All Fabric Batsuit

kashi41

New Member
So I've been lurking on the forums for awhile now and finally decided to post something. I love the Batman movie suits well most of them, I absolutely loathe TDK suit, but I don't want a rubber or rubber looking suit. UD makes some amazing suits but I'm not entirely sure how comfortable they would be wearing for extended periods of time since they are function first a motorcycle suit. Marvel has moved the superhero suit forward, in my opinion, because they are doing actual fabric suits. Why can't DC take the hint and go with that, which hopefully they have from what few glimpses of the DoJ suit we've seen.

I want to make a fabric suit that fit within my version of Batman. I didn't want to make a full spandex suit like the comics and as I stated above I didn't want a rubber suit. Also I was trying to achieve the Holy Grail with the fabric cowl. My first suit was wet molded leather backed with upholstery foam sandwiched between two layers of fabric to get the muscle/armor appearance (attachment below, sorry I couldn't find a better picture). As for the cowl it was what I wanted but I just need to refine the technique for making it.

Now I guess I should get to the actual idea for this new suit:

Cowl: I will be using the same idea for this cowl as my first (the attachment below) which is a 3D printed under shell that I skinned with 4-way stretch vinyl. This time around I'm going to skin the cowl in one piece of 4-way stretch pleather instead of 3 separate pieces (face, hood, ears). This should help eliminate the seam you see running down the center of the cowl. The cowl is great, you can slip it on and off like the comics/cartoons and pull it over your head with a little discomfort. I think I've figured out a way to solve the discomfort when pulling it back, I'll have to test it. If you're curious I had the shell modeled by Jordan over at Jordan's Ironic Armory.

Suit: Alright for the suit I'm actually going to make it out of 500D coated Cordura fabric. I'm thinking that this is more of a combat uniform rather than costume, so think Cap in TWS or AoU, it would be two pieces. I'm going to make BDU-esque pants minus the pockets and then a top that resembles the Arkham Asylum/City chest minus the muscles. I plan to throw in spandex panels to allow for flexibility and movement, also to help vent my body heat. The main place I was thinking for a vent would be the entire back of the top. Hopefully this should allow me to pull it on and off like a shirt without having to add a zipper.

Cape: Standard panel cape made from pleather to match the cowl.

Boots: Gotham 100s with some New 52-esque shin guards/boot covers I'll make from foam and made to look like leather.

Bracers: New 52-esque from foam to look like leather. I've got some leather motorcycle gloves that have reinforced knuckles so it should match pretty well.

Belt: Well I'm still working on this, I know I want functional pouches and I already have a Cobra buckle from my first suit that I made.

Any input, suggestions or comments is greatly appreciated.
 

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  • Batman Cowl.jpg
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I'm really digging that cowl bro! I'm a huge fan of the fabric cowls as opposed to the rubber ones. They look more natural, well depending on the suit someone would be going for.
 
I purchased the same cowl shell from jordan, but have yet to start working on it.

How did you apply the fabric to the shell?
 
I too hate the rubber suits song went with fabric as well. Minus the rubber cowl which I prefer.
 

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Thanks! I actually have a Reevz Arkham cowl which is what I originally planned to use for my first suit but then the look I was going for changed.
 
It was a pains taking process, I have some pictures on my phone I'll email to myself to upload here. I did a small section at a time covering it with DAP contact cement and then applying the fabric. I had to make sure the fabric was pulled taught so there wouldn't be wrinkles but not too taught to pull away from the adhesive.

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That suit looks awesome man!
 
So I ordered the Cordura for the suit today. I need to start making patterns for the suit. That statue is supposed to be a representation of the Batman Noel costume, to me it looks more like AA/AC minus the muscles and with the Noel's ridiculous emblem/shoulder/cape thing. But this is a good representation, minus the weird emblem thing, of how I want the top of my suit to look like.
Batman Noel 2.jpgBatman Noel 1.jpg
 
Here something no one brought up before. How about using fabric stiffener to make a fabric shell.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Plaid-1550-Stiffy-Fabric-Stiffener/28663839
k2-_83e3ff85-1de5-4337-966b-75e6c72f2e07.v1.jpg


I haven't try this yet but this is what I'm thinking on how it should go.

You make a sculpt like with any other batman cowl or use cheap plastic mask. First you soak stiff fabric like a denim. In the stiffener. Then you put the soaking fabric on the sculpt. Let it dry over night. That how you make your shell. Ones it dry you upholster the stretch vinyl on it. Remove it from sculpt and you should have the face part of the cowl.
 
The cowl is fantastic. It's really tough to pull off the fabric cowl without it looking like a halloween store costume, but yours is really great. Plus it has the white eyes!
 
Here something no one brought up before. How about using fabric stiffener to make a fabric shell.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Plaid-1550-Stiffy-Fabric-Stiffener/28663839
View attachment 429667


I haven't try this yet but this is what I'm thinking on how it should go.

You make a sculpt like with any other batman cowl or use cheap plastic mask. First you soak stiff fabric like a denim. In the stiffener. Then you put the soaking fabric on the sculpt. Let it dry over night. That how you make your shell. Ones it dry you upholster the stretch vinyl on it. Remove it from sculpt and you should have the face part of the cowl.

That's an interesting idea that I never thought about. It would take some trial and error to do it but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I wanted a very specific look for my face shell so that's why I commissioned Jordan to make the model for me. It actually has the face portion from AA/AC minus the brow furrows and the ears more towards TAS.

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The cowl is fantastic. It's really tough to pull off the fabric cowl without it looking like a halloween store costume, but yours is really great. Plus it has the white eyes!

Thanks! I did a lot of research and skulking around on here and the Brotherhood forum to read what other people had tried and done etc. I had to go with the white eyes! I mean that's Batman, haha!
 
Well I got the fabric in today and I'm very happy with my selection. I think I'll get some black Cordura to make the emblem out of. I can't decide which side of the Cordura I want to use.

Back
Batsuit fabric.jpg

​Front
Batsuit fabric front.jpg
 
Suit and cowl looks incredible! I also do not like the rubber look too much, even though the '89 Batman will always be the reason I wanted to be batman, I hate that suit. LOL!

As for the seam on the top of your cowl. I wonder if you had the seams at the temple going back to the ears might look really awesome in my opinion.
 
Suit and cowl looks incredible! I also do not like the rubber look too much, even though the '89 Batman will always be the reason I wanted to be batman, I hate that suit. LOL!

As for the seam on the top of your cowl. I wonder if you had the seams at the temple going back to the ears might look really awesome in my opinion.

Thanks! The Keaton Batsuit was my favorite on screen portrayal until Bale's Begin's suit. My favorite suit of all time is the AA/AC suit which is what this build is primarily based off of.

As for the cowl, that might look good. I've seen people who've done that. This cowl I'll be making this time around should be smoother. The undershell will be skinned all the way in one continuous piece that then becomes the hood. There will be a seam but it wouldn't be until the end of the shell at the back of my head going down the back. It should line up with the seam in the cape perfectly.
 
I agree, the batman begins suit is my favorite live action version. I didnt like the TDK/R suit either. The separate neck thing was good just didnt like the rest of it though the material for the cape bothered me too, wish it was more leathery.
 
I think the concept behind the TDR suit was good but the execution was bad. I call it the puzzle suit. I think if they did something more along the lines of this it could have been better.
BUNK001.jpg
 
Batsuit fabric all.jpg

Ok, so I have all 3 fabrics for my suit now. I'm still working on the templates so when I have more done with that I'll update. The fabrics I've chosen are a black and pewter grey 500D coated Cordura and a pewter grey jersey knit stretch fabric. I wish the colors of the pewters matched better but those panels will be mainly in areas that people wont see, the entire back of the top and in places like the knee/elbow. So maybe the contrast might look good.
 
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