Arkham/DoJ Hybrid Batman

[CosBlade]

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This is the costume that has given me the most trouble ever, because as a Batman nut it's just difficult for me to get a look that I'm 100% satisfied with.

However, I'm on my way now! The cowl pictures is by Keven (coolfunkcurly) but it will soon be replaced with a Dead End style cowl as I've decided to go a bit more organic with my suit. I'm also planning on implementing Dead End style boots, but the rest of the build is a mishmash of Arkham and Dawn of Justice suit details.

See below posts for details!

 

[fastman316]

Re: Arkham Inspired Batman

Sounds like this is going to be amazing. And I absolutely agree on the belt...Valor killed it with that thing. I just hope I can scrounge up some money so I can pick one up. Keep the updates coming, and more pictures please.

 

[CosBlade]

Re: Arkham Inspired Batman

An update! FINALLY!

I've made a few adjustments to my goals. Firstly, I decided not to get a Flex Design suit. Their quality is amazing, having now seen them in person, but I simply can't budget one. Too many real bills to pay. I'm also concerned with the notion of a kid hugging me and thinking "why does Batman feel pillowy?" With that in mind, I decided to pursue making an EVA foam muscle base. It won't feel exactly realistic, but at least it will feel somewhat like armor, and not a cushion.

Got a GREAT template from Cullen Cosplay's Tumblr, which was the pecs, abs and shoulder of Arkham Asylum Batman. Went ahead and knocked out the left pec today (my first success with Pepakura!) Here's a test fit, and one without for comparison.



I'm in solid shape (a treeworker) but I'm more lean and mean than superhero, lol. Getting to that physique would take about 5000 calories a day and would have a really weird impact on my work, so foam muscles for the win!

I've also decided to sort of hybridize the Arkham Asylum batsuit and the Dawn of Justice batsuit, and go with a Batman Dead End cowl. I'm toying around with a foam cowl, but if it doesn't come out as high quality as I want, I'll bite the bullet and buy a urethane one.

I also picked up some knit spandex in charcoal gray. The seams will be based off Arkham Asylum, but I will be taking some black puff paint to it to give it a Dawn of Justice texture (HNNNNG).



Got it for $4 a yard. Pretty stoked.

Probably going to make a cape similar to the Dawn of Justice one, faux leather and with amazing draping. That with the Dead End style cowl should look pretty beast.

 

[gusmaia]

Re: Arkham Inspired Batman

looks great! is it eva foam or something?

 

[CosBlade]

Re: Arkham Inspired Batman

looks great! is it eva foam or something?

Yes, the muscles are EVA foam. I'm playing with adding additional EVA padding behind the pec to get the appropriate amount of bulk. Will probably do two layers more or less the size of a wallet behind each part of the chest. We'll see. I've already finished the left and right pecs and glued them together since posting the last images, now it's on to the abs before I go to bed for the night!

 

[Lightslinger]

Re: Arkham Inspired Batman

Sounds like an amazing design, can't wait to see more. What did you use to make the eye holes in your AO cowl bigger? I was thinking the same thing, maybe a dremel?

 

[gusmaia]

Re: Arkham Inspired Batman

Yes, the muscles are EVA foam. I'm playing with adding additional EVA padding behind the pec to get the appropriate amount of bulk. Will probably do two layers more or less the size of a wallet behind each part of the chest. We'll see. I've already finished the left and right pecs and glued them together since posting the last images, now it's on to the abs before I go to bed for the night!

how about the mask? how did u made it?

 

[CosBlade]

Re: Arkham Inspired Batman

Sounds like an amazing design, can't wait to see more. What did you use to make the eye holes in your AO cowl bigger? I was thinking the same thing, maybe a dremel?

Thanks! I used some small medical scissors to adjust the eye holes.

how about the mask? how did u made it?

I didn't make the mask, it was purchased from coolfunkcurly.

 

[Jroymosman]

Can't wait to see your progress.

 

[CosBlade]

I finally settled on the gauntlets! I'm going to build them very similar to DoJ style, but out of leather with urethane fins. They will have a velcro wrist closure similar to motorcycle gauntlets to allow for a snug fit every time, and an "overglove" similar to the DoJ style to be worn over whichever "underglove" (just actual gloves) I feel like wearing. I think I'm going to paint the fins gunmetal instead of bronze, but we'll see. I might just leave them black.

I'm 99% sure I'm going to nab a Reevz Dead End cowl if he still offers them, but I'm still looking around to see if there's one that speaks to me more. I don't want to buy another cowl that I'm not 100% happy with, cuz they aint cheap.

So at this point I'm looking at Dead End style cowl and boots, DoJ style gauntlets, cape and suit fabric, but the suit will have Arkham City style seams and piping (real seams and piping, not printed!). There will be Arkham City style trunks, and the suit will be subtly airbrushed to help the muscles "pop". I'm 5'8" so I'll be on elevator boots to bring me to 5'11", and the suit will be bulked out with Eva foam muscles, which I'm doing more work on today.

At this point, I feel like I really only need to settle on the chest emblem and the belt. I like Valor's belts quite a bit, but we'll see what happens. And I'll probably have to make some shortcut choices in time for Halloween before finishing the build proper.

Here's an updated concept art, for your troubles.

 

[CosBlade]

A small update for the night. The chest is finished being constructed, but it will need some heating, sanding, and probably a bit of body filler in the cracks. They show even through a cotton shirt covered in a compression shirt, so they need some work! I'm loving how much bulk it adds though!

And after this test fitting, I'm once again in love with my Arkham Origins cowl. Such a great piece. Thanks Keven! I might have to finish up a blue cape/neck just so I can justify wearing this one once in awhile.

 

[CosBlade]

Haven't got too much work done on this the last couple of days, because I've been super, super busy. But I did manage to finish constructing the foam armor for the chest and abs. As planned, the lower four abs are separate from the rest of the torso, and will be attached to a sort of waist cinch to keep them firmly in place. This way, if I need to curl up, or sit comfortably, the abs should slide under the rest of the foam. Hopefully.

at this point, the front of the torso just needs padding in a few places, and some sanding and smoothing to round everything out. Then it will be finished. Next up will be the back and shoulder pieces, and then all of it will be attached with elastic.

The white bat symbol is there just as a tester. I will need to make a bigger one.

I also cobbled together a quick utility belt from some old parts. It's not what I want for the final build, but it will do for Halloween. If I wind up having more time to work on it before then, I will.

 

[CosBlade]

I'm almost 100% done with the foam muscle suit, at least what I need to make for Halloween. All that's left is to make the back muscles. I have a pattern worked out (altered pectorals work amazingly!) but I've run outta steam tonight.

Once the back is done, everything will get sanded and sealed with plastidip to (hopefully) protect it from sweat and moisture damage. The way I'm currently wearing the muscles isn't the most comfortable, but it works and the imperfections are pretty well hidden. I wear the EVA foam against my skin, and wrap the upper arms in ace bandages to help hide the transition from foam covered upper arms to uncovered elbows. Works pretty well. Over all that I wear a compression shirt (this is to hold the foam in place since no straps have yet been added, but eventually the compression shirt should go under the foam for comfort). And over that I wear a thermal shirt, which is probably what I'm stuck with for Halloween but will eventually be replaced by my cotton spandex custom suit.

The pecs keep sliding down but this will be fixed once they're strapped to the back muscles. They look low in the pictures because they're hard to fix under all those layers.

I've got MMA handwraps for the forearms, which gives the appearance of a gauntlet and helps hide the transition from the forearm foam to the uncovered elbow, just like the ACE bandages with the upper arms. Eventually the handwraps will be covered by my leather gauntlets. Right now I've got shin guards for effect.

The cape will be rigged to the chest armor so it doesn't pull on my throat, and I'm working on a neckpiece using a diving hood as a base to hide the top of the cape. It'll velcro to the shirt just above the chest emblem. Hopefully I'll have time to brush some muscle shading into the suit to help hide imperfections and really sell the look of a beefed out Batman. So far I'm feeling confident in my progress, hope it keeps up!

 

[CosBlade]

Halloween is a week away, and I basically won't have any weeknights to work on this thing. However, I do have my old version of the costume, which is near complete, and once I sew up some leggings it will be wearable with the foam muscles I've been working on. Today I focused on the gauntlets and the boots, and I'm taking a short break to knock out homework before getting back to the grind. Though I'm not wearing my dream batsuit for Halloween, the version I'm wearing will be pretty kickass! Here's a teaser showing the gauntlets. Since the photo was taken I've moved the straps (you can see one under the vinyl) to the outside because they were just way, way too difficult to put on and take off. It somewhat takes away from the animalistic look but for this version that's not as important. I still need to mod podge and paint the fins, and I'm thinking of going with gunmetal acrylic paint. We'll see!

 

[kw1968]

lookin great. cant wait to see the finished suit

 

[CosBlade]

Got it close enough for Halloween! Loved being the Bat for a night. Can't wait to continue working on this build! Stay tuned!!!

 

[CosBlade]

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?

 

[cavedwellar]

Looking good man!


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