When I get around to this for my daughters I will keep it black. I know the color might not be perfect but since I have seen various colors I think we can go either direction and still have it look awesome. But you right, purple would be ideal but to match that purple with the leggings would be super hard. Grey or black would be better to match.
Gaz
Active Member
As mentioned, I made the decision to go ahead and construct the cowl out of card pep / resin, for a number of reasons which include the following three key points:
1. I know how to do this, thanks to Iron Man building
2. Right now, I don't think our budget covers experimenting with the ideal answer of moulding and casting our own latex cowl
3. In response to the suggestion earlier, I don't want to buy one already made. Enough of this build is simple garment purchasing, and I want to feel like it has a personal touch. Plus, all the current cowls available would need so much modding that it would a) ruin the original cowl and b) be as involved as making my own.
So, we started off with the Captain America helmet, and aside from the dome shape of those original pep files, everything else has been freehanded. There were "scaffolding" struts secured inside to make sure the internal shape matched Sarah's measurements at the different points, such as the temples, below the eyes and behind the ears, and these were cut out again once I had coated the inside and out with two layers of resin, as well as two layers of fibreglass cloth inside.
Obviously, it's in need of body filler and sanding to get it looking like I want. Once it's up to spec, we'll be spraying it with plastidip in order to get that rubberised / latex look that suits the piece. Sarah is the sanding and filler master, so I'm handing it over to her for development.
Meanwhile, the yellow leather has now arrived, and Sarah is starting work on the gloves today. I'll post pictures of the garments once I see some progress to show off.
And finally, I thought I'd post another photo of the jacket in better lighting to illustrate the colour choice:
To be honest, even that is a bit off-colour, but you get the idea. It will all look great once it's finished and I have my DSLR to capture the greatness!
1. I know how to do this, thanks to Iron Man building
2. Right now, I don't think our budget covers experimenting with the ideal answer of moulding and casting our own latex cowl
3. In response to the suggestion earlier, I don't want to buy one already made. Enough of this build is simple garment purchasing, and I want to feel like it has a personal touch. Plus, all the current cowls available would need so much modding that it would a) ruin the original cowl and b) be as involved as making my own.
So, we started off with the Captain America helmet, and aside from the dome shape of those original pep files, everything else has been freehanded. There were "scaffolding" struts secured inside to make sure the internal shape matched Sarah's measurements at the different points, such as the temples, below the eyes and behind the ears, and these were cut out again once I had coated the inside and out with two layers of resin, as well as two layers of fibreglass cloth inside.
Obviously, it's in need of body filler and sanding to get it looking like I want. Once it's up to spec, we'll be spraying it with plastidip in order to get that rubberised / latex look that suits the piece. Sarah is the sanding and filler master, so I'm handing it over to her for development.
Meanwhile, the yellow leather has now arrived, and Sarah is starting work on the gloves today. I'll post pictures of the garments once I see some progress to show off.
And finally, I thought I'd post another photo of the jacket in better lighting to illustrate the colour choice:
To be honest, even that is a bit off-colour, but you get the idea. It will all look great once it's finished and I have my DSLR to capture the greatness!
I posted it above but I will post it again
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=200938732377
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=200938732377
Gaz
Active Member
Here is my jacket. It's a bit cheaper than the ebay link above, and from what I can tell they are the exact same jacket just via different distributors. Amazon were also selling my jacket for a lot more money too.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130917577...eName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130917577...eName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
Gaz
Active Member
So Sarah ended up attaching the bat symbol to the jacket last night.
Just as a tip to any prospective jacket purchasers, she had to cut away the upper zips on the top pockets to get a smooth finish. These pockets also dictated the scaling of the symbol also, as the tips of the wings needed to extend over them. I think the symbol is maybe 10% larger than the concept image, but we retained the same shape and it looks pretty good.
The leggings that we found on eBay show up a little bit more purple on camera / in artificial lighting than the jacket, but they aren't that different to the eye. I may keep looking round for a better colour in the meantime, and suggest that we add the black trim to them at the very end.
The cowl obviously fits well and Sarah now needs to move on to sanding so it can be finished with the plastidip. We are still debating whether Sarah just wears the Barbara Gordon wig under the cowl, or whether we actually build it into the back of the cowl as a permanent fixture.
The next thing on the list is the gloves, which are about 50% done. I think Sarah has been through about six prototypes by now, and has basically reached the conclusion that full yellow leather gloves look a bit too much like washing up gloves and aren't particularly flexible. The final agreed approach is to add yellow leather panelling to a pair of black airsoft style tactical gloves. The progress so far looks really cool, and they seem more "real world" than the concept sketch. Stand by for pictures of those next...
Just as a tip to any prospective jacket purchasers, she had to cut away the upper zips on the top pockets to get a smooth finish. These pockets also dictated the scaling of the symbol also, as the tips of the wings needed to extend over them. I think the symbol is maybe 10% larger than the concept image, but we retained the same shape and it looks pretty good.
The leggings that we found on eBay show up a little bit more purple on camera / in artificial lighting than the jacket, but they aren't that different to the eye. I may keep looking round for a better colour in the meantime, and suggest that we add the black trim to them at the very end.
The cowl obviously fits well and Sarah now needs to move on to sanding so it can be finished with the plastidip. We are still debating whether Sarah just wears the Barbara Gordon wig under the cowl, or whether we actually build it into the back of the cowl as a permanent fixture.
The next thing on the list is the gloves, which are about 50% done. I think Sarah has been through about six prototypes by now, and has basically reached the conclusion that full yellow leather gloves look a bit too much like washing up gloves and aren't particularly flexible. The final agreed approach is to add yellow leather panelling to a pair of black airsoft style tactical gloves. The progress so far looks really cool, and they seem more "real world" than the concept sketch. Stand by for pictures of those next...
These legging have the built in panel on the side if the legs and are cheap too. Might be a good fit if you can find the right color to match the jacket
http://m.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=+...ngs+elastic+waist+jersey+skinny+pull+on+pants
http://m.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=+...ngs+elastic+waist+jersey+skinny+pull+on+pants
Gaz
Active Member
Small update. Jacket and cape are now complete. Press stud / poppers installed and yellow caps added to the buttons to match the concept art. I think we managed to get the size and shape of the cape correct based on the limited artwork available right now.
We have some new leggings which we are now working from, which are a faux leather. Sadly, Htofstead, they are not the ones you pointed out as they are completely the wrong colour for the outfit. Instead, we have opted for buying a pair of blue and a pair of matt black and combining them into the finished article. These should be sorted out this week. Meanwhile, the cowl is almost ready for spraying, and that will only leave gloves and belts/pouches. Not far off now...
We have some new leggings which we are now working from, which are a faux leather. Sadly, Htofstead, they are not the ones you pointed out as they are completely the wrong colour for the outfit. Instead, we have opted for buying a pair of blue and a pair of matt black and combining them into the finished article. These should be sorted out this week. Meanwhile, the cowl is almost ready for spraying, and that will only leave gloves and belts/pouches. Not far off now...
Gaz
Active Member
Update at the 90% stage in the build. Cowl complete - sanded down and coated in three coats of Plastidip. Leggings have been replaced with a new set, black panelling installed, and belt and pouches built. The belt itself is unfinished and needs detailing to match the concept art. After that, it's just the gloves. They are on hold right now whilst we wait for some stretchy yellow faux leather to arrive.
King of Kittens
Member
This looks so great! Keep it up!
ladycat1170
New Member
I am stuck on the leggings myself. And what pattern did you use for the utility bely? She looks awesome.
