Tactical Batman

Greeting all. I just started my next project.....Batman.

This is my first project with foam and my second as an RPF member, so we will see how this comes together. I am taking a but different approach on Batman....I'm going to be making my costume look a bit more like a SWAT team suit. I have a couple drawings of my upper body armor done and have started on the base for that.

I'm looking to get some tactical boots and some pants that I could add foam armor to.

Not to worry, I will still have a cape and gauntlets and a cowl, but I am hoping that the cowl can be a bit more helmet like with white eyes.

I haven't fully decided on everything yet, so your comments and suggestions are welcome.


I'll be posting a couple of images soon.

Sounds like a interesting project. Cnt wait to see....

Here are the first two images.

Body Armor base:


Donor for Grapple Gun:


Still have to figure out how to enlarge the images. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Small Update.

I have modified the body armor base and have cut out the Bat and two of the cladding pieces. I will need to cut down the Bat slightly to fit the new shape of the vest. I may use a dremmel to add chamfers to the edges of each cladding piece to give it some more depth.

The rest of the front and the back will have cladding as well. I will eventually glue everything down and join the front and back together by the shoulders. I will attach side release buckle clips on the sides to hold the entire vest together.

Any suggestions on how to clean up rougher edges? Sanding? Dremmel? I'm trying to keep my blades sharp, but I still need to clean up some of the edges.


Body Armor by J_Whit, on Flickr

Sanding works well.

Thanks, Judge.

I use a Dremel. Very nice start.

This sounds like an awesome project, gonna keep tabs on this, also have you thought of using a Swat style helmet and adapting that?
EbairSoft Airsoft parts & Tactical Gear - G SWAT PASGT Kevlar M88 Helmet Black HMS00015
Fairly cheap helmets but can be adjusted easily, also NVG could be a bruceman thing to do.
Keep up the good work

cavedwellar said:

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I use a Dremel. Very nice start.

Thanks. What bits do you use? Sanding drum? I am looking to add some grove details into the cladding. Have you done this at all and what bit(s) have you used for that?

Nomolos95 said:

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This sounds like an awesome project, gonna keep tabs on this, also have you thought of using a Swat style helmet and adapting that?
EbairSoft Airsoft parts & Tactical Gear - G SWAT PASGT Kevlar M88 Helmet Black HMS00015
Fairly cheap helmets but can be adjusted easily, also NVG could be a bruceman thing to do.
Keep up the good work

Thanks for the comments. You are on the same track as I am because I have been considering getting one of those helmets and "Batifying" it. My buddy has an old paintball mask he's giving me, so I might try and incorporate that as well. The only thing I am worried about it getting the helmet to look like Batman. I know I am going a bit different direction with this suit, but I don't want to have to tell people who I am, if you know what I mean. =)

I should say that I am trying to make this costume for $100 or less, which is going to be difficult because I don't have boots yet, nor a helmet or cape. Not sure if I will incorporate Night Vision Goggles, but it could definitely be an add-on or upgrade.

I tried working on the gauntlets last night, but was having trouble, so I am going back to the vest. It seems to be easier to work on and I am liking how it's going so far.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

If your worried about budget, try joining airsoft forums, they usually have a buy sell area, you'll probably be able to pick up a pair of old boots and a helmet for the better side of $100, a bit of elbow grease and head light fluid and they can look great, also salvation stores can be quite good for fabrics and such. Hope I've been helpful and good luck

Here's a quick update.

Nothing has been glued yet, but I did cut out my gauntlets and more of my vest. The white paper is my template for the next piece of foam to be cut out. I know I don't need a lot of detail on the back because the cape will cover it up, but I wanted to finish it off.

The main black lines on the vest and gauntlet will be carved out a bit to add some more depth to the suit.

Let me know what you think.

Gauntlet

Gauntlet by J_Whit, on Flickr

Vest

Vest by J_Whit, on Flickr

Small Update.

I have cut out the big foam piece that will wrap over my shoulders.

I also roughed out a holster for my grapple gun to be strapped to my right leg, but I'm thinking it will be too big. It is quite large, but I'll have to see how it looks with the vest and rest of the costume as time goes on. I may try and use some foam core for the holster to reduce the bulk a bit and still maintain a rigid form.

I'll be focusing on getting the vest roughed out and then on to smoothing the edges up and adding the details. I'll then glue the pieces down and figure out the best way to paint it.

Vest

Vest_2 by J_Whit, on Flickr

Holster

Gun holster_3 by J_Whit, on Flickr


Gun holster_2 by J_Whit, on Flickr


Gun holster_1 by J_Whit, on Flickr

Keep up the good work!!! looking good

stang wars said:

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Keep up the good work!!! looking good

Thanks Stang Wars! I appreciate it.

I do have a minor update...I don't have pics yet, but I went and splurged a bit on a belt rig from a local gun/army surplus store. $43, which only leaves me with about $20 to spend on the rest of my costume. Trying to keep it at $100....sure goes fast when you need supplies. Will be trolling the thrift stores for stuff.

The rig has a 2" belt, I believe, with a leg strap holster on one side and leg strap with 3 small pouches on the other side.

I cut the seam on the holster and if I attach some black elastic or fabric to extend the holster, my nerf gun will fit nicely in it. Will also be working on making a Bat belt buckle to cover up the side release buckle on the front.

Don't have much of an update at the moment. Working on modding my grapple gun. I have taken it apart and have started painting it. I'll post some pics in the coming days.

My budget is almost up, but I did find a Walmart gift card, so I may use it to buy some fabric for my cape....

Any one have suggestions on what type of material to use for a cape?

Thanks!

Updates coming soon, but I had a question.

Does anyone have a pattern or have any suggestions for making a balaclava? I plan on making one to wear under my helmet cowl, but I'm not quite sure how to make one.

for the cape I used a very thin Velvet, it looks just like the Movie capes, it even flows in the wind. Im actually making some capes now, Im hooking some friends up with Batman/ Robin capes. for more info Pm me

Interesting, I will be watching this thread closely

I'm very interested to see how this will turn out. I like where it is going so far.

I finally have more to show, although it's just my gun at the moment. I am pretty much finished with the grapple gun. I might make one minor change. I forgot to cut off the little key chain loop from the bottom corner of the handle.

I still need to make or modify the darts to look more like little grapples. Other than that, I am very pleased with how the gun turned out.

Let me know what you all think.

Before:

Gun holster_1 by J_Whit, on Flickr

After:

Grapple_lhs by J_Whit, on Flickr


Grapple_rhs by J_Whit, on Flickr

Look good! Cool concept as well. I'd work on the detail on the grapple gun. That target molded into the plastic looks a bit tacky. Probably hard to get rid of though.

MandoMan531 said:

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Look good! Cool concept as well. I'd work on the detail on the grapple gun. That target molded into the plastic looks a bit tacky. Probably hard to get rid of though.

Yeah, I would have liked to have gotten rid of that stuff, but I would have had to do a lot more work. The plastic is pretty thin and I didn't feel like trying to fill all that stuff in and then sanding it. Already did a lot of that with the paint job.

Yea I hear ya. I've done some nerf mods before and it's hard to get rid of all that. Still, looks good!

I think the gun looks good. Great job.