Wonder Woman Shield Part II

This Wonder Woman shield combines Amazon style with a few modern conveniences.  Specifically, I designed it with room to hold my phone and keys since I don't have an invisible airplane and I might want to take a photo with Batman.

 

Part I included materials needed and directions for internal construction of the Wonder Woman shield.  Part II includes the outer construction and adornment of the shield.  I strongly recommend you read Part I with the supply list before continuing.  This is where Part I left off:

The most important part of the shield's exterior is its leather shell.  I used a fairly thin, flexible piece of cowhide to cover the shield.  I positioned the shield on the back of the cowhide and drew a circular pattern around the edges.  Be sure to leave plenty of extra room- the leather needs to wrap around to the back of the shield with enough overlap for the screws to hold the leather in place.  It is better to cut a little extra material than to not have enough!

 I cut slits on the leather that wraps over the back side.  Positioning the leather smoothly was much more difficult than I expected!  I finally discovered that it was best to place one screw first, then stretch the leather and position the screw on the exact opposite end of the shield (180 degrees.)  I then attached one of the screws that was at a 90 degree angle and the screw opposite it, etc.  

 

Once I had my screws placed and the leather nicely stretched, I removed one screw at a time and applied leather cement to the edge of the shield using a q-tip.  I wrapped the leather back in place, smoothed carefully, and reattached the screw.  I was constantly repositioning the leather and trimming pieces off.  I repunched the holes in a few areas during the repositioning.  It was kind of messy and there is probably an easier way to do this.  If you know how to easily and efficiently wrap leather around a disc, feel free to comment!

Next, I removed the screws two at a time to further trim the leather on the back and reduce overlap.  I glued the rest of the leather down onto the back of the shield, except for the flaps that fit over the screws.  I also cut thin triangles out of the leftover leather scraps and glued them over the slits to improve the appearance.  (Photo below is before trimming and gluing the triangles.)

Here is what each side looked like after the leather was attached:

After the leather was fully positioned, I took measurements and sketched out the design to paint onto the front of the shield.  Your exact size will depend on the size you make your shield; my basic templates are below.  For scale, each square is 1/4".

The center of the shield is a simple disc, which I used a compass with pencil to draw (and later traced imperfectly with a pen.)

 There are 12 front rays around the disc and 12 more which underlap, for a total of 24 rays.  The point of each ray would therefore be 15 degrees apart.  Around the sun and rays is an approximately 1.82" band.

Lastly, around the outside of the shield is a repetitive decorative design.

 

To save time, I made photocopies of my sun ray sketch so I didn't have to draw the entire 360 degrees worth.  I cut out the sketch to make a stencil and began placing the sections on my shield.

I created the base metallic brown paint from a black, brown, and gold combination and slowly began painting around each section of the stencil.  I also cut strips of the flat leather cord and superglued them around the edges of the shield, following my sketch for placement.

 

I painted the leather cord gold.

This is the shield with the stencil removed.  I discovered it is better to remove it sooner rather than later so it is less likely to stick to the leather.  As you can see, it's not perfect.  It is a good starting place, but I had to go back and touch up the edges with a small brush.

Next, I painted the band around the sun and shaded it to make it three dimensional.  I also added the design inside the outer triangles using a small paintbrush.

I then painted the gold stripes around the rays and cut out another stencil for the gold rays of the sun.  Again, the stencil is not perfect and you will have to do some touch up.  Once all the rays were done, I painted the gold center of the sun.  I also painted the back of the shield solid brown.

 After the shield was fully painted, I coated it with an acrylic sealant and sprayed it with a liquid repellent designed for leather.

For the back of the shield, I made arm straps and a pouch to hold my phone and keys.

The pouch will need to be attached before the straps are affixed.

I measured the back of my shield and cut two rectangles of fabric, as shown below.  (The pouch needs to be large enough so that it can be attached to the same screws as the arm straps.)  My pieces were around 9" x 11.5".  The rectangles were placed with the front sides touching and the back side face up.  I sketched rounded edges, cut the fabric, and stitched the two pieces together.  I left an open space on what will be the right side of the pouch once the fabric is turned inside out.

Then I turned the fabric inside out so the front side became visible.  I cut a slit near the top which was large enough for my cell phone.

I measured and cut a small rectangle of fabric and sewed the edges under as shown to create a flap for the pocket.

I stitched Velcro to the flap and pinned the flap onto the pouch above the slit.

I sewed the flap onto the pouch, sewed another piece of Velcro below the slit, and stitched a little reinforcement below the slit as well.  Be careful to only stitch on one side of the pouch or you will sew your pocket closed!

Next, I sewed Velcro inside the right side edges to form a pocket that fastens shut on the side.  I also placed additional stitching through BOTH sides of the pouch to separate the phone and key compartments.  This will prevent the phone from sliding all around and also prevent the screen from being scratched by keys or anything else placed in the pocket.  The stitching could be removed and restitched later for a different sized device.

I used the leather punch to create holes which aligned with the screws on the back of the shield and applied a little Fray Check around the edges of the holes. 

Part I briefly discussed cutting leather strips and end pieces for the straps.  There are three straps total on the shield and each strap is made of two pieces that Velcro together.  I used a sewing machine to stitch on the Velcro.  You will have to determine if it is safe to use your machine and your leather together or if you should hand stitch.

I sewed a piece of the rough Velcro to the top of one strap and the soft Velcro to the bottom of the other, as shown below, and punched holes with the leather punch to attach to the screws.

On the back of the shield, I attached the pouch first.  Next, I attached the straps and added a washer to the screw closest to the interior of each strap for additional support.  Then I placed the decorative ends on top and screwed the nuts on tightly.  I also tightly fastened the nuts that bordered the edge of the shield.

The pouch will hold my cell phone and keys, as shown.

The adjustable straps allow for easy placement of the shield over my arm and the Wonder Woman bracers.  Although I haven't designed the scabbard yet, my intent is to be able to use the adjustable straps to also wear the shield on my back like Gal Gadot did in the movie.

Here's the final front view!