Got a major update! Version 2 of my suit is done. While not 100% finished, it's fully wearable! Had a great time filming last weekend. Here's a parts list for those interested:
Cowl - Coolfunkcurly Arkham Origins v2
Cape - Made by me with a modified LotR Hobbit cloak pattern from Alley Cat Scratch
Muscle Suit - Made by me with assistance from my wife, using a modified pattern from Scott Bayles and inspiration from Flex Designs
Batsuit - Made by me with patterns and fabric from YaYa Han's materials at Joann
Emblem - Made by me from 2mm craft foam covered in a different YaYa Han fabric
Gloves - Icon Pursuit motorcycle gloves
Gauntlets - GC5FX BvS (v2 I think?)
Belt - Modified Rubies BvS belt (repainted, completely rebuilt strap and remounted everything)
Boots - FRYE Heath Campus boots
LESSONS LEARNED:
Kevin's admittedly beautiful cowl only lines up if you have a very short neck, or I suppose huge traps or a heavily padded costume. I'm going to make a new neck so that I don't have to worry about the gap between the neck and head piece. But being able to turn my head is absolutely worth a two piece cowl.
My cape is coming from KsydersFX but Russian post is taking their sweet time. He's got great reviews, but since I needed to meet a deadline I had to make my own cape last second. If you're going to order from Russia, allow yourself LOTS of time! Really looking forward to recieving it though, and will probably keep my current cape as a stunt double piece.
The cape, cowl and belt were anchored to the suit with sticky back Velcro. Even though I allowed it time to cure, I literally sweat it off. Going to stitch the Velcro into place, but superglue worker on filming day to reattach Velcro that had come loose. Don't trust sticky back Velcro if it's gonna get wet!
Muscle suits are expensive FOR A REASON. Building mine was such a time consuming process that I now have a complete appreciation for the prices over at Flex Designs. Will probably just buy one of theirs when I eventually upgrade again.
The outer batsuit was originally a textured two way stretch from YaYa Han's line. I ultimately used it for the emblem, and was going to plastidip it gray, but it started popping seams right away. Broke my heart! Such a gorgeous fabric but it doesn't cut it for a bodysuit. It would have to be contrasted at least at the joints with a four way stretch, so I built the new one with a different solid gray that still has a nice, robust look to it. But, sadly, no texture. Will probably go with a due sub in the future and puff paint the texture on.
The bodysuit was glued to the muscle suit in the same way Cosplay Chris recently did his batsuit. Fairly quick and easy, and with a good strong spray adhesive I don't see it popping apart any time soon. Next time I won't spray to the outside of the abs, as this makes them look too unrealistic for my taste. Gluing it down really adds depth though!
The GC5FX gauntlets are gorgeous, but a bit stiff at the wrist and really hard to put on the "hand wraps". I may replace them with something more practical in the future. Also I accidentally bent the left fins in storage, and I'm yet to figure out how to fix them. Any ideas?