Josh's Captain America Shield

OhYeahItsJosh

OhYeahItsJosh

Active Member
Hey guys,

I'm brand new to these forums and I'm finally starting on a project I've been wanting to do for quite some time. I'm going to make Captain America's shield! I don't know how popular of an item that is to make on here but I'm a huge Cap fan and I think it'll look great up on my wall.

Now I've already got someone machining me a shield, however, I'm torn between the dimensions of the rings and the star. The shield itself is going to be 26" in diameter and 1/8" thick. It's the rings that I'm concerned about. I'm trying to get it as close as possible to the shield in the movie. I understand that they used roughly 30 shields but I'm trying to get it as close as this one:
detail.jpg




I found three different and popular dimensions and drew them up in Google SketchUp just to get a comparison. I drew these up in less than 5 minutes and I understand that the stars look a little funky but I'm sure you get the idea. :)

8star.jpg

20'' , 14'' and 8''




95star.jpg

20.5", 15" and 9.5"



10star.jpg

20.66", 15.33" and 10"




comparisonf.jpg

And a comparison of all three.
8" 10"

9.5"
​

Personally I'm leaning towards the 9.5" one. It seems to be the happy medium of the two but the reason I'm posting here is because I'd love to get the opinion of others who are more experienced than I am. Any and all tips are welcome!

I'll keep posting my progress on here as I work on it.

Thanks!
 
Hi Josh,
don't want to burst your creative bubble and if you are still determined go for it! But you might want to look up Chris Fields Captain America shield on here because Chris has made some leaps and bounds in re-creating the shield from the movie! So if you just want to get into buying one of his or you are even more eager to do your own, I'm sure looking at his thread you will get some great tips on how to make one! Under-carriage, strap support and all.
Chris's shields are pretty dead-on to the films and his current Nov run promises to be his most accurate to date.
 
I agree with RMH and Chris.... use 10" for a 26" diameter. Thats how I made mine and it turned out ok. Then just divide the remaining length for the rings.
 
I ordered my shield 9.5". I want it between, because probably 10" it can be too big or 8" can be too small hey....who knows, so i went almost in the middle 9.5"
 
Update!

So after the holidays and deciding what to do for my shield I'm finally able to start working on it.

Before I begin any update though, I want to thank Valor and Chris Fields for their advice, help, and guidance throughout this project. I won't lie, I'm really new to making props so this is foreign territory for me. Thanks again for your help! :D

Anyway on to the update.

After picking a shield size, ring diameter, and star size, I finally have all the components I need to start my build. Here's a picture of what I'm working with.

40470665157395906366200.jpg


The shield was bought off of eBay from a machining shop down in Miami and the star was bought from Valor (Thanks again!). I decided to go with a 26" shield and a 10" star. I also decided to go with the Duplicolor Anodizing Paint Red and Blue (or I could just keep it blank because...damn doesn't it look nice?). This week I'll begin taping off the inner circle and white ring and I'll lay down the red.

I was a bit concerned about the weather since I live in Pittsburgh and we get TONS of snow. Fortunately, I'm lucky enough to work at a steel plant that has a large well-insulated hangar and they have given me permission to paint it there.

Concerning the brackets/handles on the back, I'm trying to get as close to the movie's handles as possible but I might alter it a bit. I want to be able to sling the shield over my shoulders and on my back but I'm not sure if the handle design from the movies allows for that. So I'm trying to think of a way to incorporate both. If anyone has any ideas or has a design that works that way, please let me know!

More to come this week when I begin painting!
 
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looking great, the dimensions you pick look spot on. I would suggest Mother's Alumium polish to bring that star up to the same polish as the rest of the shield. then acetone any left over polish off and clear coat it to lock in the polish. As for the handle, take a look over at my thread again, I have an option that keeps the movie style and allows you to through it over one shoulder. That was a must for me, as I wear the shield on my back quite often when running around conventions or charity events and such. :) Keep up the great work.
 
Chris Fields said:
looking great, the dimensions you pick look spot on. I would suggest Mother's Alumium polish to bring that star up to the same polish as the rest of the shield. then acetone any left over polish off and clear coat it to lock in the polish. As for the handle, take a look over at my thread again, I have an option that keeps the movie style and allows you to through it over one shoulder. That was a must for me, as I wear the shield on my back quite often when running around conventions or charity events and such. :) Keep up the great work.
Click to expand...

The star's already clear-coated. Shouldn't need to do this. Yu can use some polishing compound to shine up the clear coat.
 
ah, it has a much duller luster than the rest of the shield, i probably just oxidized a bit more than the rest of the shield has. He may want to strip it down repolish it, and then recoat it, but it's up to him. I will not be as noticeable when it's painted.
 
Good call on the 10" center looks like a great start.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I was torn between the 9.5" and the 10" star, but after looking at it, the 10" looks accurate.

As for the handle, take a look over at my thread again, I have an option that keeps the movie style and allows you to through it over one shoulder.
Click to expand...

I did look at your thread for the handle and I like what you've done but I'd like to have it over both shoulders. Luckily, I work with a lot of talented engineers!
 
I don't think you'll get a way to put it over both shoulders with out significantly changing the look, or taking a lot of time to adjust straps and such.
 
How do they imply how he puts it on his back in the movie?

I undertand they used different shields and one them used magnets to attach it, at least that's what i remember reading somewhere

but is this also the in-film 'explanation'? (so to speak) He seems to just put it on his back and let go, no straps pretending top be pulled or even visible.

in which case it would seem the prop designers knew it was going to be unfeasable or at least very difficult and time consuming to have it strap on the back

should be interesting to see what you come up with!
 
galmando said:
How do they imply how he puts it on his back in the movie?

I undertand they used different shields and one them used magnets to attach it, at least that's what i remember reading somewhere

but is this also the in-film 'explanation'? (so to speak) He seems to just put it on his back and let go, no straps pretending top be pulled or even visible.

in which case it would seem the prop designers knew it was going to be unfeasable or at least very difficult and time consuming to have it strap on the back

should be interesting to see what you come up with!
Click to expand...

The black belt appear to be the magnetic shield strap... at least thats how i took it. But nope, it was never described in the film. I like my single shoulder strap though, works well :)
 
My two cents on the prop designers "intent" is this:

It seems like the the four bolts that hold the harness down (in pink on this picture) were somehow supposed to be "quick-release". This would allow the leather system to accomodate your arms once they were disconnected.

Attached is a rough concept of how it might look. He could pull it off his back and snap the clasps back down for carrying ion his arm or throwing.

This is the only thing that makes sense out of the extra leather that runs out to the edges of the shield and the pivots that the leather attaches to along the rim.

Of course we never saw this in the movie.

Other opinions may vary :)
 
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