Round plastic shields and a possible solution

[Glaukos the Athenian]

Ok,

I am about to test this one, but I thought I'd share my working theory.

Many people like the idea of a dished, strapped round shield. Especially if you like Hoplite or late 15th century representations. The issue is that size and cost are a limitation.

Our Tuchux cousins use to great effect the lids of the "Big Sandy" yellow crash barrels as an acceptable substitute, cheap and durable. But the molding of the surface betrays its traffic safety origins.

I thought about covering one with canvas, but the canvas would take the surface of the plastic rather well, so it would be a moot point. Then I considered spray foam and then canvas, but spray foam becomes brittle.

So yesterday night I was a party, letting Oi Barbaroi drink the beer while I took by siege the only bottle of Moscato, and it occurred to me to use felt. It is pliable, it has enough thickness, it takes glue well (if the glue is the right type and applied properly, and it has resilience. If cut in the appropriate shapes to "fill in" the areas needed in the plastic lid, it may create a surface on which canvas can be applied and give a nice smooth surface. Once primed, I can use bronze spray paint for the outer area and rim, and leave a smaller section in the center in white, to paint a motif.

Has anyone used felt to cover a shield before applying canvas? would you care to share results and opinions?

Thanks!!

Rowan

[Ckanite]

I can't say anything about using felt, but I once used thin foam... to create the shapes you want, you could layer the foam up, and unlike felt, it won't absorb water and get heavy or moldy.... just a thought...

[Glaukos the Athenian]

I can't say anything about using felt, but I once used thin foam... to create the shapes you want, you could layer the foam up, and unlike felt, it won't absorb water and get heavy or moldy.... just a thought...

Hm.... sounds like an excellent idea what type of thin foam did you use?. Pray tell me more..

Rowan

[Ckanite]

really any closed-cell foam will work for you, it's highly resilient, super light, and will probably work best, use the same that you use for armour padding. The thing that you need to worry about would be the glue. Depending on the faom, you may wish to use different foams as some glues may deteriorate them, just make sure it is not water soluble. It's all trial and error my friend