Wednesday, July 16, 2014

LARP Shield

I keep getting asked how I make my LARP shields so here is a step by step on the new one my son and I built. 

 We start with a sheet of pink foam. Cut it to size. This shield will have a hand guard in the center so we find the center point, stick a nail in it then tie a string to the nail. If you want a 6 inch hole tie a pencil 3 inches out. Then draw a circle and cut it out.




For the handle I use a 3/4 inch pvc pipe. I wrap the pipe with a leather scrap I have. I hot glue it to the pipe so it doesn't slide around when using the finished shield. I then hot glue the pipe to the shield. I then add a strap cut through the shield, glued to the pipe and glued on the front and back around the pipe and glue it closed. Make sure it is tight. In the past I did not do this step and the pipe handle broke free during use. After I added the strap I have had no problems with the handle breaking free.


For the center piece I have a thick piece of pink foam. I cut it out to size then start carving it away to get the shape. I then file it smooth. I also carve out the inside of it so there is room for your hand once it is attached. Then I cover it with silver duct tape.



Next I cover the shield with a colored duck tape of choice. We went with blue for this one. For the back I wanted to try something new that I saw and liked on other shields. Wood grain contact paper. 

Next we hot glued pipe foam around the edges and then covered it with silver duct tape. We wanted a metal square on the front so we covered self adhesive craft foam with silver duct tape and attached it to the shield. Then hot glued the hand guard. Done!






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