Hoplon Sword Hanger After building my Spartan sword, I needed some way to display it (see 5-5-05 entry). I decided to build a mini Hoplon (shield) based on info from re-enactors' sites.


The basic flattened dome of the shield I heat formed from a small frying pan.


The dome was rimmed out and mounted on a flat disk.


I added some modeling putty to smooth out the seam so that it would look like it was made out of one piece. If'n I had a vacuum form machine, it could have been...plans are in the works to build one.


The painted shield. Unfortunately because of the weird shape it was impossible to mask off and paint it in the correct order (Gold-Red-Black). I had to paint the red first, then the black and finally the gold. The problem with this order is that because of the paint build-up, you get ridges next to the masked areas (the red doesn't look like it's ON the gold). Just don't look so close...


I found a plastic over-the-door clothes hanger at Wal-Mart for the sword holder. The clear plastic may not be "period", but it doesn't cover up the shield as much.


The trimmed and notched hanger on the hilt.


The hanger attached to the shield. The screw in the hanger goes straight through the shield and mounts it to the wall.


The final display!  ¶ 12:06 PM