I wanted a targe to carry in the clan parade along with my budget claymore, but I'm not gonna drop $120 on a replica...gorgeous though they may be. And so, in my usual thrifty (read: CHEAP) style, I did the following...

18 - inch plywood circle from Orchard Supply Hardware: $8
Two boxes, 25 per box.... furniture upholstery nails from Orchard Supply: $1.19 each...so call it $2.50

One box, round head brass "brads" with about 150 brads in the box from Orchard supply: $1.50

One cheap "brass" Ha! replacement door handle from OSH: $2.50

24 inches of faux leather material, on sale for $6.00/yard from Joannes Fabric: $4.50

I had some extra wide, poly strapping that I used for the arm strap. I had the brown paint for the back of the plywood. I scrounged some cheap sheet brass I had lying around to make something like a center boss on the targe. Total cost: $18.50

I sanded off/rounded off one sharp edge of the plywood so it wouldn't stress the cloth too much. Then I used about 40 of the furniture nails to stretch the faux leather fabric over the top of the plywood. I trimmed the fabric into a circle about 4 inches larger than the shield, all 'round and then folded it over so that I was nailing through at least 3 thicknesses of cloth.

I shined up the brass and cut a disk out of it, using the bottom of a Dr. Pepper can as a form. I nailed it down in the center with a symmetrical set of the furniture nails. That serves as a boss...

If I'd actually gotten the blasted thing in the CENTER, it'd look a lot better...*sigh*.

I used a couple of random pots and buckets I had lying around to chalk some concentric circles on the fabric and then I spent about two hours driving brass brads into the plywood and fabric in a symmetrical design.

Oh, before I started, I painted the back of the targe brown...

After all the brads were in, I turned the thing over and screwed the "brass" handle in a likely place and then nailed the poly strap on the back in another appropriate place.

OK, it's not the real thing but from 30 feet away nobody can tell, and it'll look good enough hanging on the clan tent, and geting toted in the parade! Maybe we'll get pics of it at Ben Lomond.