Spiderman suit: Suit Webbing - lets talk about it

No luck finding this item in the Junkyard.

Q1:
I'd like to know who is offering the webbing (urethane or otherwise)?

Q2:
According to THIS guy: Answers Question: How much is a Spider Man movie suit replica? - YouTube, webbing breaks apart and requires a lot of maintenance. Lol, he says you should basically just stand still while wearing it (he also says a bunch of other weird stuff). Not really in the market to pay for webbing multiple times - wondering if anyone has improved on the strength of the webbing in recent months?

D

Drivium said:

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No luck finding this item in the Junkyard.

Q1:
I'd like to know who is offering the webbing (urethane or otherwise)?

I don't think anyone is currently offering webbing without a suit. I know Brad (Spidey4Fun) does do suits with urethane webbing, but don't believe he sells it as a separate product. (Someone can correct me if I'm wrong)

One day, if I can pull together the proper capital, I would love to attempt webbing.

Drivium said:

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Q2:
According to THIS guy: Answers Question: How much is a Spider Man movie suit replica? - YouTube, webbing breaks apart and requires a lot of maintenance. Lol, he says you should basically just stand still while wearing it (he also says a bunch of other weird stuff). Not really in the market to pay for webbing multiple times - wondering if anyone has improved on the strength of the webbing in recent months?

D

That's still the dream. Webbing tech was never really good on the Raimi suits. The movie suits had foam latex webbing that broke, cracked, and required constant upkeep to look good.

Most replicas use urethane which has the same problems, but is easier to produce for the hobbyist.

I am currently looking at testing a brand new method and material for the webbing, that won't be 100% screen accurate but may be more durable. It's something no one has ever tried before. It would be more prone to hairline cracks, but less prone to overall failure of the webbing.

It'll be probably a year before I know whether this technique would work well across an entire suit. Though I'm hoping to try a proof of concept piece (Probably the side of the head) by November of this year.

-Nick

So I'm guessing the same problems apply to puffy paint when applied with much thickness? From what I've read, it is prone to cracking & peeling when it is applied to0 thickly. Anyone have any experience with this?

I've never seen an ASM suit in person, but from the pictures I've seen the webbing is only subtly elevated. It is the fact that the hex patterns are also elevated that really gives it the 3-dimensional shimmer. Even if the pattern is only slightly raised, when so much of the surface area of the costume is covered in it, the end result really pops.

But I can't help but wonder if puff-paint webbing would still be better than nothing on a Raimi Spidey suit. And if applied at low levels, it sounds like it should be easier to maintain than urethane webbing.

But it would sure suck to be wrong and ruin a perfectly good suit attempting such a thing.

BTW - Glad to see this thread created! I've been thinking a lot about this same thing.

You would never get the puff paint to look the same as the webbing on a proper accurate Raimi suit. The webing has a bevel and it very clean sraight cut, you simply can't do that with puff paint.
Silicone would be a good option if you could glue it properly, but you can't as far as I know.

Finhead said:

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Silicone would be a good option if you could glue it properly, but you can't as far as I know.

The only method I know of securing silicone effectively with a fabric is backing your mold with that fabric...with a spidey suit, which requires such precision, that would be damn near impossible to do.

...and I'm not sure if it would hand the load well once bonded, or under what conditions it could become delaminated.

It's an experiment for someone with much more time and money than me to try...

-Nick

Finhead said:

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You would never get the puff paint to look the same as the webbing on a proper accurate Raimi suit. The webing has a bevel and it very clean sraight cut, you simply can't do that with puff paint.
Silicone would be a good option if you could glue it properly, but you can't as far as I know.

Very true, the urethane webbing has very sharp, beveled lines and looks to be a couple millimeters tall. There's also the fact that the lines look very straight, which would be extremely difficult to do by hand with a puff paint bottle... But what if you used some sort of stencil-like guide that's pinned in place? It still wouldn't give it a proper bevel, but it could perhaps help achieve long straight lines. Does that sound like it might work?

It surely won't look the same as a proper Raimi suit. But you know what also doesn't look accurate? No 3D webbing at all.

I'm just thinking "better than nothing" here. My real question is, do you think that would probably make it look like ****?

I could easily see it turning out badly, but I don't have experience doing this kind of thing. You guys are definitely the experts, that's why I want to run this idea by you

I've seen Spider-man suits with simulated webbing achieved by a printed drop-shadow (like Nick's), and they do look quite good. But true 3D webs just really bring a suit to the next level.

My opinion on the webbing is do it right, do it accurate or don't bother. That's just me, I can't stand inaccurate props though so take that for what it's worth

That's a very respectable stance to take! If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. And I've seen your work on these boards. You definitely practice what you preach!

Now I'm ashamed for even proposing a 'ghetto' solution. Pretend I never asked.

Finhead said:

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I can't stand inaccurate props though so take that for what it's worth

Yeah...we've noticed.

The method I have in mind would have raised webbing that would be more curved than beveled, but with a contrasting gunmetal/silver top, which should help sell it.

I'd say they'll be 80-90% accurate in terms of appearance.

...I'm saving my pennies to eventually do a set of urethane webs for my supreme suits. Though that's still a longer term project.

Really, here are all the options I've ever seen used:


Tulip Paint - Used by the bevy of eBay costumes from China that flooded the market about 4-5 years ago and SpiderTim.

Strengths - Cheap and easy to apply

Weaknesses - Cracks easily, non-beveled, straight lines tough to achieve



Printed Webbing - Used by me, Spidey4Fun, and various other makers.

Strengths - No maintenance necessary, never separates from suit, no application needed. Can fit ANY sized suit. Easy peasy.

Weaknesses - Not 3D



Urethane Webbing - Used by Spidey4Fun and SpideyPlanet currently, previously also done by ODVH and BobbyC.

Strengths - Looks very close to the real deal. Beveled sides, differently colored top face possible. Easier to produce than foam latex webbing.

Weaknesses - Requires a lot of upkeep, prone to breaking, needs repairs



Foam Latex Webbing - Used on the real movie suits

Strengths - See "Urethane Webbing"

Weaknesses - See "Urethane Webbing" AND it requires a large scale oven to produce



"Squeezed Latex" Webbing - Air Curing latex in a squeeze bottle, applied similarly to Tulip Paint, done only by the now defunct SpideyFan43.

Strengths - ??? Never heard a review of one of his suits

Weaknesses - ??? Same as above, I imagine it would have similar strengths and weaknesses as a combination between Urethane Webs and Tulip paint, especially given latex's proclivity for drying out.



My Mystery Method Webbing - Never been attempted before.

Strengths - TBD

Weaknesses - TBD



...Hopefully that should help with most webbing questions. Other people are free to add anything I may have missed.

-Nick

J'm in the process of having 3D models made for the webbing and textures for my ASM mask. But it's still quit a ways off and I won't be offering the textures seperatly.

That's some very useful info Nick.

Do you happen to know where I can find info on how to create the urethane webbing? I've dug around quite a bit in this forum, and I even found some pretty useful information on ADZSpidey's blog where he shows the creation of his symbiote suit. But I'd like something a little more detailed for those of us with less experience, such as how to create the webbing molds to use with the urethane.

But here's some of the useful info I did glean from ADZSpidey's blog:

- he made the initial web pattern in Illustrator
- he used Smooth-On's ReoFlex 30 urethane for the webs
- fabric dye to color the webs
- coated them with graphite after they were dyed to give them a shine
- attached them to the spandex suit with Loctite Super Glue Gel

But it's the step of going from pattern to urethane cast that I'm unsure about. How do you make the initial mold? This might be a total noob question, so please forgive me if I sound like an idiot.

To give proper credit where it's is due, here's a link to his blog:
Todd Cook Designs
He's got some seriously awesome stuff in there.

Basically you use that Illistrator file (or CAD) and have it milled out to create the negative or mold. Spidey4Fun did his in aluminum, it'll last forever that way. So you need the file to the exact size of whatever suit your putting it on, then mill it out and pour your rubber into the mold. Easy just not super cheap unless you have access to a CNC mill.

I plan to take a stab at creating some webbing too - I found a local rubber manufacturing operation locally. They say they can do molds, etc.

I love to trouble shoot...when I hear that no one has been able to do it quite right (sturdy:accurate), it makes me want to be among the 1st!!!

Has this illustrator/CAD file for the webbing been made available anywhere?

why not use platinum silicone for webbing !!! its verry verry stretchy strong and could be glued with silicone like silpoxy in dots or with a batch of as soft platinum silicone like ecoflex ??? just a tought

what best and most durable paint is used to create that silver accent on top of the black urethane webbing ?

OK, not for S-M, but what would be a good rubber-like material to put on the black parts of a spandex Deadpool costume?

TheNickFox said:

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The only method I know of securing silicone effectively with a fabric is backing your mold with that fabric...with a spidey suit, which requires such precision, that would be damn near impossible to do.

...and I'm not sure if it would hand the load well once bonded, or under what conditions it could become delaminated.

It's an experiment for someone with much more time and money than me to try...

-Nick

Nick couldn't you mold the silicone and apply more silicone to the back and use it like a glue?

Yuri (Spidey planet) claims his webs are more durable than most, a claim that seems to be backed up by a few members here on the RPF. I don't know a thing about his process though.