How to Make a Wood Shield Out of Cardboard
Make a fake wooden shield to add an accessory to a medieval knight costume, or to hang as a decoration in your room. Use something thick and sturdy -- like corrugated cardboard -- as the base material of the shield. Corrugated cardboard works well because it is lighter and easier to work with than wood yet still achieves the same look.
Things You'll Need
- Corrugated cardboard box
- Utility knife
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Acrylic paint
- Paintbrushes
- Permanent markers
- Ruler
- Hot glue gun
Instructions
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1
Cut one side of off of a large corrugated box with a sharp utility knife and set aside the rest of the box.
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2
Place the box on a table or on the ground in front of you. Draw the outline of the shield on the piece of cardboard and keep the outline close to the outer edges to make the shield large enough. Look at a picture of the type of shield you want to make and use it as a guide.
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3
Draw the details on the front of the shield. Common designs include sections of different colors and a coat of arms in the middle. Cut out the outside edges of the shield with a sharp pair of scissors.
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4
Color the larger areas of the shield with acrylic paints and wait 2 hours for the paint to dry completely. Paint the small details with a fine paint brush or colored permanent markers. Use the fine paint brush or markers to draw circles on the shield near the edges to represent nails, so that the shield looks like it is made from wood.
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5
Measure across the width of the shield and subtract 4 inches from this measurement. Measure and cut a strip of cardboard from the remains of the box to the length of the measurement and a width of 2 inches.
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6
Bend the sides of the shield in gently so that the front of the shield is curved outward. Glue the ends of the strip you just cut to the sides of the back of the shield, with a hot glue gun, so that the shield stays curved. Glue one end down first, wait for it to dry completely and glue the other end down. Wait 30 minutes before handling the shield.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Ablestock.com/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
