damngoodphil
New Member
It took some time, but I finally completed my first Spider-Man costume and thought I’d share the building process here.
Before getting started, I want to give a special thanks to RPF’ers lunaman and TJack for all their helpful advice and information during the building process. Please see their own threads for their excellent work.
Some quick info upfront: Like lunaman’s Ultimate Spider-Man suit, my suit wound up costing a bit over $600 (closer to $650 probably) and much of the material and info I was able to gather here on the Replica Prop Forum. I am not a costume designer and had no prior experience making any kind of costume, but I tried my best and left the work that I could not accomplish in the hands of professionals.
To start, I began my suit with an Orhadar comic-book style pattern (http://www.gunheaddesign.com/) that I had printed on 4-way stretch lycra from Fabric On Demand (http://www.fabricondemand.com/). The material arrived quickly and without any problems.
I then went about coloring the webs with Pigma Micron marker pens (point size “08”). It took six full pens (plus part of a seventh) and the better part of a month to complete - partially due to my own scheduling/skipping days due to other commitments, as well as choosing only to work on a small part of the suit per day. The fact that lunaman was able to color his entire suit over the span of 10 hours is impressive to say the least!
I used a piece of cardboard to lean on as I colored in the webbing. This was what it looked like after finishing.
The coloring really is worth it to make the web lines more prominent and stand out. The only part I did not color was the chest spider, which I left untouched, but may still color at some point. As you can see below, the archival ink goes right through to the other side of the lycra.
While working on the webs, I had a friend (with experience using a dremel) cut the eye and air holes in the faceshell I planned to wear (which came from TJack).
I acquired the same pair of Steve Madden "Churchill" tuxedo slippers as lunaman. However, I took them to a shoe repair shop to have the soles and heels removed. Again, lunaman - mad props for doing this vital step on your own! I didn't take any pictures of the shoes in their before and after state, but here's what they look like.
Another option I considered, but decided against, was using an old pair of "totes" slippers that I had, which I may now use for a future suit. As you can see in the photo below, the soles are already coming off, so these shouldn't be too hard to take apart.
Once I was done with the webs, I gave the suit to a local seamstress to sew. I also provided a detailed e-mail with photos and anecdotes on how the suit should go together. Like the suits in the Spider-Man films, the suit has "invisible" zippers that remain well-hidden and (mostly unnoticed) along different parts of the costume.
I provided the invisible zips and thread (three rolls of Gutermann black):
Next came the eyes. I got an ASM2 faceshell and lenses combo set from TJack. I originally wanted to go with the Steve Ditko-style lens minus the faceshell, but decided the combo would be a better investment. Plus, the ASM2 lenses are probably the closest to resemble Sal Buscema’s Spider-Man, the first artist who I grew up with reading the books. Here's how they look unassembled:
I’ll admit: the eyes were the toughest part of all, especially clearing all of the holes of material in the white mesh. Every time I thought I was done, I held the mesh up to the light only to see that I had barely made much progress! Tedious, but again, worth it. I used a pin to poke the necessary holes in the mesh.
To shape the frames to fit my shell, I heated them on a cookie baking pan over the stove with tin foil underneath. I found this did the trick over boiling them in water, but be careful - I definitely noticed the back of one my frames beginning to melt a bit from leaving it on there too long. No photos of these moments unfortunately.
After shaping the frames, I spray painted them with Krylon Fusion Gloss Black spray paint, following by a few light coats of Krylon Clear Gloss spray paint.
I used the faceshell, some paper, and a pair of safety goggles as a makeshift mask to protect my face during the painting process. It wasn’t a perfect shield from the paint smell, but it helped. I’d recommend getting a legitimate mask if you can afford one.
While the frames dried, I had to shape the white mesh to fit the clear plastic domes it would eventually sit between. I did this by holding the mesh in one of the domes over the stove (on the lowest heat setting possible) for about 5-8 seconds. I wore utility gloves so that I didn’t burn my fingers. I then applied the second piece of plastic dome, “sandwiching” the mesh between the two to shape it properly. The mesh only takes a few seconds to take shape. Again, no photos of this unfortunately.
Finally, I began gluing the lenses and frames. It took a bit of time to line everything up properly. Once I was satisfied, I used cyanoacrylate glue to put it all together.
It definitely takes patience and can get messy - I was cleaning glue from my hands for days after finishing these. The final results:
The last part was gluing the magnets on to the eyes and faceshell that would allow the eyes to stay magnetized on my face. If I ever do this again, I may use a different type of glue, since I found the cyanoacrylate glue I was using to be a bit cloudy once dried.
Faceshell and eyes finished:
Once I got the suit back, I had a test fitting with my seamstress. Needless to say, the results were very good!
I immediately went to setting the shoes (this was the night before Halloween, quite literally the 11th hour). I put the shoe uppers in the boots of the suit, applied some E-6000 (a super strong adhesive) to the bottom of my feet and the top of the shoe soles, and stood for two hours, allowing the adhesive to cure. I watched a movie to pass the hours and also wrapped my feet in rubber bands for the soles to cure further. Again, no pictures from this part.
The end result:
Afterward, I put the shoes underneath some couch cushions and then slept on said couch to provide some light downward pressure on them. If you have the time, I recommend allowing a full day for the soles to cure properly. Fortunately, I had no problems with the soles the next morning and they stayed firmly in place.
And that’s it! The only thing I didn’t have was the de-fogging agent for the eyes (which I had sworn I bought, but must have forgotten). Fortunately, I still had enough visibility that I was okay, as long as I refrained from fighting crime…
I had the suit for Halloween and even managed to win in a costume contest at work. Not too shabby.
There are still a few tweaks I’d like to make to the suit, but overall, I’m pretty pleased with the results. Feel free to leave questions or comments below and thanks for looking!
Before getting started, I want to give a special thanks to RPF’ers lunaman and TJack for all their helpful advice and information during the building process. Please see their own threads for their excellent work.
Some quick info upfront: Like lunaman’s Ultimate Spider-Man suit, my suit wound up costing a bit over $600 (closer to $650 probably) and much of the material and info I was able to gather here on the Replica Prop Forum. I am not a costume designer and had no prior experience making any kind of costume, but I tried my best and left the work that I could not accomplish in the hands of professionals.
To start, I began my suit with an Orhadar comic-book style pattern (http://www.gunheaddesign.com/) that I had printed on 4-way stretch lycra from Fabric On Demand (http://www.fabricondemand.com/). The material arrived quickly and without any problems.
I then went about coloring the webs with Pigma Micron marker pens (point size “08”). It took six full pens (plus part of a seventh) and the better part of a month to complete - partially due to my own scheduling/skipping days due to other commitments, as well as choosing only to work on a small part of the suit per day. The fact that lunaman was able to color his entire suit over the span of 10 hours is impressive to say the least!
I used a piece of cardboard to lean on as I colored in the webbing. This was what it looked like after finishing.
The coloring really is worth it to make the web lines more prominent and stand out. The only part I did not color was the chest spider, which I left untouched, but may still color at some point. As you can see below, the archival ink goes right through to the other side of the lycra.
While working on the webs, I had a friend (with experience using a dremel) cut the eye and air holes in the faceshell I planned to wear (which came from TJack).
I acquired the same pair of Steve Madden "Churchill" tuxedo slippers as lunaman. However, I took them to a shoe repair shop to have the soles and heels removed. Again, lunaman - mad props for doing this vital step on your own! I didn't take any pictures of the shoes in their before and after state, but here's what they look like.
Another option I considered, but decided against, was using an old pair of "totes" slippers that I had, which I may now use for a future suit. As you can see in the photo below, the soles are already coming off, so these shouldn't be too hard to take apart.
Once I was done with the webs, I gave the suit to a local seamstress to sew. I also provided a detailed e-mail with photos and anecdotes on how the suit should go together. Like the suits in the Spider-Man films, the suit has "invisible" zippers that remain well-hidden and (mostly unnoticed) along different parts of the costume.
I provided the invisible zips and thread (three rolls of Gutermann black):
Next came the eyes. I got an ASM2 faceshell and lenses combo set from TJack. I originally wanted to go with the Steve Ditko-style lens minus the faceshell, but decided the combo would be a better investment. Plus, the ASM2 lenses are probably the closest to resemble Sal Buscema’s Spider-Man, the first artist who I grew up with reading the books. Here's how they look unassembled:
I’ll admit: the eyes were the toughest part of all, especially clearing all of the holes of material in the white mesh. Every time I thought I was done, I held the mesh up to the light only to see that I had barely made much progress! Tedious, but again, worth it. I used a pin to poke the necessary holes in the mesh.
To shape the frames to fit my shell, I heated them on a cookie baking pan over the stove with tin foil underneath. I found this did the trick over boiling them in water, but be careful - I definitely noticed the back of one my frames beginning to melt a bit from leaving it on there too long. No photos of these moments unfortunately.
After shaping the frames, I spray painted them with Krylon Fusion Gloss Black spray paint, following by a few light coats of Krylon Clear Gloss spray paint.
I used the faceshell, some paper, and a pair of safety goggles as a makeshift mask to protect my face during the painting process. It wasn’t a perfect shield from the paint smell, but it helped. I’d recommend getting a legitimate mask if you can afford one.
While the frames dried, I had to shape the white mesh to fit the clear plastic domes it would eventually sit between. I did this by holding the mesh in one of the domes over the stove (on the lowest heat setting possible) for about 5-8 seconds. I wore utility gloves so that I didn’t burn my fingers. I then applied the second piece of plastic dome, “sandwiching” the mesh between the two to shape it properly. The mesh only takes a few seconds to take shape. Again, no photos of this unfortunately.
Finally, I began gluing the lenses and frames. It took a bit of time to line everything up properly. Once I was satisfied, I used cyanoacrylate glue to put it all together.
It definitely takes patience and can get messy - I was cleaning glue from my hands for days after finishing these. The final results:
The last part was gluing the magnets on to the eyes and faceshell that would allow the eyes to stay magnetized on my face. If I ever do this again, I may use a different type of glue, since I found the cyanoacrylate glue I was using to be a bit cloudy once dried.
Faceshell and eyes finished:
Once I got the suit back, I had a test fitting with my seamstress. Needless to say, the results were very good!
I immediately went to setting the shoes (this was the night before Halloween, quite literally the 11th hour). I put the shoe uppers in the boots of the suit, applied some E-6000 (a super strong adhesive) to the bottom of my feet and the top of the shoe soles, and stood for two hours, allowing the adhesive to cure. I watched a movie to pass the hours and also wrapped my feet in rubber bands for the soles to cure further. Again, no pictures from this part.
The end result:
Afterward, I put the shoes underneath some couch cushions and then slept on said couch to provide some light downward pressure on them. If you have the time, I recommend allowing a full day for the soles to cure properly. Fortunately, I had no problems with the soles the next morning and they stayed firmly in place.
And that’s it! The only thing I didn’t have was the de-fogging agent for the eyes (which I had sworn I bought, but must have forgotten). Fortunately, I still had enough visibility that I was okay, as long as I refrained from fighting crime…
I had the suit for Halloween and even managed to win in a costume contest at work. Not too shabby.
There are still a few tweaks I’d like to make to the suit, but overall, I’m pretty pleased with the results. Feel free to leave questions or comments below and thanks for looking!
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