Dork Vader's 2014 Halloween Costume Contest Entry: New 52 Batgirl [Kid Category]

Eugene

Eugene

Active Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
My daughter wanted to be Batgirl this Halloween. She liked the New 52 version as much as I did. The moto style jacket and combat boots simply look cool.

The plan was to get a kids leather jacket and mod it, but nothing looked decent. I whipped up a quick pattern based on this image:
15465510830_22977d78c7_h.jpg

15627369566_a0cabd25fb_z.jpg

I never made a jacket before. I learned a lot from this project. This is the outer shell before faux pocket zippers and lining were stitched in.
15030325794_73b78f6e0b_z.jpg

The beginning of the pleather pants.
15648392601_9b3c67db7d_z.jpg
 
Last edited:
Re: Dork Vader's 2014 Halloween Costume Contest Entry: New 52 Batgirl

I got some pink combat boots from H&M and colored them with Colorbond. The stuff doesn't crack, flake or peel when flexed. I also used Colorbond on the gloves. It sticks well to synthetics. I wish I discovered it a long time ago.

15651907312_8b470d579b_z.jpg15464936818_97a9702d47_z.jpg15464446009_1271016246_z.jpg
 
Re: Dork Vader's 2014 Halloween Costume Contest Entry: New 52 Batgirl

Wow! That really does bond well. Is there a particular version of Colorbond I should look for? I usually use Nu-life.

dork vader said:
I got some pink combat boots from H&M and colored them with Colorbond. The stuff doesn't crack, flake or peel when flexed. I also used Colorbond on the gloves. It sticks well to synthetics. I wish I discovered it a long time ago.

View attachment 396143View attachment 396145View attachment 396147
Click to expand...
 
Re: Dork Vader's 2014 Halloween Costume Contest Entry: New 52 Batgirl

I use Colorbond Seat Stylin'. It's made for car seat upholstery. You can get it on Amazon in a bunch of different colors. Most are matte finishes.
 
Re: Dork Vader's 2014 Halloween Costume Contest Entry: New 52 Batgirl

Those boots look GREAT! I am definitely going to keep Colorbond in mind for the future, the bonding process looks wonderful.

And kudos on the jacket! For never having built one before, I'd say you did a damn fine job.
 
Re: Dork Vader's 2014 Halloween Costume Contest Entry: New 52 Batgirl

Thanks for the kind feedback, Vox.

I'm trying to upload more pics, but my flickr and photobucket accounts are acting weird. I'm just going to attach photos as I am able to get them onto my computer from my phone. Here's the cape which is made out of the same pleather with a yellow polyester lining. It snaps onto the jacket with button snaps like the one in the reference image.
15464934998_b5f369cf41_z.jpg
 
Re: Dork Vader's 2014 Halloween Costume Contest Entry: New 52 Batgirl

Wow this batgirl suit is incredible! Very nice work. My daughter would be so jealous!! :)
 
Re: Dork Vader's 2014 Halloween Costume Contest Entry: New 52 Batgirl

Colorbond "Purple Haze" was the base coat for the black pleather. It turned out to be a purple similar to the old McDonald's character, Grimace. If you look at the progress pic of the pants, you'll see what the "Purple Haze looked like straight out of the can. I airbrushed a top coat of flexible, translucent blue acrylic paint in an attempt to match the blue-ish purple (or purplish blue) color seen in the reference image. The color job passed a really good stress test. No cracking and peeling! There are male-end button snaps on the jacket that allow the cape to snap on. I added a bat symbol split down the middle where the zipper separates the front. Here's the jacket, pants, cape combo.
photo.JPG

I've learned that Colorbond works incredibly well for matte vinyl and leather with no sealant on the material prior to its application. Patent leather is dicey. My daughter tested out the (originally patent leather shiny) boots and there are some small cracks in the areas where she really flexes her foot. I'll be keeping touch up paint on hand in the costume kit. Next set of boots will be plain leather or matte vinyl.
 
Re: Dork Vader's 2014 Halloween Costume Contest Entry: New 52 Batgirl

I finished up the belt and pouches last night. The pouches are cardboard boxes with pleather hot-glued over them. The belt is just a strip of 7 oz leather. It has velcro attachments at the waist and the thigh strap.
IMG_0902.JPG

And finally, the cowl. My daughter patiently sat through her first head cast to start the process. She actually enjoyed it and asked for another head cast the following day.
IMG_0814.JPG IMG_0815.JPG IMG_0816.JPG

I gave the plaster shell a rough shape and sculpted some ears out of polyurethane foam. I skinned the outside of the plaster with a 1/8" thick layer of Magic Sculpt resin. I applied a thin coat of casting resin to the foam ears. After the Magic Sculpt dried, I peeled away as much of the plaster bandaging from the inside of the shell and sealed it with a brushed-on, thin layer of casting resin.
IMG_0900.JPG IMG_0879.JPG

Here's the test fitting (before I smoothed out the resin) and the freshly painted cowl.
IMG_0893.JPG IMG_0907.JPG

Full photo will of everything worn together will be posted tomorrow.
 
Re: Dork Vader's 2014 Halloween Costume Contest Entry: New 52 Batgirl

Someone is going to have the best costume in school, hands down. Kudos to you for showing your daughter what hard work can build, rather than just purchasing something straight from a Halloween costume rack.

And Kudos to your daughter for choosing Batgirl over, I dunno, Elsa.
 
Re: Dork Vader's 2014 Halloween Costume Contest Entry: New 52 Batgirl

Of course, we had to include Babs' red hair. I got an Axel Rose-type wig and removed the hair from the top. This created the necessary mullet/skull cap for the cowl. I hot-glued the wig into the cowl so my girl could put on the wig and cowl easily and consistently.
IMG_0917.JPG IMG_0915.JPG Great success! (The look on her face is meant for the crooks.)

Here's everything put together. Batgirl!!!
IMG_0919.JPG

The required proof photo.
IMG_0924.JPG

Edit: Proof photo with correct wording.
photo-5.JPG

And the selfie that simply had to be done.
photo-4.JPG
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0922.JPG
    IMG_0922.JPG
    1.5 MB · Views: 155
Last edited:
Re: Dork Vader's 2014 Halloween Costume Contest Entry: New 52 Batgirl

Htofstead said:
So did you win? I hope so
Click to expand...
Voting starts on November 7th and ends November 14th. My daughter asks me the same thing every day. :)

Big thanks to all who've said nice things. I've passed on those awesome comments to my girl.
 
Re: Dork Vader's 2014 Halloween Costume Contest Entry: New 52 Batgirl

This thing is sick man, and the ease you seem to do with it has motivated me on my own cosplay I want to make! Keep up the good work, you've got one lucky daughter!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Alright RPF family, voting is now open. Good luck to all the contestants!

Batgirl would really love your support. Just sayin'. :)
photo(1).JPG
 
This thread is more than 9 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.

Similar threads

MattMunson
Ben Affleck Batman Costume is done.
Replies
1
Views
103
joberg
joberg
cloninaround
The Batman (2022) - Full Costume and Gadget Build
2
Replies
20
Views
2,743
ThreeEvening
ThreeEvening
M
My "Batfleck" 3D printed costume
Replies
1
Views
755
JamesM242
JamesM242
Vault503
Batman bust. I'm new to this, does this paint job look decent or not?
Replies
2
Views
467
SheerHeartAttac
S
batfan10
The Flash - Batman costume resource
Replies
8
Views
2,112
jedjools
jedjools
Back
Top