EB Dressing Up Box

[Bodeni]

Wig? that's my mop of hair :P
And I made it myself I'm afraid :/

[Arjos]

Fine work indeed!
Congratz Bendigeidfran ^^

[Brennus]

Excellent work Bendigeidfran!

Could you post some instructions on how to make a shield like that?

[Bodeni]

There's a few reenactor websites about that give details, but it's fairly simple if you have the time.
First, cut out the general shape you want from plywood, 8mm is best if you're not into heavy lifting, but mine's 12mm for extra protection. You could also make a smaller caetra using this method, which are easier to carry about and wear you out slower.
Next you need the facing material. Felt, applied with a lot of PVA works well and is good for painting on, but I went for veg tanned leather. you don't need to be fussy about gluing the edges, as the next step sorts that out.
Now for the time consuming part..drilling lots of little holes around the circumference. Using these I sewed long strips of leather around it with sinew, artificial threads are ok too. With my caetra I've also experimented with copper edging, but unless you're very experienced with metals I suggest not bothering with them. My own attempt looks rather messy.
Now for the handgrip. a hole needs to be made in the centre, I found it easier to remove 2 semi circles and just reenforce the handgrip with another piece of wood on the back, but doing this seperately does look good. before you make the hole(s) you may want to judge whether you want a horizontal or verticle grip and if one side needs to be larger to fit your hand properly.
A variety of bosses are available online, I bought one from getdressedforbattle and it only requires some rivetting skills to put in place. Usually they come all shiny and chromed, so an overnight bath in vinegar is needed for a more authentic look. I want to try a wooden spine-boss in the future, but they do require a lot of work and specialist tools.
Covering the back with paint/felt/linen helps disguise the plywood's horrid look but as you're the only one who's going to look at it much you might not bother. Finally the painting. I based mine on some pre-roman british coin designs, but there's a wide selection of things to copy, like the fantastic skins of EB of course :P

Hope this helps :)

[LusitanianWolf]

Amasing work Bendigeidfran! I would love to make something like that someday (probably a Gestikapoinann or Caetranann outfit)
Then I shall have people asking about my "wig" too \m/

[Delta146]

The Legio XX Handbook has a lot of information about making a Roman Scvtvm, though much of it is useful for at least some other kinds of shields.

One might also take a look at Roman Army Talk, they have some sections on Greek reenactment and other types as well that have a lot of information about this kind of thing.

I am making a small round shield to learn some basic things about making shields before I make a full sized infantry shield. Basically I took some 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch plywood (Not sure which thickness I'll use at this point) and cut them into circles, put a couple of semi-circular holes in the middle, and got some wood to give the 1/4 shield more rigidity from the back, and reinforce both "handles". I took a piece of 16 gauge mild steel sheet, put it over a piece of wood with the appropriately sized hole, and hammered it in until I had a pretty deep dish in the metal. Now I simply need to get the boss cut out from the rest of the sheet, and this takes a while when using the tools I have access to.

All that is left to be done is to smooth out the wood blanks a bit, rivet on the back bracing, finish cutting the shield boss, then cover the wood with some flax canvas, and finally rivet the boss on.
So, essentially, one of the main things I'm doing differently from Bendigeidfran is that I'm making the boss myself, mainly because an ordered boss would have cost me about four times more than the materials and tools I needed to make one did.

Also, for those who want to make something but don't have enough money for the most accurate materials and construction methods, Legio XX also has a page on making cheap soldiers, mostly for stage purposes, but I'm sure it might be of some use. Even I sometimes use those techniques for making items that are simply too costly for me at the moment. It is somewhat Romani-centric, but combined with some research I'm sure one could find a way to make cheap Hellenic, Hellenistic, Celtic or Eastern costumes as well.

To Bendigeidfran:

Nice work! The shield looks particularly good. Out of curiosity, what kind of material did you make the clothing out of?

[Bodeni]

Nice work! The shield looks particularly good. Out of curiosity, what kind of material did you make the clothing out of?

Delicious local wool, not as easy on the skin as modern cottons, but toasty on those cold nights in camp and somewhat fire retardent too. Shame the colours can't be seen here, they turned out really nice.