Finally completed. My Leather Cape And Cowl Batman. Picture heavy.

Flash Dixon

Flash Dixon

Active Member
After years of saving money and design work. After months of construction and design tweaking. After teasing with post after post and a trial run on Free Comic Book Day. Finally, it's done.

The following photos were taken at the old Missouri State Penitentiary. My wife's camera club took a field trip and reserved a few hours to go and shoot. I couldn't pass up a chance to get my first official pictures there. I hope you all enjoy.

This first one is outside of the "newer" of the three buildings. This one is the only photo that had any Photoshop done to place the letters above the doors.

Arkham%20Asylum.jpg


This next set is in the women's cell block.

IMG%200211%20Batman%20railing.jpg


IMG%200227%20Batman%20brick.jpg


IMG%200240%20batman.jpg


IMG%200256%20Batman%20footup.jpg


IMG%200275%20Batman%20door.jpg


This final set is from the oldest of the buildings. When Alcatraz was built, this building was already 100 years old. Remarkably, it is in the best condition of all the cell block buildings.If you saw The Shawshank Redemption, the design of that building in the movie is nearly identical to this one. The catwalks I'm on go up four stories! The photo of me walking up the stairs lead up from "The Dungeon". A miserable area of cells that prisoners were kept in that needed physical "persuasion" to cooperate. Creepy and depressing. I chose not to have any photos taken down there. Bad lighting and just too depressing to have fun doing a shoot. Cell number 76 that I'm in front of is supposedly haunted. This one was taken at the request of one of the tour guides.

Batman%20Catwalk%20Full.jpg


Haunted%20Cell.jpg


IMG%200325%20batman%20catwalk.jpg


IMG%200347%20Batman%20basement.jpg


It was a lot of fun, and I'm happy with the results of the suit. Once I get a little thinner, I'll call it a success. I plan on have some studio beauty shots taken, but these will work for now.
 
SFX said:
How much does the cape weigh? That's a whole lot of leather.
Click to expand...

The cape comes in at just over 18 pounds. Carrying it in my arms, it feels every bit of that, but when worn it's not so bad since my shoulders are carrying the majority of the weight. It IS a lot of leather. 4 full cow hides were cut apart for the material.
 
The Wolf said:
Great suit and great photos.
How well can you hear with the cowl on?

Wolf
Click to expand...

Thank you very much. And to answer your question:

Slightly better than you can with a rubber cowl. Much thinner material and being leather it's somewhat forgiving compared to a traditionally made cowl. If I'm facing the speaker it's better. One of the designs had three small holes where my ears sit, but it wrecked the flow of the design and didn't really help with the hearing enough to make the sacrifice. Overall it's really not too bad.
 
Thanks for the answer I thought it would be better than hearing through latex. I assume as it molds to your head it'll be even easier ti hear.

Wolf
 
That cape is extraordinary - I love the blue highlights in the folds and draping in some of those photos! It reminds me of the cartoon drawings. Definitely capture more of that if you decide to do another photoshoot.
 
Freya, thank you so much for the compliment.

That blueish sheen on the back side of the leather is a terrific feature that I hadn't planned on. After we got it all together the original plan was to line the cape. Once it was on for the final fitting I caught a glimpse of that in the dressing mirrors. Initially I was still a bit worried that the seams on the inside would be distracting and outweigh the benefits of that blue, but the more I looked at it, the more I liked the seams. They broke up the look of the cape when it's thrown over my shoulders. Real world cartoony was my goal all along. I think I got pretty close with it. I've had the suit compared to the Year One suit, the Alex Ross design, The Dark Knight Returns, and the Animated series. I certainly take every one of those as a compliment. Aside from the classic Neal Adams blue and grey, that covers the better part of the modern day, pre New 52 spectrum. I sampled probably 6 or 7 grades of leather to get the correct drape and durability. I looked a bit silly in the leather store having the sales lady helping me drape a full cowhide over my back and then swishing it around walking down the aisle. We all had a good laugh about it. That particular grade of leather lands right in the sweet spot. Supple enough that it flows nice, yet durable enough to prevent tears and damage. It's been step on several times already in a crowd, and other than sudden strangulation, it has come out completely unscathed. It was unfortunately one of the pricier grades, but certainly worth the investment.

And Freya, I LOVE your Zelda costume! We did a Skyward Swords Zelda for my daughter last year, and I appreciate a well done Zelda. I've got some great photos of it if you would like to see them. PM me or Facebook friend me, Flash Dixon. I'm probably the only Flash Dixon on Facebook. In fact, anyone that wants to friend me there, bring it on! I love meeting costumers.
 
The Wolf said:
Thanks for the answer I thought it would be better than hearing through latex. I assume as it molds to your head it'll be even easier ti hear.

Wolf
Click to expand...

No problem. I'm always happy to answer any questions about my work. You'll find I'm not one of those guys who figures something out and then conceals the information. I only wish I had taken a few more pictures of the construction of this and my Scarface prop to share with you all. Hindsight...

And yeah, the cowl, as it was made specifically off of my lifecast, fits like a glove. Very snug and comfortable.
 
jangofett89 said:
Awesome photo shoot, the cape and cowl are amazing and the setting makes for some incredible pictures
Click to expand...

Thanks! Being able to do a shoot at the old prison was a unique opportunity I couldn't pass up. And thanks for the compliment on the suit. It's still getting little tweaks here and there, but I'm pleased with it.
 
I'm really not one to brag, but in this case I will. I did another shoot recently and wanted to share my favorite picture from that session. This photo was taken from a fire escape downtown at our local huanted house attraction: The Hotel Of Terror. We were plagued with lighting issues, so unfortunately not a lot of the pictures turned out very well. But at the last minute I suggested one final shot. It was done at the very end as almost an afterthought. I'm glad I had it taken since it turned out so well! I wish that all of the scallops were evened out beforehand, but I'm not going to complain.

If anyone wants to keep up with my future projects, or see the construction photos for my suit, check out my Facebook page: The Cape And The Cowl.



_MG_2031.JPG
 
This thread is more than 10 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

marcotilly
My Batman Cosplay - Finally finished
Replies
4
Views
1,753
MikeTheVike
M
Media Man
Best 2022 The Batman Cowl?
Replies
2
Views
402
Media Man
Media Man
batfan10
The Flash $28 Batman cowl mod
Replies
14
Views
2,084
jedjools
jedjools
D
Ra's Al Ghul cosplay: cape questions
Replies
0
Views
188
Duke
D
sp1derman
The Batman Batsuit Replica PIC HEAVY
Replies
3
Views
2,450
Definativewillg
Definativewillg
Back
Top