New Batsuit Project WIP (Pic Heavy)

[SMP Designs]

Update time! Whew, it seems like a long time, but I have been working on the suit, just wanted to wait until I had a decent update to share. So, here we go...

With the torso well in hand and the other sleeve working, I began working on the new version of the symbol. I decided to try making casting the symbol to see if I got better results than the foam and Plasti-Dip method.

To give the symbol some depth and texture, I cut a design out of Cordura and spray mounted that to 2mm craft foam and cut out the whole symbol.

I then prepped the bottom of the mold box, glued the symbol down and coated it with Mod Podge to seal it. Once that was dry, I finished mold box and gave the entire inside a couple of coats of glossy spray paint to keep the silicone from sticking.

And, here's the finished mold. I used Smooth On OOMOO 30 for this mold (and most of the ones I've made in the past).

To cast the symbol, I decided to try it in resin first. I used Amazing Casting Resin for this cast. When the piece was about 85% cured (enough to hold itself together but still very flexible), I carefully removed it from the mold and laid it across the chest of a mannequin to finish curing. This way, the piece would harden the rest of the way with the contour of the chest. Once it was hardened, I popped it off the chest, trimmed the edges with an Xacto knife and sanded them all smooth.

I wanted to test my theory for attaching the symbol at this point and used LocTite to glue Neodymium (also called Rare Earth) magnets to the back of the symbol. If this method ends up working, the symbol can be removed for cleaning or swapped out with different versions of the symbol making the costume pieces much more versatile.

The other sides of the magnets are then placed on the inside of the torso chest to hold the symbol quite firmly in place. The next step in this symbol test is priming and paint.

In the meantime (during curing times) the other sleeve was completed and attached and the collar and zipper added to the torso. Here is the entire completed torso with the symbol in place.

The next steps are to continue testing the symbol and build the pants. Stay tuned!

 

[Hazmat]

I love this thread!

 

[Athanasius]

Oh my glob, this is super amazing! the jacket looks amazing finished! I'm so excited to see more updates! Wooooooo!

 

[jjones]

Well now I know how I'm attaching my symbol to my chest piece

 

[Bogleo]

Woah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cheers:ninja

 

[Reznor9]

Cool. I was wondering how people made molds for the chest emblems. I might have to try that! The jacket looks fantastic!

 

[SMP Designs]

Oh my glob, this is super amazing! the jacket looks amazing finished! I'm so excited to see more updates! Wooooooo!

Yeah! I'm really glad we changed it up to a single piece top. I think it's going to work really well. I'll be working on the pants this weekend and will have an update.

Well now I know how I'm attaching my symbol to my chest piece

These are the 3/4"/1/16" magnets. I get them in a pack of 10 from Amazon. This symbol is still in the testing phase and there might be changes (or at the very least a recast). The only real issue at this point is that it's not completely flush to the suit. The magnets hold it tight and very close, but there are a lot of small points and complex curves that will move during wear so things like the ears and the very tips of the wings might not lie completely flush. Again, in the testing phase, so we'll see what I can come up with. And, you bet, I'll be posting it.

Woah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cheers:ninja

I'll take that as a Keanu Seal of Approval. Haha

Cool. I was wondering how people made molds for the chest emblems. I might have to try that! The jacket looks fantastic!

Thanks man! And yeah, I'm a trained tailor, but admittedly a total noob to fabrication and I'm constantly annoying my friend who's a master and picking his brain. But, really, once I got over the fear of it, it really isn't all that bad and I think I'm kind of getting the hang of it. My comfort level is definitely increasing for small parts like this and the AoU Cap shoulder insignia (which I cover on my thread about that madness).

 

[jjones]

These are the 3/4"/1/16" magnets. I get them in a pack of 10 from Amazon. This symbol is still in the testing phase and there might be changes (or at the very least a recast). The only real issue at this point is that it's not completely flush to the suit. The magnets hold it tight and very close, but there are a lot of small points and complex curves that will move during wear so things like the ears and the very tips of the wings might not lie completely flush. Again, in the testing phase, so we'll see what I can come up with. And, you bet, I'll be posting it.

I was gonna to make a latex symbol , and place the magnets in the latex as it cures. It may flex better with the suit than a rigid symbol. Here is my symbol design, Following a bit of the same route as you inset detail to make it stand out.

 

[SMP Designs]

I was gonna to make a latex symbol , and place the magnets in the latex as it cures. It may flex better with the suit than a rigid symbol. Here is my symbol design, Following a bit of the same route as you inset detail to make it stand out.
View attachment 471840

Yeah, I was thinking about doing a urethane one as well. I had the resin to hand, so I just decided to test one out of that and see how it worked.

 

[Athanasius]

Yeah, I was thinking about doing a urethane one as well. I had the resin to hand, so I just decided to test one out of that and see how it worked.

Just to throw my vote in here, I would love the symbol to be urethane, coz then it would match the cowl and gauntlets I have which is awesome

 

[SMP Designs]

Just to throw my vote in here, I would love the symbol to be urethane, coz then it would match the cowl and gauntlets I have which is awesome

Oh of COURSE you would!

The resin was really a test for the mold. I think urethane will work better as well. I've not used it before, so we'll see how it goes. I'll most likely end up sending you both and you can decide which you like better.

 

[SMP Designs]

Update time!

After discussing the symbol, we decided that a more simple design would be better and I knew that I wanted a more flexible option. With the time factor to consider, I turned to Graphic Jordan at Jordan's Ironic Armory and obtained one of his urethane rubber symbols to try on the suit.

The style is perfect and the size, while somewhat larger than the one I was working on, is better and makes the chest much broader and more impressive. Here's the new symbol laid across the chest - it will be permanently attached with Gorilla Glue.

Next, I needed to move on to the pants. The patterns for the pants were made in the same manner as the top. I created a base pattern in muslin, measured and added in some darts and shaping to make them more sculptural and form fitting, drew on the new seam lines, cut it all apart and transferred the new patterns to paper.

The thigh and the outer calf areas were constructed in the same manner as the arms and chest. The individual pieces were lined with the headliner foam and stitched together. Then the stretch areas were added in. For ease of wear and to keep the bulk down, the center front, center back and knee/inner calf areas were not padded. Here are pictures of the upper leg and lower leg sections laid out flat during construction.

Here are the pants mostly completed. There are a few alterations to make and they can be hemmed and finished.

Next steps are to get all the finishing details done on the top and pants and glue down the symbol. We're in the home stretch on this one. Stay tuned!

 

[Graphic Jordan]

Glad that I was able to help out brother, looks amazing on that work of art you've created. And man, those pants are insane! You make it look so darn easy.

 

[Athanasius]

I love this suit so much that I'm genuinely concerned I won't be able to take it off once I've put it on...

Sean, you are doing amazing work here and the suit turned out even better than I had hoped, and I had really high hopes!

Graphic Jordan, thank you for your symbol contribution, it's beautiful and perfectly suits the rest of the costume. I don't know if this was done on purpose or if that's the texture you make all your batsuit related gear with, but that texture will go perfectly with my Arkham Origins cowl made by Coofunkurly... Very cool!

I can't even begin to express how excited and grateful I am to have this beautiful piece.

Since we're so close to the end, I'll post pictures soon of the other pieces that I'll be wearing with this suit. And of course, once I receive the finished suit itself, I'll post pictures of the full outfit being worn!

Thank you so much Sean, I am so ridiculously excited to own this batsuit!

 

[Mystery]

This build is so boss!

 

[Omar Zaidan]

OMG!!!!!! this is the most badass batsuit I've seen being made... I was planning on making a foam one but now I saw this... OMG can you please please please please upload the templates :$ , I beg man cuz this suit is so freakin awesome !!!!!

 

[SMP Designs]

Glad that I was able to help out brother, looks amazing on that work of art you've created. And man, those pants are insane! You make it look so darn easy.

Thanks man! Your symbol is really a huge contribution - it brings the whole thing to larger-than-life.

I love this suit so much that I'm genuinely concerned I won't be able to take it off once I've put it on...

Sean, you are doing amazing work here and the suit turned out even better than I had hoped, and I had really high hopes!

Graphic Jordan, thank you for your symbol contribution, it's beautiful and perfectly suits the rest of the costume. I don't know if this was done on purpose or if that's the texture you make all your batsuit related gear with, but that texture will go perfectly with my Arkham Origins cowl made by Coofunkurly... Very cool!

I can't even begin to express how excited and grateful I am to have this beautiful piece.

Since we're so close to the end, I'll post pictures soon of the other pieces that I'll be wearing with this suit. And of course, once I receive the finished suit itself, I'll post pictures of the full outfit being worn!

Thank you so much Sean, I am so ridiculously excited to own this batsuit!

Please promise you'll take it off once in a while. Because, otherwise, ew.

This build is so boss!

Thanks man! It's a combo effort - there will be other parts shared soon.

OMG!!!!!! this is the most badass batsuit I've seen being made... I was planning on making a foam one but now I saw this... OMG can you please please please please upload the templates :$ , I beg man cuz this suit is so freakin awesome !!!!!

There aren't really 'templates' for this. This was made to measure based on a stock pattern and all the patterns are sewing patterns that are custom to this client. If you want to create something like this, I recommend you make a fitting mock up and draw out your own pattern based on the outline at the beginning of the thread. That way you know it's just right for you and exactly the way you want it.

 

[SMP Designs]

The suit is done and on the journey to its forever home Down Under.

 

[Reznor9]

Thats just beautiful and I admire your craftsmanship and creativity. You've inspired me to try my hand at making fabric pieces for some parts of my build if I can figure out how to use the sowing machine.

The suit is done and on the journey to its forever home Down Under.

 

[stevechewbacca]

Wow ! Just awesome ! oO