Recently Acorn and I have started to dabble in PlastiDip and have started to sell custom shields. Some of you might have seen our updates on Facebook, but I thought I would post it here for more exposure.
A little bit about the process:
All of our shields are built on a 2" 4lb. foam blank. They are then either strapped or a core is put in for a punch shield. The strapping method we use is the design that PtQ introduced. Our punch shield cores are 1" schedule 40 pvc pipe. We chose the 4lb. blanks because it allowed us to have similar rigidity to a cored shield, while still having the mobility and weight of a coreless shield. These blanks allow for full force, heavy contact, fighting without the worry of your shield breaking down. Each of the shields is edged the same way we do red swords, 4lb box around the shield blank with 1" thick, 2" wide strips of 2lb. microcell Polyethylene foam.
The shields are then faced with 1/8" craft foam (which is 4lb. microcell), on both the front and the back of the shields. Depending on the client's specifications, we either wood grain it, or leave it blank for more of a "metal" finish. Wood graining can take anywhere from 4-6 hours depending on the size of the shield, and if the client wants both sides done. We accomplish the faux wood look by first looking at reference and transferring it to the shield via sharpie.
Once transferred we use a soldering iron to burn into the face layer to achieve the desired look.
From here we start the foam detailing, including sculpture and adding a faux metal rim. This is where the majority of our time is spent in creation of these shields.
Once sculpture is done, we move onto the plastidip stage. Typically we use 2 Spray cans and 1 can of paint on plastidip to get the full coverage. Once again this varies on the size of the shield, but the formula seems to hold up to 30" diameter shields. This process takes 3-5 hours with dry time. (note, you should be wearing respirator when using this).
Once the PlastiDip is dry we lay down base coats before starting detail painting.
Detailing is what brings out the layers.
After all this is done it is sealed with a rubberized roof sealant (Through-The-Roof) to help protect the shields from weather.
Final Products
- Catalyst Shield
- Horati/Forasaken Shield.
- Guts BoF Shield
- Orion Nomad's Viking Shield
- Dopp's Gelf Shield
More at https://www.facebook.com/PlithacornProductions or http://theshieldshop.wordpress.com/