atticusser
New Member
TL;DR - I'm doing a foam build of armored Batman from BvS: DoJ using AZTLAN's pep files for Halloween this year. Scroll down for pics.
Long Version
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I've been meaning to post this for a couple of weeks now to share my progress and open up for feedback. It's a fairly paint by numbers build for me this year. Originally I intended to use Kadzaneon's templates and make modifications by hand to match more with the movie look, but after doing a mostly freehand Sauron armor last year, I knew how much effort that would take, so I ultimately opted to use AZTLAN's model instead since I have less time to work with. I have made some minor customizations just to add my own flavor to it, as well as a few adaptations to simplify the foam construction and reduce seams, etc. I'm a bit surprised at the seemingly small number of threads for armored Batman suits so I'm hoping I haven't underestimated the interest in it. Here are some pics from the build process so far. I'll (hopefully) add more as I go through assembly and finishing in the next few days. I'll try to get a shot fully suited up soon.
The helmet -
I tried to eliminate seams where I could and keep the glue as clean as possible, but it's not perfect. The jaw juts out a bit farther than I think it's supposed to, I think due to using foam instead of paper which I think sometimes the pep models don't adapt to well. I decided to leave it alone for now though. I've only ever used hot glue but I've been thinking about the contact cement method lately. I'm under the impression it will give cleaner seems but take longer overall to assemble due to curing time. Anybody want to confirm/refute that? I'm also going to try filling the seams with paintable silicon this time, which I've never done before. I'm open to suggestions there.
The chest/abodmen -
Here you can see the most obvious customization I made; adding the bat symbol to the chest. I know it's not movie accurate but I just couldn't consider doing a batsuit without it. I think it will be appropriately subtle after paint but I still reserve the right to cover it up in the end if I don't like how it looks. I think it's interesting that this suit has intentional fairly large gaps in places such as the abdomen. It gives me an opportunity to create more flexibility than what my Iron Man suit gives me, but I still haven't decided how exactly to attach it (here I just used electrical tape for the picture). I'm leaning toward a sort of weave of elastic straps. Apologies for the rotated picture. I'll fix it in post
Arms/legs -
These have given me the most trouble, mostly because I tweaked the templates alot to try to take advantage of the foam medium and eliminate seams. Counter-intuitively, it ends up being more work that way, but I think the cleaner look is worth it. I still have some detail work to add before finishing. Obviously, the leg won't look that crooked when it's all attached and not just laying on the ground.
Let's throw in one of those beefy arms for good measure...
OK, so the picture is a little blurry and rotated, but hopefully someone appreciates the reference. I am not known for my selfie taking skills.
Bonus pic -
The cost of doing business. Gave myself a nasty burn blister from the hot glue gun. Another reason for considering a switch to contact cement
More to come, if there's interest. I'm aiming to be finished by this weekend, with the possible exception of the boots and lighting. Big thanks to everyone here that I've been learning from for the last 3 years and still going!! You guys do amazing work and I'm happy to be able to make my small contribution.
Long Version
------------------------
I've been meaning to post this for a couple of weeks now to share my progress and open up for feedback. It's a fairly paint by numbers build for me this year. Originally I intended to use Kadzaneon's templates and make modifications by hand to match more with the movie look, but after doing a mostly freehand Sauron armor last year, I knew how much effort that would take, so I ultimately opted to use AZTLAN's model instead since I have less time to work with. I have made some minor customizations just to add my own flavor to it, as well as a few adaptations to simplify the foam construction and reduce seams, etc. I'm a bit surprised at the seemingly small number of threads for armored Batman suits so I'm hoping I haven't underestimated the interest in it. Here are some pics from the build process so far. I'll (hopefully) add more as I go through assembly and finishing in the next few days. I'll try to get a shot fully suited up soon.
The helmet -
I tried to eliminate seams where I could and keep the glue as clean as possible, but it's not perfect. The jaw juts out a bit farther than I think it's supposed to, I think due to using foam instead of paper which I think sometimes the pep models don't adapt to well. I decided to leave it alone for now though. I've only ever used hot glue but I've been thinking about the contact cement method lately. I'm under the impression it will give cleaner seems but take longer overall to assemble due to curing time. Anybody want to confirm/refute that? I'm also going to try filling the seams with paintable silicon this time, which I've never done before. I'm open to suggestions there.
The chest/abodmen -
Here you can see the most obvious customization I made; adding the bat symbol to the chest. I know it's not movie accurate but I just couldn't consider doing a batsuit without it. I think it will be appropriately subtle after paint but I still reserve the right to cover it up in the end if I don't like how it looks. I think it's interesting that this suit has intentional fairly large gaps in places such as the abdomen. It gives me an opportunity to create more flexibility than what my Iron Man suit gives me, but I still haven't decided how exactly to attach it (here I just used electrical tape for the picture). I'm leaning toward a sort of weave of elastic straps. Apologies for the rotated picture. I'll fix it in post
Arms/legs -
These have given me the most trouble, mostly because I tweaked the templates alot to try to take advantage of the foam medium and eliminate seams. Counter-intuitively, it ends up being more work that way, but I think the cleaner look is worth it. I still have some detail work to add before finishing. Obviously, the leg won't look that crooked when it's all attached and not just laying on the ground.
Let's throw in one of those beefy arms for good measure...
OK, so the picture is a little blurry and rotated, but hopefully someone appreciates the reference. I am not known for my selfie taking skills.
Bonus pic -
The cost of doing business. Gave myself a nasty burn blister from the hot glue gun. Another reason for considering a switch to contact cement
More to come, if there's interest. I'm aiming to be finished by this weekend, with the possible exception of the boots and lighting. Big thanks to everyone here that I've been learning from for the last 3 years and still going!! You guys do amazing work and I'm happy to be able to make my small contribution.
