Preparing for Glory ... Part IV: The Aspis

The what?

The aspis is actually the correct term for the shield carried by Leonidas and his soldiers, not a hoplon.

As I had mentioned, I had asked JJ to do the shield after I had originally commissioned the Spartan armor. Due to the fact that the vambraces needed a bit of back-and-forth alterations, the present weather was not conducive for me to take shots in nothing but a bit of metal, leather and a thin red cloak. I will just have to wait until spring when it's a bit warmer to take the outside shots.

I got a call from JJ sometime in mid-December telling me that the shield was nearly done. When it was done, he sent final shots before boxing it up and sending it to me. Again, JJ outdid himself in terms of the quality and sheer detail he puts into his work.

The front:


and the back:


I got the aspis on December 24th - what a wonderful Christmas present! It feels incredibly good and balanced in the hand - just like one of his swords.

JJ based the suspension closely on the movie shields, both from studying both the "behind the scenes" featurettes and also the Leonidas action figure. In the movie they used what appeared to be a canvas half-tube riveted to the back of the shield for the arm; the action figure uses what appears to be vinyl. He used stout leather for the half-tube and welded brackets to the inside of the shield, then bolted the half-tube to the brackets (avoiding having rivet heads showing on the front side of the shield). The bolts are covered by pieces of suede to make them look less obtrusive/old-fashioned, not modern. The handle appeared to be of metal (a rigid handle and not a strap) so he made one of steel that he welded to the inside of the shield.

And a movie factoid:

There's a part early in the '300' film that you might recall where young Leonidas is sitting with his father and they're looking at a spartan shield; the father knocks on the shield with his fist, and it makes a deep ringing metallic noise. During the commentary, one of the guys asks the director if that was a real shield because it made that noise, and the director says something like, "Oh, no the shield is plastic, we had to add the sound in post production." Well, MY shield really makes that cool sound without added sound effects, because it's metal.

Bring on those Persians!!!