Question about Captain America Shield

[PeteVenkman]

Hey guys, I've been impressed with the work being done on so many great Captain America shields on the board. This is just one of those props that has been a desire of mine since childhood. I must have made hundreds out of cardboard when I was a kid. Ideally, eventually, I would love to get a movie accurate metal shield, but being in between jobs has kinda put one of those out of reach for now.

I've poured through many many many shield threads here and no one has asked this question out right nor has there been an answer. I picked up one of the Halloween costume shields a while back, and I love the look of it for what it is. Yeah I know it's nowhere near as nice as a metal one, but the size and proportions are not bad.

The problem is how flimsy it is. So my questions are: is there any way to strengthen this up? Would a layer of bondo on the back side work? Would it bond to the shield? Would it be too brittle? Would it just trash my shield?

If the bondo trick would work I'd also be inclined to fill the silver ring to be the same height as the red ones and replicate the 'v-grooves' at the edges.

So any ideas? Am I wasting my time on these thoughts? I'd love a decent shield but am on a tight budget for now. Any help woud be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[Finhead]

I would use fiberglass cloth with Urethane resin for a plastic sheild. Couple layers of 10oz coth or even mat if you want cheaper with a trial kit of smoothon 305 or 310 would work. Automotive filler will make it heavy and for the wieght etc it's not a strong product.
Smooth-Cast® 300, 300Q, 305, 310 Product Information | Smooth-On

 

[PeteVenkman]

Thank you, Finhead. Good to know the project is not a complete bust. I'm going to source out the resin and cloth and post back here with all my progress. However I've never worked with fiberglass cloth or mat before and may have more questions when I 'm ready to go. Thank you again.

 

[Kevin Gossett]

While you're looking into SmoothOn's products, take a look at their tutorial videos. There is a wealth of information for almost any project involving their products. :thumbsup

And if you are more inclined to make a shield yourself, look into the steel saucer sled route. You can find them online for around $30, and then add another $15-20 for paint and supplies, and you have yourself a nice looking metal shield. Of course it isn't as nice as the spun aluminum shields, but for the cost it is great--plus, you get to say "I made that!"

 

[PeteVenkman]

I'll certainly be checking out the tutorials on their site. Thanks for the heads up there, Kevin.

And great work on your shield. Those sleds are awesome for the job. I'm looking into those, too. I have more experience with styrene and very limited experience with metal. How difficult was it to cut off the flange at the edge?

 

[Kevin Gossett]

Honestly that was probably the most difficult part. I used a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade that I changed out a couple times to keep the cut as smooth as possible. Then I cleaned the edge up with a file to finish it

 

[OhYeahItsJosh]

I'm going to echo Finhead's suggestion and tell you to use fiberglass.

 

[bjall4jc]

I've reinforced facemasks with fiberglass before. It works great for sturdying up flimsy plastics.

 

[PeteVenkman]

Thanks for the input guys, I'm starting to let myself get a little excited for this. So if I understand the basic process of fiber glassing you lay the cloth down first then dab on the resin, correct?

I guess bondo would be ok for spot fixing any imperfections in the front surface of the shield, like dents, after the fiberglass is done, right?

What is the advantage of urethane resin over regular fiberglass resin? Better bond, better strength?

 

[PeteVenkman]

Honestly that was probably the most difficult part. I used a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade that I changed out a couple times to keep the cut as smooth as possible. Then I cleaned the edge up with a file to finish it

Where there is a will there is a way. The results certainly justify the effort.