Tactical Batman

[Whit]

Cowl update:

Here are some pics of my cowl helmet in progress. It doesn't look like much, but it's a start. I need to figure out how I am going to shape this and what I want the end result to relatively look like.


cowl_1 by J_Whit, on Flickr


cowl_2 by J_Whit, on Flickr


cowl_3 by J_Whit, on Flickr


cowl_4 by J_Whit, on Flickr

Currently, the cowl is made up entirely of paper mache. I plan on reinforcing it but I want to get the basic shape done and build onto it.

I also ordered a Balaclava off Amazon for about $6. I should be getting it tomorrow. I'll be wearing this under my cowl. The balaclava will cover my mouth, so I don't know whether or not I want that or if I will want to modify it to leave my mouth open.

I also ordered some 1" side release buckles for my vest, gauntlets and knee pads. Was able to find 25 of them for $12.50 on ebay with free shipping.

Still need to find pants, a shirt, possibly some gloves and of course, my cape, but I haven't had a chance to look for that stuff recently. I thought about creating some sort of backpack that could house my cape when not in use, but that may be a mod for later down the road.

Comments/Suggestions are always appreciated.

 

[martcpl705]

You should try to form a brow and nose more like batman. If your trying to keep your budget low you can always use clay to add the details. Maybe instead of a cape tactical batman would have something more like batman beyond with those bat wings

 

[royal vader]

Looks good. Coming along nicely, Whit.
I'll be watching this thread :cool

 

[rambos mom]

i photoshopped what i think tactical batman would look like. since you combined the helmet and cowl into one piece maybe a cool looking pair of goggles could fit over them? that would keep the practical swat esthetic going. i also really like what martcpl705 said about carrying a gas mask.

you could try adding paper tape, sculpt epoxy or model magic to the cowl to form the ears and brow.

best of luck!

 

[martcpl705]

Cool pic Rambo. I'm guessing that's from punisher war zone? Lol, found a pair of swat goggles that could go over the helmet /cowl on ebay for ten bucks. They had tons of different types

 

[martcpl705]

Oh yeah the helmet cowl reminds me of captain America. This thing is pretty cool

 

[Whit]

Cool pic Rambo. I'm guessing that's from punisher war zone? Lol, found a pair of swat goggles that could go over the helmet /cowl on ebay for ten bucks. They had tons of different types

Do you have any links?

I may or may not use goggles. My original thought was to have white eyes, like in the comics, but I haven't fully decided. I've kind of been deciding as I go.

Wasn't sure if I was liking my cowl so far, but I may do something similar to what Rambos mom is proposing. Currently the cowl does not cover up my ears....only about half, but I got my balaclava in, so it may not matter. I need to stop by one of the craft stores to pick up some air hardening clay to work in the bat details into the cowl. I'll probably cover everything with bondo to smooth things out....I used the same technique for my Thor helmet and it worked out pretty well.

Got the base vest glued up at the shoulders and put it on last night. Getting excited. I should get my side release buckles in tomorrow so I can hopefully start putting the side straps and and start adding the cladding.

 

[martcpl705]

Whit, I don't have ebay links, but I just searched for tactical goggles. They had some that almost looked like slightly large sunglasses to the common paintball/ski type goggles. The air dry clay is a good idea, I used it to widen the jaw line on a Styrofoam head I used to display my reevz666 cowl. I think that if you trim your helmet cowl like Rambo was talking about it would look really good. Since it only covers half the ear why not trim it to right above the ear on both sides? And like you said, the bacalava will cover your ears anyway. And if it does cover your mouth, most tactical agencies outside the USA go this route. Especially in Mexico where they worry about retribution from the cartels. Plus don't forget Wayne had ninja training! Keep up the good work man. This is the first thread that I have kept up with and commented on regularly!

 

[Lord Magneto]

Hey man if you're still trying to figure out the cowl hit up party city. They sell a cheap hard plastic mask for $4 or so. Just cut off the ears and you have the front of your mask

I wanna see more updates on your armor

 

[Whit]

I had a slight setback with my cowl. I used some crayola air hardening clay and it was a mistake. Everything crumbled off the base of my cowl when it dried. I got the good stuff now and plan on working on that tonight. Got a dealine to be as done as I can....we have a Halloween party n hitherto 20th, so it's crunch time.

I hope to be posting more images this week as the dealine gets closer. I think I have my armor mostly sanded, so it's time to start gluing the pieces down to the main vest. Getting my boots in tomorrow, so Things are coming together more and more. Still need some batarangs and a grapple...got the gun, just need to make a grapple to stick in it. Shouldn't be too hard.

Will post pics as soon as I get a couple things done.

 

[sparticus86]

Looking top notch so far keep up the good work!

 

[Whit]

I'm in crunch mode at the moment, but I wanted to give a quick update.

I'll be posting pics soon, but I found something out that may be beneficial to all those working with foam.

I had a thought about using an iron on the face of the foam to smooth out the foam enough to skip the step of applying glue to the surface prior to painting with plastidip.

I took a brown paper bag and an iron, set at the highest temp, cotton setting, I believe and rubbed it over a sample piece. It turns out, the iron heats up the foam enough to close the cells a bit without fully melting the foam.

I'll post pics as soon as I can take some, but it seemed to work, so I went ahead and ironed my vest. It adds a nice finish to it and I am going straight to plastidip on the foam.

This would bring a whole new meaning to the many foam iron man costumes.

My friends' Halloween party is tomorrow night, so I need to be as done as I can. I did finish my cape and the front of the vest, minus the plastidip, but I still need to finish my cowl. The only thing I don't have at the moment is some batarangs and a grapple. I may need to forgoe those for the moment, at least for the party, but we'll see.

Anyway, I'll try and post some pics soon, but I've been up late the last few nights and have been too tired to take pics and get them posted. Fingers crossed that I get everything done and that I am able to relax most of Sat before the party.

 

[crabra comander]

i photoshopped what i think tactical batman would look like. since you combined the helmet and cowl into one piece maybe a cool looking pair of goggles could fit over them? that would keep the practical swat esthetic going. i also really like what martcpl705 said about carrying a gas mask.

you could try adding paper tape, sculpt epoxy or model magic to the cowl to form the ears and brow.

best of luck!

A gas mask would be awesome! The ones that are a bit sleek without a huge canister! Streamline it into your helmet somehow...

 

[Whit]

Just a quick update...images coming soon. I did finish my costume...well at least enough for my friend's party. Costume itself is about 95% complete.

I still need to smooth out my helmet more and reprint, finish the back of my vest and paint and make some batarangs and a grapple for my gun. Other than that, I am very pleased with how this has turned out.

 

[rambos mom]

can't wait to see the finished piece!

 

[Whit]

I finally have some pics....

My internet has been spotty lately, so I have been unable to get my pics uploaded.

I am here to say that I am 95% complete. There are only a couple of things I would like to do to say that my costume is fully done....but I will say it is done enough for the time being.

Here are some updates to the costume....It's pic heavy.

The first few images are of my vest with the side clips installed. I was able to get a hold of some 1" webbing from work and bought 25 side release buckles off ebay. I went to work and cut them to length and hot glued them all in place. I actually cut slits into the vest and ran the webbing through and then hot glued both sides to add durability.

Close up of one of the clips on the inside of the vest:

Untitled by J_Whit, on Flickr

Close up of one of the clips on the outside of the vest:

Untitled by J_Whit, on Flickr

Side view of the vest and all the clips:

Untitled by J_Whit, on Flickr

Vest before gluing the armor pieces:

Untitled by J_Whit, on Flickr

I got caught up in getting the costume done that I forgot to take some steps of the vest in progress, so here is the front of the vest done. I found that if I ran a hot iron over the surface of the vest, the small holes closed up a bit and I decided to just skip the step of coating the vest in several layers of mod podge. I went straight to spray plastidip. I think it turned out pretty nice. I wasn't able to get all the back pieces glued on and so some of the vest is still grey and incomplete.....needless to say, this is why I can't say it's completely finished....I am however satisfied with how it turned out.


Untitled by J_Whit, on Flickr

Here's a top view of the vest showing how the cape is attached. I again cut a slit through the vest on either side, threaded the webbing through and attaching a clip to the top of the vest. The webbing was then hot glued down to the inside of the vest. I can now easily take off and put on my cape at will.


Untitled by J_Whit, on Flickr

Here's a back shot if the vest with the cape installed:

Untitled by J_Whit, on Flickr

Here's an image of the completed helmet:

Untitled by J_Whit, on Flickr

This is another part of the costume I would still like to work on, but I am satisfied with it at its current state. I was in a rush to get it done and was literally waiting for it to dry in order to wear to a costume party on the 20th. As you can see, there are some pits and rough spots that need to be smoothed out, but I can take my time to make it better. I am quite pleased with the white eye effect, although it does hinder my visibility a bit. Next costume that involves a helmet, I will definitely work harder on better visibility, lol.

On to the gauntlets:

Untitled by J_Whit, on Flickr

Here are the finished gauntlets, I used the same technique I used on the vest for the clips on the gauntlets, but I did not bother with gluing anything down... I instead just continued the webbing across the underside of the gauntlets.


Untitled by J_Whit, on Flickr

Closer shot of one of the gauntlets:

Untitled by J_Whit, on Flickr

Here's the cape:

Untitled by J_Whit, on Flickr

I would have to measure it again, but I think the cape is roughly 5'10" tall, with a wingspan of a little more than 6'. It turned out a bit shorter than planned, but I am pretty pleased with it. I made a template for the cape in Illustrator and printed a couple of them out and traced them onto the material. The I sewed everything together. I'm still a novice when it comes to using a sewing machine, but it ended up alright. It could be better, but I'm pleased.

I think that's it....got my boots, zip ties, pants and knee pads....blew my budget, but everything worked out alright. The only other thing I wasn't able to get done, was some batarangs, but I can whip something up pretty quickly, I think......


Oh, you want to see me in the costume do you?

Well, here I am:

Untitled by J_Whit, on Flickr

Here's me on Halloween night with one of my friends:

Untitled by J_Whit, on Flickr

I hope I did Batman proud.

 

[crabra comander]

It looks pretty good!

IMO, I would also have some type of tactical shirt to compliment the look of the pants.

 

[Whit]

It looks pretty good!

IMO, I would also have some type of tactical shirt to compliment the look of the pants.

Me too, I ran out of time and was still trying to keep the spending down......Maybe Tactical Batman 2.0...then could add night vision, upgraded gloves and such.

 

[martcpl705]

Dude congrats on the costume! It came out great, and the cowl was pretty sweet too

 

[Whit]

Dude congrats on the costume! It came out great, and the cowl was pretty sweet too

Thanks a lot! I had a lot of fun making this...had some struggles with the ears, but I am pleased with it. I do want to smooth the cowl out more, but I've got plenty of time now.

Will definitely start making the next costume sooner.