Nightwing Halloween Costume

[PhilGrayson]

Hi guys, my first post as a member here.

Halloween is only a couple of weeks away, and I decided to go as Nightwing this year.
Although, I've come across two problems.

1. My friends are not as excited about this as I am.

2. I can't seem to find a good costume anywhere.

I would really love to have a good costume, but since I'm in college I don't have the time that it would take to make one myself.
That's why I decided to try and come up with my own little version of a costume, while keeping a pretty tight budget.
Some elements that I've decided to use in my costume is a TDK utility belt spray painted black(10USD+paint), black Batman gloves/gauntlets(12USD) and a pair of black "Super Hero Boots"(22USD).
However, my biggest issue is the suit itself, but I've managed to come up with two alternatives.

Alternative one: A black long sleeved t-shirt with the Nightwing-emblem on it along with a pair of black tights for men.

Alternative two: The Nightwing Zentai-suit.

I found a great looking mask for 15USD inspired by the Arkham one up in Chicago and even found a pair of escrima-sticks that can be turned into a staff (Like in Injustice) for 50 USD. My plan is to spend somewhere around 150USD on the whole costume, but for a good costume I'm willing to spend more.

Here's where you guys come in. Which option do you think would be the best one? Perhaps you might know a better alternative? Is there someone who could make a costume for me? And yes, I understand that 200USD can't get me a perfect movie/videogame replica, but there might still be better alternatives out there for that kind of money.

Also, I just wanna point out how much I enjoy looking through the forums on this marvelous site, there's some seriously talented people here!

Thank you!
/Phil

 

[montysaurus]

If you decide on a Zentai, do it soon. Most come from China and take a while to arrive. Though for extra shipping cost you can get it sooner. If your only goning to wear it once or twice, I say go for a cheap Zentai. IMHO

 

[drftfan]

Phil I can make you a facade if you like. It won't have the arms or back but the bird is right on the front. Pm me and I will send some pics of my redbird one

 

[RevolverOcelot]

A good choice of costume, friend! I'm a Nightwing fan...except the 80s costume.
Anyhow, the Zentai suit would work great for a Pre-52 outfit. The current suit is more armored and segmented. It depends on which look you're going for. Do you have one in mind? Show a pic, if you can.

 

[PhilGrayson]

A good choice of costume, friend! I'm a Nightwing fan...except the 80s costume.
Anyhow, the Zentai suit would work great for a Pre-52 outfit. The current suit is more armored and segmented. It depends on which look you're going for. Do you have one in mind? Show a pic, if you can.

I got a couple of favorite suits actually (as you, I don't really care for the 80s costume tho). The ones I would consider wearing myself are the following:
The now classic black/blue one

I really like the simplicity in these animated ones

The New 52 one in both red and blue

 

[PhilGrayson]

Also, I'm considering replacing the TDK utility belt with a classic Robin utility belt, since I realized I won't have any pockets to store my phone etc in.

And I actually forgot to mention that I will be wearing a wig to complete my outfit, although I'm not sure if I should go for the short bangs/emo-hair, the slightly longer middle part, the mullet or the shoulder length hairstyle. Any suggestions?

 

[RevolverOcelot]

Well the new 52 costumes and also the Arkham City Nightwing are all going to take more work.
You mentioned no pockets. If you are leaning towards the pre-52 style, Scott McDaniel's Nightwing had a series of pouches around the cuff of his gloves.

Hair style...skip the mullet unless you are going for a more whimsical reaction to your costume. Otherwise, do what you think will work.

 

[PhilGrayson]

Well the new 52 costumes and also the Arkham City Nightwing are all going to take more work.
You mentioned no pockets. If you are leaning towards the pre-52 style, Scott McDaniel's Nightwing had a series of pouches around the cuff of his gloves.
View attachment 236796
Hair style...skip the mullet unless you are going for a more whimsical reaction to your costume. Otherwise, do what you think will work.

I'm 99% sure it's gonna be a pre-52 version. I might actually extend my budget and buy a facade chest/shoulders from redbird1. This will require a undersuit, but after some research I've gotten mixed answers about what to get. Once again, I'm not looking to spend a whole lot, especially if I'm extending my budget.
This will make the suit look something like this:

Also I'm trying to figure out what the best way to attach this facade to the undersuit. I know glue is the best choice, but since I'm looking to upgrade this costume later on, I don't wanna attach it to a cheap undersuit permanently, and I don't really wanna go with straps since that might destroy the look a little bit. Therefore, I was thinking on using Industrial Strength Sticky Back Velcro tape. This sounds like a brilliant idea at 2AM, but I be blinded by my lack of sleep. Thoughts on this?

Also, the mullet was never even a choice for me. I'm probably gonna go with the bangs/emo hairstyle since I found one of those wigs for only 13USD.

Oh I almost forgot, I'm most likely gonna skip the Injustice escrima-sticks and just go for a pair of black escrima sticks from a martial arts store, which will cost me about 15USD.

edit: I figured the velcro-tape could also be used on the escrima sticks, to make them stick to my back or my hips.

 

[RevolverOcelot]

Velcro might be the way to go. You can sew it to your under garment and hotglue it to your facade and attach it that way. You can later ditch the undergarment for something better and allows you to remove the velcro from the interior of your over-piece without worrying about damaging the appearance of your piece.

 

[RevolverOcelot]

I'm 99% sure it's gonna be a pre-52 version. I might actually extend my budget and buy a facade chest/shoulders from redbird1. This will require a undersuit, but after some research I've gotten mixed answers about what to get. Once again, I'm not looking to spend a whole lot, especially if I'm extending my budget.
This will make the suit look something like this:
View attachment 237007
Also I'm trying to figure out what the best way to attach this facade to the undersuit. I know glue is the best choice, but since I'm looking to upgrade this costume later on, I don't wanna attach it to a cheap undersuit permanently, and I don't really wanna go with straps since that might destroy the look a little bit. Therefore, I was thinking on using Industrial Strength Sticky Back Velcro tape. This sounds like a brilliant idea at 2AM, but I be blinded by my lack of sleep. Thoughts on this?

Also, the mullet was never even a choice for me. I'm probably gonna go with the bangs/emo hairstyle since I found one of those wigs for only 13USD.

Oh I almost forgot, I'm most likely gonna skip the Injustice escrima-sticks and just go for a pair of black escrima sticks from a martial arts store, which will cost me about 15USD.

edit: I figured the velcro-tape could also be used on the escrima sticks, to make them stick to my back or my hips.

Hey, been a while. Wondering how the costume is going? Any updates?

 

[PhilGrayson]

Hey, been a while. Wondering how the costume is going? Any updates?

well, unfortunately, the facade-idea fell through.
and with some recent not so welcome expenses, I've decided to cut my budget even more.
So if I end up going as Nightwing, it's just gonna be the long sleeved t-shirt along with some black tights and a mask, unfortunately.

Due to this I've also been considering Superboy from the animated Young Justice-series. That's just work boots, blue jeans and long sleeved black t-shirt with the red "S" on it.
I also considered the "Arrow" version of Green Arrow, since that seems to be a pretty easy costume to put together.

Any other suggestions?

 

[rameezie]

Sorry late reply, new member. I used a Zentai Suit and designed a print for it. Image here:

http://www.therpf.com/f24/my-nightwing-costume-bat-crew-199300/