The Hollywood Point: May 2016

[MOVIE-TECH] Comic Book Fan Builds Real Captain America Shield

One of the most attractive factors of spandex wearing superheroes of comic book movies, is the props they have and they super-cool ways they use it as part of their Offensive/Defensive strategy against their enemies.

Well, within Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America's Vibranium Shield is one of most talked about props in recent years. Fans have debated about the power and science behind the shield's agility and the capability to withstand extreme forces such as high-energy explosives at close proximity and in the first Avengers movie, Cap's shield repelled the sheer force of Mjoinir itself.

In Avengers Age of Ultron, Tony Stark himself had retrofitted Captain America's bracers with powerful electromagnets that can “catch” his shield with ease after an offensive attack.

While it took some time, a creative individual had made his own version of this cool feature by not just building his own Captain America shield but also a strong glove fixed with electromagnets that can catch and hold the full weight of the shield in real time.

YouTuber and garage genius James Grebey (known online as The Hacksmith) did just that, and then he took to his blog to explain the details for anyone who wishes to put in the work to make their own. Using a pair of shin and knee pads as a base, Grebey and his team built his glove by welding a frame around the bracer with a handle to hold onto. He went onto explain

“A good strong handle is essential for holding the 30lbs of magnets and shield,”. “The handle is also a good place for the button so we cut out a pocket and dropped in a 50A momentary push button. A little bit of hockey tape and was good to go.”

The electromagnets themselves were a completely different story. After some research and debate, the team selected a set of powerful electromagnets from Amazon. The project was powered by 3 lithium polymer battery packs that can power up to 175A at 24V. In the end, the tests went great:

“At just 12v and 1.5A they will lift over 260 lbs. That means by running them at 72V, each magnet will pull close to 1600lbs… for a short period of time before they overheat and burn out. I love safety factors.”

After everything was put together, Grebey was able to pick up massive steel pipes with nothing more than the gauntlet his forearm. May be someday he'll build his own mark armor, well, what do you know?

What do you think about James' idea? Share your thoughts on comments below