I had a big problem with my Batman Begins utility belt. Due to the way it was built, it did not smoothly curve when wrapped around. This is behind rather than each of the bronze links being pinned together at the joints (think of a metal wristwatch), each link and knuckle was separately, individually epoxied onto a leather backing strap. My heart sank a little the first time I opened the box to see how it was put together, because I really expected a series of metal pin links. Even so, among the available replicas on the grey market, this is the best one made.
The practical problem is that because each link wasn't connected to it's neighbors, when wrapped around anything, 2 or 3 link gaps would take on the entire measure of the 'bending,' leading to a belt that from above, looked more like < > rather than ( ).
So I was doing some upgrades on it recently, replacing and reseating some magnets, putting a mountaineering buckle on the backplating, and I decided to beef up the leather attachment to the links.
Out of the box, besides the epoxy, there's only 1 screw holding each large link to the leather. Eeeek. Off to the hardware store to pick up some neoprene backed washers, and I put 2 washers+screws on each large link (for a total of 3 screws per large link) and a single washerless screw behind each small knuckle. Now, each link is very securely attached to the leather backing strap.
In addition to making the belt stronger overall, it also fixes the curve problem. Now when worn or wrapped around, each link takes on a very small amount of the bending work, leading to a smooth, gradual curve.
And it also looks like bondage gear from behind
(Batarang made by synasp)
What's left to do:
- Find some wide nylon strapping to use for the spelunking buckle.
- Put some sort of soft covering over the screws, so they don't damage the armor.
- Replace the cheapo weak metal circles on the cylinder compartments. They barely hang on by the magnets.
The practical problem is that because each link wasn't connected to it's neighbors, when wrapped around anything, 2 or 3 link gaps would take on the entire measure of the 'bending,' leading to a belt that from above, looked more like < > rather than ( ).
So I was doing some upgrades on it recently, replacing and reseating some magnets, putting a mountaineering buckle on the backplating, and I decided to beef up the leather attachment to the links.
Out of the box, besides the epoxy, there's only 1 screw holding each large link to the leather. Eeeek. Off to the hardware store to pick up some neoprene backed washers, and I put 2 washers+screws on each large link (for a total of 3 screws per large link) and a single washerless screw behind each small knuckle. Now, each link is very securely attached to the leather backing strap.
In addition to making the belt stronger overall, it also fixes the curve problem. Now when worn or wrapped around, each link takes on a very small amount of the bending work, leading to a smooth, gradual curve.
And it also looks like bondage gear from behind
(Batarang made by synasp)
What's left to do:
- Find some wide nylon strapping to use for the spelunking buckle.
- Put some sort of soft covering over the screws, so they don't damage the armor.
- Replace the cheapo weak metal circles on the cylinder compartments. They barely hang on by the magnets.
