grey matter
Well-Known Member
Hey Gang!
I decided this year to do Captain America's Stealth Suit for a Wizard World con that is coming to my area for the first time this year in the fall (also making a Skyward Sword Link, so look for that build sometime soon), I'll wear this for Halloween this year too, and I plan on taking whatever I have done to the midnight showing of the movie as well.
I'm going to post my progress here, so you can follow along with me on this build.
I decided to tackle the shield and harness first. For Christmas this past year, my wife got me the Disguise adult costume shield, so I was stoked! I wanted this to look a little more movie accurate.
I immediately cut those terrible elastic straps out!
I made brackets for straps to go onto the shield out of 1/4 inch PVC board (Foamex board). It was easy to cut with an exacto knife and could be heated and bent into the curved shape to sit inside the shield (I just turned on a stove burner and heated up the board over it). I attached the brackets to the shield with 3M extreme mounting tape, I had to sand/rough up the side i was putting the tape on for it to really stick well, but it sure does stick!
I decided that I wanted the shield to attach to my back and I was determined to use the harness to hold it in place. So I used a screw post extension as the "hook" to hold it on the harness (see the harness details for how that works). Since the shield is just plastic and the brackets are PVC, it is all still very lightweight. The hardware for the brackets to hold the straps in place were the heaviest parts
I used Chicago screws, as many other members have used, to hold all the hardware in place. I made the belts/straps out of these laptop sleeves I found at 5below (everything in the store is $5 or under) for $1! I cleaned out every store in my local area of the brown vinyl ones. They are nice because it is slightly thicker that vinyl off of a roll at a fabric store and it has a soft fabric backing for added comfort. The sleeves were just one piece of the fabric sewn up on the edges to make the sleeve, so all I had to do was cut the stitching out and lay them flat. Plus it was WAY cheaper than vinyl by the yard! I cut some 1 1/5" strips, stitched the detail lines on the edges, and got some nice buckles to go on them and used heavy duty snaps to attach them.
After I had all the hardware in place to ensure it would work, I removed it all and started the painting process for the inside of the shield (for now I am just leaving the outside alone). I masked off the front and coated the shield in plasti-dip and then Rustoleum professional metallic aluminum (actually I used a Krylon matt silver first and it rubbed off on everything! so I re-did it all with the rustoleum)
I let that all sit so that the paint had set properly (colder weather, longer drying times, blah blah blah) and the put the hardware and strap on it. I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. and I am able to use the shield in either my right or left hand.
Next up the harness...
I decided this year to do Captain America's Stealth Suit for a Wizard World con that is coming to my area for the first time this year in the fall (also making a Skyward Sword Link, so look for that build sometime soon), I'll wear this for Halloween this year too, and I plan on taking whatever I have done to the midnight showing of the movie as well.
I'm going to post my progress here, so you can follow along with me on this build.
I decided to tackle the shield and harness first. For Christmas this past year, my wife got me the Disguise adult costume shield, so I was stoked! I wanted this to look a little more movie accurate.
I immediately cut those terrible elastic straps out!
I made brackets for straps to go onto the shield out of 1/4 inch PVC board (Foamex board). It was easy to cut with an exacto knife and could be heated and bent into the curved shape to sit inside the shield (I just turned on a stove burner and heated up the board over it). I attached the brackets to the shield with 3M extreme mounting tape, I had to sand/rough up the side i was putting the tape on for it to really stick well, but it sure does stick!
I decided that I wanted the shield to attach to my back and I was determined to use the harness to hold it in place. So I used a screw post extension as the "hook" to hold it on the harness (see the harness details for how that works). Since the shield is just plastic and the brackets are PVC, it is all still very lightweight. The hardware for the brackets to hold the straps in place were the heaviest parts
I used Chicago screws, as many other members have used, to hold all the hardware in place. I made the belts/straps out of these laptop sleeves I found at 5below (everything in the store is $5 or under) for $1! I cleaned out every store in my local area of the brown vinyl ones. They are nice because it is slightly thicker that vinyl off of a roll at a fabric store and it has a soft fabric backing for added comfort. The sleeves were just one piece of the fabric sewn up on the edges to make the sleeve, so all I had to do was cut the stitching out and lay them flat. Plus it was WAY cheaper than vinyl by the yard! I cut some 1 1/5" strips, stitched the detail lines on the edges, and got some nice buckles to go on them and used heavy duty snaps to attach them.
After I had all the hardware in place to ensure it would work, I removed it all and started the painting process for the inside of the shield (for now I am just leaving the outside alone). I masked off the front and coated the shield in plasti-dip and then Rustoleum professional metallic aluminum (actually I used a Krylon matt silver first and it rubbed off on everything! so I re-did it all with the rustoleum)
I let that all sit so that the paint had set properly (colder weather, longer drying times, blah blah blah) and the put the hardware and strap on it. I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. and I am able to use the shield in either my right or left hand.
Next up the harness...
