Alright, let me begin this by saying I've never done a costume before and have depended on searches done here to get me where I currently am with it.
I started out by reading Obsidiank's thread multiple times to see how he did his and use the links he graciously provided to find additional info. In his thread he provided a link to Sonjou's thread, where one could find most of the templates for the pieces of the suit.
I started out by getting the foam from Sears using the link Obsidank provided. I cut the templates out in paper from Sonjoi's thread, traced them onto the foam and cut it out. Using a piece of kraft paper and an iron, I ironed all edges and what will be the top surface. This smoothed the foam and gave me more of a "rubber" type surface.
Once I had everything cut and ironed, I laid it out to get a look at how everything fits together. I went back and recut the chest and the piece that will go under the shoulder bells and support the chest (rather than having two chest and shoulder halves, I combined them into one for strength.)
The templates for all the shoulder and chest pieces, I never could fully figure out they went together and I even if I would have been able to fit them together, I questioned my ability to glue them together and end up with a smooth tight fitting piece. To avoid having a bunches of pieces glued together, I used the top of an Iron Man helmet pep file to create the shoulder bells. This gave me something rigid, that wouldn't fall flat and I avoided having to shape them, which everyone mentioned was difficult. I simply took the cardstock pep pieces, applied resin, applied cloth with resin on both sides, and did a light coat of body filler to smooth them. They aren't 100% screen accurate, but more on that later.
For the chest, I plan to do something similar. I've noticed on some of the purchased suits (Hell's Kitchen and UD replicas does NOT have this problem) that the chest looks "deflated". So to avoid such a look and to minimize piecing things together I'm going to "sculpt" a chest, create a mold, and cast it in fiberglass. It will not be 100% screen accurate either, but will hopefully have a good look to it.
I still lack several pieces that I'll need to create a template for myself and fit to my body, such as the back of the legs, the obliques and other things here and there.
As for other pieces of the costume, I bought the Gotham 100 boots, a set of Begins gauntlets (will work for now), the gloves Obsidank linked in his thread, a Rubies belt, a lycra bodysuit off Amazon, and the highlight of the costume, a gorgeous cowl from Coofunkcurly.
As for the mesh, I found some that will work from of all places Walmart. Only $1 a yard, so I bought 10 yards because I'm sure I will make many mistakes when I start the mesh under-suit. Also bought 5 yards of 3" elastic, which I'll use for the triceps pieces, abs, and various other places to keep things tight. I got some Plasti-dip to spray everything down once I have it heated/curved to fit my body.
Hopefully you're still with me as this is where I'll need help. As I mentioned, I've never done this before, also never worked with foam. I'm not really putting this thread together to teach, I'm putting it together as a place for me to ask questions as I go. Hopefully I will finish this with good results and others can benefit from the questions I've asked and the answers I've received.
My goal for this project isn't a 100% SA suit. My goal is to create a suit that when someone sees it says "that's a dark knight rises suit" I want the suit to have a "clean", "tight", and "finished" look to it. That's why I'll have to compromise on screen accuracy at points here and there. Also, this isn't a speed build by any means. I don't have a deadline I'm working against. Plan on just taking my time, trying to get every piece right, no matter how long it takes. In fact, I'll probably have to do a search for this thread to provide updates, as I'm sure it will drop multiple pages back in between them.
So with all that said, here's some pics of what I've got to work with and what I've got done.
Most of the pieces laid out to see how they fit together:
The mesh I'll be using for the mesh under-suit:
The 10 yards of mesh, 3" wide elastic, and plasti-dip:
The finish that the foam pieces currently have before application of the plasti-dip:
So, that's what I've got. My next step is to begin work on the mesh undersuit. I've sewn very little, so I'm certainly not experienced. I do believe I can eventually fumble my way though getting it put together though. Plan on using this site to help with a pattern and tips.
I've said enough in this post, so I'll stop here and ask my first question in the next post, so that it doesn't get overlooked in this novel.
I started out by reading Obsidiank's thread multiple times to see how he did his and use the links he graciously provided to find additional info. In his thread he provided a link to Sonjou's thread, where one could find most of the templates for the pieces of the suit.
I started out by getting the foam from Sears using the link Obsidank provided. I cut the templates out in paper from Sonjoi's thread, traced them onto the foam and cut it out. Using a piece of kraft paper and an iron, I ironed all edges and what will be the top surface. This smoothed the foam and gave me more of a "rubber" type surface.
Once I had everything cut and ironed, I laid it out to get a look at how everything fits together. I went back and recut the chest and the piece that will go under the shoulder bells and support the chest (rather than having two chest and shoulder halves, I combined them into one for strength.)
The templates for all the shoulder and chest pieces, I never could fully figure out they went together and I even if I would have been able to fit them together, I questioned my ability to glue them together and end up with a smooth tight fitting piece. To avoid having a bunches of pieces glued together, I used the top of an Iron Man helmet pep file to create the shoulder bells. This gave me something rigid, that wouldn't fall flat and I avoided having to shape them, which everyone mentioned was difficult. I simply took the cardstock pep pieces, applied resin, applied cloth with resin on both sides, and did a light coat of body filler to smooth them. They aren't 100% screen accurate, but more on that later.
For the chest, I plan to do something similar. I've noticed on some of the purchased suits (Hell's Kitchen and UD replicas does NOT have this problem) that the chest looks "deflated". So to avoid such a look and to minimize piecing things together I'm going to "sculpt" a chest, create a mold, and cast it in fiberglass. It will not be 100% screen accurate either, but will hopefully have a good look to it.
I still lack several pieces that I'll need to create a template for myself and fit to my body, such as the back of the legs, the obliques and other things here and there.
As for other pieces of the costume, I bought the Gotham 100 boots, a set of Begins gauntlets (will work for now), the gloves Obsidank linked in his thread, a Rubies belt, a lycra bodysuit off Amazon, and the highlight of the costume, a gorgeous cowl from Coofunkcurly.
As for the mesh, I found some that will work from of all places Walmart. Only $1 a yard, so I bought 10 yards because I'm sure I will make many mistakes when I start the mesh under-suit. Also bought 5 yards of 3" elastic, which I'll use for the triceps pieces, abs, and various other places to keep things tight. I got some Plasti-dip to spray everything down once I have it heated/curved to fit my body.
Hopefully you're still with me as this is where I'll need help. As I mentioned, I've never done this before, also never worked with foam. I'm not really putting this thread together to teach, I'm putting it together as a place for me to ask questions as I go. Hopefully I will finish this with good results and others can benefit from the questions I've asked and the answers I've received.
My goal for this project isn't a 100% SA suit. My goal is to create a suit that when someone sees it says "that's a dark knight rises suit" I want the suit to have a "clean", "tight", and "finished" look to it. That's why I'll have to compromise on screen accuracy at points here and there. Also, this isn't a speed build by any means. I don't have a deadline I'm working against. Plan on just taking my time, trying to get every piece right, no matter how long it takes. In fact, I'll probably have to do a search for this thread to provide updates, as I'm sure it will drop multiple pages back in between them.
So with all that said, here's some pics of what I've got to work with and what I've got done.
Most of the pieces laid out to see how they fit together:
The mesh I'll be using for the mesh under-suit:
The 10 yards of mesh, 3" wide elastic, and plasti-dip:
The finish that the foam pieces currently have before application of the plasti-dip:
So, that's what I've got. My next step is to begin work on the mesh undersuit. I've sewn very little, so I'm certainly not experienced. I do believe I can eventually fumble my way though getting it put together though. Plan on using this site to help with a pattern and tips.
I've said enough in this post, so I'll stop here and ask my first question in the next post, so that it doesn't get overlooked in this novel.
