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Hello everyone!I am looking to come to my first event in May (life gets in the way of anything earlier). I do have a question though: What are the rules for building a shield? Is it just any rigid material with proper insulation around the edges? Are there rules against/requiring straps?I would hate to show up to an event with something that gets DQ'd after all the effort of making the thing.
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Shields must be within the constraints of 30″ round. Tower shields must be no wider than your forearm and no taller then the space between your ankle and your collar bone. All shields must be padded around the edges with pipe foam, and no screws, nails bolts or other potentially hazardous things should be protruding. Shields may be made of almost any sturdy material including plywood and plastic.As far as straps go, there are no rules saying you can't have them. Having one that goes around your neck splits the weight of the shield, but it might be a pain in the butt when you have to fall to the ground.
I would be against anything having a strap that goes around your neck. It seems like asking for trouble at that point.
You would think, but I've been doing it for a year or so now. It helps with the shields weight by taking some of it off of arm. The only problem I've ever run into is falling repeatedly. Even then it's just a hassle and not pain/neck breaking.
A proper neck strap should not offer a choking hazard. The strap should go over one shoulder and under the other, never getting in front of the throat. It would be silly if all of your soldiers were strangling themselves before getting to battle. That said I don't think I will need one. The shield I was thinking of will be about 24". I was going to use wood, but nothing to thick for wieght reasons. Has anyone used the foam from a pool noodle for edging? If not, is it just not as soft as insulation foam? Is it too thick?
I tried the pool noodle once for a friend a few years back. I dont remember why but it just didnt work. I think the noddle itself was to hard to use. They do have pipe foam at Lowes or Home Depot that is sticky that would work better then the noodle.
We built a surprising feather-light weight shield this past event that held up extremely well to blows, although I would caution against falling on it with your full body weight. IT was made using house insulation, strapping tape with the fiberglass strands through it, duck tape and soft foam. If you were curious, i'd be willing to share. It's not for everyone, but alleviated the weight associated with a shield. Weight doesn't matter as much as you are not supposed to be rushing or shield bashing anyways.
I got my sheild built over the weekend. It fits to about 24″ round, with pipe foam around the edges. The rivets are all hammered down so as to not protrude. I used some duck tape to go around the very edge, and at four points to help secure the pipe foam to the wood. Do I have to get more tape on this? Is there any specific rule on how much tape should or should not be on the shield?
There isn't any rule about how much tape should be used. But I'd bring your roll with you just in case it's deemed 'Wonky', 'Unsafe', 'Weird', 'bad' or 'Jeffer'.
Ought to be fine, I know it's been done for regular shields. The main thing is it's gotta be safe, and also must fit within the size constraints listed here:
Tower shields must be no wider than your forearm and no taller then the space between your ankle and your collar bone.
Again, though, all weapons and shields must undergo a safety inspection at check-in, and until that point, there's no way of saying whether or not it'll be allowed in game.
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