Original, somewhat Nolan-inspired Batman BEYOND build

Hi everyone, I've just started on probably my main project for this year, a Batman Beyond build.

After doing a Pepakura/fiberglass MK-6 Iron Man build last year, I wanted to do a new build, that had a little bit more versatility, mobility/flexibility, and comfort than the Iron Man suit (not to mention something with pockets to hold my wallet, keys, phone, etc. and something that I could custom build to facilitate my glasses so I can actually see; my eyesight isn't that bad actually, but it's just disappointing to not be able to see normally while in the suit)

So I tried to decide on who to be, and after some thinking it was without a doubt, Batman Beyond.

This is a completely original design that I've come up with myself, that incorporates armor plates into the suit, somewhat similar to the Nolan trilogy suit. I've used plastic garbage cans for these armor pieces, like my previous Lich King build earlier this Summer that I've been doing for fun: http://www.therpf.com/f24/wow-lich-king-wip-original-no-pep-sort-budget-build-187095/

So I've made a blueprint and already have the pieces cut out:
(Blueprint/design)
Front Torso (chest/abs)
Top: bicep side plates; under those, the forearm plates; directly under those, thigh side plates; and outside of those, the shin plates
2-layer/part back piece
Belt

I designed the abs to be connected in a way so that they overlap each other and are partly collapsible, allowing for forward/backward torso flexibility. The back piece is two layers because it will house retractable wings (seen in the blueprint)

That looks like it should turn out pretty well! One thing I would say is to not try to stick super close to the Nolan design. Original work usually gets more attention at cons, but I'm sure you know that. :thumbsup

Man, I absolutely love Batman Beyond. I'll be watching this thread eagerly

Yes, Batman Beyond was great and cut way too short... make Terry proud!

Knight Falcon said:

That looks like it should turn out pretty well! One thing I would say is to not try to stick super close to the Nolan design. Original work usually gets more attention at cons, but I'm sure you know that. :thumbsup

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Thanks!! Yeah I had thought of modifying the actual Nolan design into a Batman Beyond suit when I first started thinking about doing it, but turns out, some guy has already done it (it looks really cool by the way!) I'm not really on a quest to make it super original or anything (in fact I might modify an Iron Man helmet pep to make a frame for the mask) but after seeing his, I knew I wanted something a little more stylized that would reflect more of Batman Beyond rather than the Nolan trilogy. So yeah I kind of kept some Nolan elements in my design but I did try not to stick to it really closely. And actually believe it or not, I've never been to any cons haha so I could guess that but I didn't really know, so that's pretty cool

RONANtheACCUSER said:

Man, I absolutely love Batman Beyond. I'll be watching this thread eagerly

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Haha thanks! Yeah, like I said I was having trouble deciding which character to build, meanwhile I watch Batman Beyond every time it comes on The Hub, and I have some good memories of watching it as a child. I love it, it's such a badass show and a very fresh spin on Batman exploring alot of important themes that are still relevant today

maxdefiant said:

Yes, Batman Beyond was great and cut way too short... make Terry proud!

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Haha thanks, I will! I agree, I wish they could have continued the series further! I think there is a comic that is currently ongoing though, but I haven't had the time to read any of them haha.

Oh by the way, I forgot to mention some stuff:

1. The "under"-suit: Before I even started planning this build, I was thinking of using motorcycle armor, but I didn't like the high prices and the limited creative freedom I would have with that, so I considered making my own armor plates with something under them. I first considered a wetsuit, but decided against it because it would probably be very hot and uncomfortable. So I came up with the idea of using work coveralls. Made from cotton twill, they would be durable and heavy duty, breathable like normal clothing, so as not to be uncomfortable, and they include pockets, which are very valuable to me because I like to carry my keys, phone, and wallet, not to mention anything else I need, in my pockets, and dislike having to keep up with them in some other way when wearing something that does not facilitate a pocket feature, like the Iron Man suit

So, I found these on jcpenney.com which I will be dyeing black:

And, under that, will be this, to give me the upper body muscular bulk look that Terry has:
(that's a Party City-exclusive muscle Amazing Spider-man costume, I modified it a little by making it short/short sleeve for better ventilation, and by removing the muscle stuffing for the chest and abs, since it was so huge that it didn't fit with the look I'm going for; the shoulder and bicep padding are what I really needed from this suit. I may be adding some straps/buckles in the back to ensure it stays connected back there if the velcro should come undone under the coveralls)

2. I'll be cutting some Clorox wipe containers to make up the rest of the forearm and shin armor, since I couldn't figure out a way to make the pieces go all the way around my forearms and shins with only garbage cans, I needed something with a different kind of curve. And, I'll be making parts of the lids of these containers into batarangs, with one of the lids serving as the round belt buckle, able to be opened and store the batarangs

Can't wait to see the end result!

You mentioned kind of making an Iron Man take on it, so I thought I would show you this.



Its a Batman Beyond Prototype suit that had a short cameo in Batman (#16 I think). I've been looking to build it for a while, but I haven't had the time.
Hopefully this helps!

Hey everyone! Quick update:

Sorry for lack of updates, been extremely busy with school and stuff, and I'm trying to get this build done before Halloween. I have my coveralls tailored and dyed, and almost all of my pieces painted, will begin connections this weekend. Here are a couple photos of my progress on the torso, but I took these a few weeks ago so there's been a few changes here and there. Would take more pictures but I can't right now, maybe later, like in a few days or so.






(btw I might look a little chubby in that last one because of the muscle suit and a little extra cloth here and there, problem should be corrected when the armor pieces go on since the straps will probably take care of that extra slack)

And to Knight Falcon, yeah I've seen that picture a few times. Not going exactly for that style but it'll probably end up having alot of similarities to that design. It is a very cool one, thanks for the image/tip!

So I finished this build a while back, a few days before Halloween, college got in the way after that though and I wasn't able to update this thread. Here's a picture of it:


So basically it looks pretty good and I got alot of compliments on it, but I'm actually not satisfied at all haha

Problems included:
-Mask was a bit disproportionate to the body, the moving jaw mechanism didn't end up working right, and it just ended up looking alot different than I expected

-The suit lacked the muscular upper body, inverted pyramid-type shape seen in the cartoon that I was going for, depite using muscle padding and even after adding shoulder pads that I didn't plan on adding; the torso ended up being more of a cylinder shape instead

-The system I implemented on the torso and ab structure for flexibility didn't turn out all that great either, it was hard to sit down without being uncomfortable, and half of the torso pieces that were hot glued came unglued within an hour of wear

-Whole torso/back armor was heavier than expected, back armor stuck out too much, and the wings were hard to keep inside the back armor when not in use

-Forearm and shin armor moved around too much

There were things that did work, though, like I absolutely love the belt, the wings themselves were great, and the Batarang, seen here: actually flies around when thrown, like a tiny little frisbee (I didn't even mean for it to be like that but I love it haha)

So, bottom line: when I have more time, like maybe this summer or something, I'm gonna re-build this suit different and better, and when I'm done hopefully it will be as durable, versatile, comfortable, badass as I originally meant this build to be. I'm thinking of choosing one of three options:
1. Cut some pieces here and there and make some drastic adjustments to convert what I've already done into what I want it to eventually be
2. Completely start over (with the exception of the belt, batarang, and wings) and to an all-fabric suit, leaving the hard armor off, or
3. Same as 2, but use foam for making some shoulder and arm armor to contribute to the inverted pyramid look (but no torso armor)

This was, after all, my first completed original/free-hand cosplay (no pep, except for mask) so I will take this as a learning experience, we all amke our rookie mistakes don't we?
Anyway thanks for following and helping with my progress, will probably make a new thread when I start the re-build later this year