When I adapted my cyborg custom for CloneCrazy's
Shroud of Darkness, I wanted to give him a villain that was armed to the teeth. Well, if there was any army builder enemy that could make a Jedi groan, it's a Destroyer Droid, and one thing I've really admired with Destroyers were their deflector shields. I wanted to fabricate a re sized version of the accessory that came with the DTF Droids to fit Eng Vreker.
There were three attempts that failed miserably. I started with a simple rubber balloon that I blew up to be a little bigger than the custom figure. I sprayed on a little mold release medium onto the balloon. That's crucial. I used EnviroTek PourOn as the medium. I mixed about 20 mls and added one drop of fluorescent blue Vallejo paint and then painted the compound onto the balloon. The first layer is a pain, because the stuff is runny, takes a good 30 minutes to begin to cure and it doesn't like to stick to rubber. When I had an even layer, I hung the balloon upside-down over my muck sink and let it cure for 24 hours. I applied about 6 successive layers to the balloon, before popping it and removing it from the clear, blue ball. I could have made it smoother, but I wanted a more wavey, fluid appearance, like the big, Gungan shields in TPM.
Clean up is rough, so be careful with spills, and you will ruin a couple of brushes in the process. It was a one shot deal each time.
Freshly applied EnviroTek PourOn. Hanging upside down to cure. Finished product. You can see the remnants of the popped pink balloon that I used.
That blue blob next to the deflector, is a failed attempt.