to see how yours turns out.

Do you think you could post a link to that tutorial?
 
Also you might want to check out Fettsters post in the junkyard, the sheild he is doing looks awsomeness incarnate !!
 
IneffablePolk,

irishamericanlad makes awesome metal shields. He has a tutorial up on LOH if you want to check it out. There outstanding. Also his website has pics on the different Cap shields he makes as well.
 
Instead of painting, you could lay up colored gel coat in the negative- of course, you'd have to have a scribe line to tell where to start one color and stop another.
 
you could try this as a base as most of it is already done, though I see someone above already listed a source for this.
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/43608?pi=753121&qs=3012739-Google_Base&subrnd=0

231871_446_41
 
Just a thought that might help on the masking side, as masking a curve can be a pain.
The masking tape you can buy which is 'bendable' for curved surfaces does work but it struggles to hold a crisp edge.
My old workshop was along side a car repair and resto shop, and they had an old Merc which needed the hubcaps respraying. After much trial we all found the easiest way was to make a simple cylinder/tube out of thin card which matches the circle you need to spray/mask.
This then sits over the circle with its own weight, and allows you to spray some pretty neat edging. You simply spray inside, or outside, the card cylinder. Use masking tape tags to hold the cylinder/tubes shape on the side you aren't spraying.
 
for the circles i used small, medium and a large wooden circle used for needle point, i would lightly draw the lines i pencil, then i used 2mm blue decal tape, it stretches and bends slightly ad secures to the shield fine, then i go around that with masking tape, the nnew blue stuff that is made for sitting for a long time is better cause u could pull up the tape and the paint with it if ur paint and base coats havnt set right... take ur time and really watch what ur doig and it will come out nice...

http://www.westmarine.com/1/1/17699-scotch-blue-mulit-surface-2090-blue-long-masking-tape-1-1-2.html
IMG_2806.jpg

IMG_2807.jpg

IMG_2814.jpg
 
That sled is really tempting, I'll probably go with it if the fiberglassing doesn't work out. Though I am afraid I'd have to go through several before I cut one that was even close to round, and that could get expensive pretty quick.

In other news, I do have my first WIP picture. right now I'm about 10% done cutting and scoring the Pepakura pieces.

1.%20some%20paper.jpg
 
actually the cutting is easy, the fold or lip of of the shield is what i place the saw on and it creates the guide for u, and then when ur done u grind it to a clean lip then sand or file it so theres no jagged edges.. u can fiberglass the little holes... trust me i started doing this like 2 years ago and its not a hard project... thats why i offer up the tutorial!
but good luck in ur works :)

IneffablePolk said:
That sled is really tempting, I'll probably go with it if the fiberglassing doesn't work out. Though I am afraid I'd have to go through several before I cut one that was even close to round, and that could get expensive pretty quick.

In other news, I do have my first WIP picture. right now I'm about 10% done cutting and scoring the Pepakura pieces.

1.%20some%20paper.jpg
Click to expand...
 
that is a lot of pages to cut out for pepping it. good luck and can't wait to see how it turns out for you
 
So, funny story. I just discovered that the guy who made the Pepakura file messed up and did the front and the back. In other words, I'm going to end up making two cardboard shields. Not that big of a deal, but it does mean that it'll end up taking twice as long.

At least I'll have one to f up on.
 
Making some progress.

2%20one%20and%20half%20rings.jpg


The shield is basically made of 6 rings of triangles. I have finished 1 and a half rings, so I'm about 1/4 of the way through the pepping. The size is spot on.
 
irishamericanlad said:
for the circles i used small, medium and a large wooden circle used for needle point, i would lightly draw the lines i pencil, then i used 2mm blue decal tape, it stretches and bends slightly ad secures to the shield fine, then i go around that with masking tape, the nnew blue stuff that is made for sitting for a long time is better cause u could pull up the tape and the paint with it if ur paint and base coats havnt set right... take ur time and really watch what ur doig and it will come out nice...
Click to expand...

Something else that works well is fine line tape, used in the autobody industry, amongst other places I'm sure. It's extremely flexible, come in a variety on widths (1/8 - 3/4'') and won't pull up your paint: http://www.tcpglobal.com/3m/itemdetail.aspx?itemno=MMM+6404
 
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