i made my own classic WWII Captain America outfit for the new movie, a part of that was making his kite shield. I made is a close to the real thing as possible, using steel sheet metal for it.

so ill show you how to make a Classic captain America shield.

Materials:
-3x3 Sheet of 22 gauge steel sheet metal.
-Red white and blue spay paint and acrylic paint.
-four "32 Rivets.
-10in straps of leather or other material.
-3x3 paper sheet.
-thin cardboard.
-Nail.

Tools:
-Tin snips.
-Drill.
-Ruler.
-Permanent marker.
-scissors.
-masking tape.
-printer.
-Dremel.
-File.
-Finish sander, 60 grit.
-Clamps.
-Rivet gun.

**SAFETY FIRST!**
Wear protective equipment, safety glasses and gloves, when using tools and handling sharp metal.

Now that you have all that gathered, lets get started!

Step 1: Template.

1. Take the large piece of paper (it should be able to cover the entire piece of metal) and fold it in half.

2. from the folded edge, draw a half shield shape until you get the shape you want.

3. cut along the lines and unfold to get a symmetrical shield shape.

4. Tape the completed template onto the metal sheet and trace it onto the metal.

Save the template for later!

Step 2: Cut the Metal.

Now that you have your outline, cut along the edges with the tin snips, wear gloves! the edges can be jagged.

Step 3: Sanding and Shaping the Shield.

1. next, clamp the sheet down to a work table and use the finishing sander across the whole thing to give it a nice polish. (Optional if its already shiny, mine was rather rusty.)

2. Grind down the edges of the shield with the Dremel and file.

3. Now put the shield halfway over the edge and bend it so it bows around horizontally, do this to both sides.

Step 4: Handle Straps.

1. Take your template back out and fold it along the middle and trace the center onto the shield. Then Fold it in half lengthwise and trace that edge. This will help you line up the straps.

2. Take the two straps and see where they wine up with your arm and mark the edges. Put the drill holes under the lines and drill them out.

3. Take the straps and fold the end over as shown and hammer a nail into it to make a hole, pull the nail out and line the holes up and rivet them to the shield.

Step 5: Painting the Stripes.

1. First paint the stripes on the bottom half leaving the top 6 and a half inches on the top, section it off with cardboard.

2. The stripes themselves are roughly 1 and 3 quarter inches each, section off very other stripe with making tape, starting from the exact middle. Spray paint on the white first, than wait for it to dry overnight and then tape over all the white and paint the red on.

3. Wait for that to dry again and section off the stripes with cardboard and paint the blue on the top section.

Paint over any imperfections with acrylic paint.

Step 6: Paint the Stars

Now paint the stars onto the blue.

1. Print out some clip art stars to a size that fits the shield well. one big one for the center, and one star about half the size of the bigger one.

2. next line the larger star in the middle of a piece of cardboard and cut it out onto the cardboard. Fold the piece of cardboard in half along the star and cut the smaller star out onto the side so when you unfold it its symmetrical.

3. Line the piece of cardboard onto the center of the shield and paint the stars on, fix any imperfections with acrylic paint.

Apply finish on if desired.