Batman Begins Batsuit Closet

Best Begins display I've seen. And I've always admired your closet. Mine is so sub par in comparison. But, I am starting to do some refit on it. Would love to know where/how you got the design for the gear mechanism for the insides. I once sent me a message about the modello on the front. Still, stunning after all these years. Hope you are still very proud of it!

The only reference I have are these screenshots taken from a "virtual tour" of the cave, the source of which is still unknown to me. You can sort of see how the handles would move the posts and "unlock" the doors. Other than that, just my own trial & error design.

Still not sure what that pizza-looking wooden medallion is on the right side door. Also it's pretty incredible how different this staged promo shot is for the film (my original inspiration):

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from the 'real thing':

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Lighting and angle is almost everything.
 
Big important steps this weekend!


I finally added the 6" extension to my door panels to get them to the full 78" needed, and bought a new tool to get them fitting
just right: an electric hand planer. Lots of fun.


I decided to go with some narrow hinges instead of my standard wide door hinges, so I wouldn't need to add any extension shims
inside the wall framing. This way the shelves aren't obscured at all when looking straight on, and it keeps down the overall complexity.


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Of course the doors will have to come down for finishing, but everything is correctly sized and placed and they swing open quite
nicely. And bonus, my wife will come into the home office more now since it's this thing's presence is not so menacing with the doors closed!


Gear system is still in progress, but hopefully within a few weeks I can make some good progress on the exterior trim panels,
get the medallion ring mounted, and my interior batarang holders installed.


Huge, huge relief to have the "6 walls of the box" done at this point.
 
Beautiful! What lights did you use for the inside and which mechanism did you go with...open the door they turn on, or you have to turn them on? Curious because I need to replace mine.
 
Couple of from trim pieces cut, top handles mounted and arches cut. Next will be the bottom half and then stain and final assembly.


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New to this forum. I just completed my Dark Knight Rises Armory and thought I'd share it. The Terminator is in the room directly across from the Dark Knight. I built the entire armory behind him from scratch and ordered all the props online. I cut out the foam inserts and also built the platform. This is the first thing you see when you walk in from the garage! Let me know what you think. Eyeball and spot lighting gets installed next week!
 

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I ordered the entire batsuit from Revdesign Industries. Took about three months in total to build. The rest I bought online. I did not 3D print anything myself. I really want the Man of Steel suit next but I am having trouble reaching Masked Rider to get one completed. If you know somebody who can do an exact replica from the movie let me know.
 
That's incredible. I'm really curious about those folding grappling hooks behind the shoulders. Are they functional? Where are they from?
 
That's incredible. I'm really curious about those folding grappling hooks behind the shoulders. Are they functional? Where are they from?

Believe it or not I found the hooks in China! I didn't realize that when I bought them but they make a fantastic display piece and they were the best looking and fully functional and resemble the movie version. Here's the link where I found them:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Outdoor-Sur...33466c1&pid=100005&rk=1&rkt=6&sd=321583818360

By the way - your display is majorly awesome also!
 
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Somewhere between $2,500-4,000, all told. I didn't track all expenses, but the big costs are the ring pulls ($450), custom steel shelves ($400), and about $600 for decent lumber. Then about $200 for the torso form/hanger, and then about $500 for other random bits (cowl mount, lights, wood stain, ring medallion, handles, custom rosettes). I'm not quite done yet. The last big expense will probably be the mesh grille on the bottom of the doors (gonna run about $300).
 
Productive weekend:


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Anticipating a couple of weeks before I get all the parts ready to finish the gear system and the front grilles and their frames.
 
Brass grilles are in, and after a little trimming are ready. I just started cutting the wood for the frames around them, so I expect a few more weekends before those are 100% done. This is where precision matters. The brass material, while not totally accurate, will work great. A little black canvas behind them adds a lot of depth. Really excited to get these done and the lower handles installed.


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Gears! These I'm most excited about. Except I misjudged the spacing between the handles a little, and I'll have to rebuild the handle arches and move the handles about 1" farther apart to make these work. Still, the action on these is perfect and will really sell the whole thing. If I push I may have the whole handle system rebuilt and ready by the end of the weekend.


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And with that, I have all the pieces I need to complete this (armoire) build in hand, and it's only a matter of my time and skill to finish it. Undersuit is still pending.
 
Your attention to detail is incredible. I love seeing updates on this project. No doubt it will be the best replica that there is! Looks great!
 
So I will definitely have to adjust my handle width. I pulled my old handle arch off and filled in the axle holes, and I've started cutting the replacement arch. I hope that can be done by the end of the week. Other things have been taking up my time. I did get a chance however to stain the gears:
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And I took some scrap brass and fashioned some locking plates for the handle axles to connect to. Tested on a scrap board and everything functions as it should.

I have something really nice coming in the next couple of days and I can't wait to show it off.
 
No more progress on the closet just yet, but a couple of other things...

First, though the Batman Begins suit closet is my big project, I also love the gadgets from the 1989 film, and though I have no plans to do a n 89 suit, I do love this belt I've been working on. The buckle and pods are metal, from Henry Wayne, and the belt strap is the 1988 Chevy truck side trim that was used to mold the original belts. I've been repainting and refinishing it, and I'm just about done. Here's a test shot with the belt laying across the center. When it's all done and reassembled, of course, the buckle will connect the two ends and a flattened out shot like this won't be possible. But this gives an idea. I know the color is not accurate to 89 or Returns, but that's fine with me.

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Back in the Nolan universe, I just received this beautiful piece today. It really deserves its own review thread, which will be coming shortly:

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