Ser Duncan's Shield

Building Ser Duncan’s Shield – A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Replica

Every so often, it’s important to step slightly outside of client work and invest time into a personal project — something that allows for experimentation, refinement, and a bit of creative freedom. This replica of Ser Duncan’s shield from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was exactly that kind of build.

Concept & Approach

The goal with this piece was to create a shield that felt authentic not just visually, but physically — something that could sit comfortably in a production environment as a hero prop, while also holding up as a display piece. That meant focusing on traditional materials, practical construction methods, and a high standard of finish throughout.

Construction

The core of the shield is built from pine, selected for its balance of strength, weight, and workability. The individual components were cut, shaped, and joined to create a solid structure, before being refined to achieve the final profile. The surface was then charred and wire-brushed to deepen the wood grain texture, allowing it to show through the final paintwork.

Heraldry & Finish

The heraldry was entirely hand-painted, allowing for a greater level of control over detail and finish than decals or printed methods. Multiple layers were built up to achieve strong colour and definition, while subtle variations were introduced to prevent the piece from feeling overly flat or artificial. The aim was to create a clean, accurate design whilst maintaining an element of my personal painting style.

Metalwork

The rim was hand-formed from aluminium, shaped and fitted to follow the contour of the shield. This process required constant annealing to ensure a consistent fit around the full perimeter, as well as a clean transition between materials. The "Fleur-de-lis" corner details were cut first from self adhesive vinyl, which was used to mark the shape onto the aluminium sheet. This was a new method that allowed me to accurately mark out my cut lines.

Leatherwork

On the reverse, leather handle straps were added for both functionality and authenticity. These were positioned and fixed with practical use in mind, allowing the shield to be comfortably held, while also presenting well when mounted or displayed. As with the rest of the build, the focus here was on achieving a believable, production-ready result.

Final Thoughts

This project took a few months to complete and provided a valuable opportunity to refine core prop-making skills — from woodworking and metal forming through to finishing techniques.

Personal builds like this play an important role in maintaining and developing craft, and often inform the approach taken on commissioned work.

If you’re interested in commissioning a bespoke prop or replica piece — whether for film, television, theatre, or private display — feel free to get in touch.