Yet another Batman AO build thread...

[fuzzystrawberry]

My wife and I attended a sci fi convention here in Texas and used purchased costumes. I got the inspiration to craft my own for the next local con. I have been working on a batman arkham origins costume. My progress so far...

Gauntlets assembled and plastic dipped.
Gloves purchased
Pants purchased
Shin assembly almost ready for plastic dip
Bicep and tricep armor assembled and plastic dipped







I will post some pictures later. My shins and gauntlets came from the foam cave and the shins were HEAVILY modified. Before I finish up and dip the shins I have some questions:

Do you battle damage prior to dipping?
Do you spray paint on top of the dip to get a dull finish and then dry brush the edges a slightly ligher black/gray to enhance detail?
Do you glue the 4 pieces of the shins together or use elastic straps/foam straps to allow them to move?
I am thinking about strapping the knee guard to the two middle pieces that are glued together.
I wasn't planning on making a back piece to the shins. Did you guys just use straps?..if so how many and where?
If I don't have time to make a cowl what cheap one do you guys recommend that I can modify for this build for the first run?

Reznor9 and Bigbat23 have been a great inspiration. I even thumbed through Bigbats photobucket to see all his batman and cosplay pics. My kids enjoyed dressing up at the last con as well. If was fun to see another family enjoying it.
[URL="http://s661.photobucket.com/user/lakllakl/media/20151017_180228_zpsk6awqgfn.jpg.html"]

 

[Reznor9]

Thanks for the compliment. Bigbat was an inspiration to my build as well and was a great teacher and friend during the process.
To answer your questions.
yes I would add battle damage prior to Plastidip. That's if your physically going to make gashes into the foam like I do. Otherwise you'll just be cutting into your fresh plastidip coating.

As far as spray paint goes, I'm not a fan of using it on foam unless you're sure the pieces will not flex at all. Because spray paint will wrinkle and crack in my experience. Of course spray paint is an option, you can also use brush on acrylic paints which are more flexible and forgiving. You can use an airbrush with acrylic airbrush paint and there are also fabric/vinyl paints which are acrylic based I think.

As far as black pieces go, you can use black plastidip not only as a sealer but as a color. It comes out kind of dull to begin with. To dull it down more I just get dark grey acrylic paint, brush some on the surface and use a rag with a spray bottle to rub the paint around till it I get the look I want.

Weathering can be done also with dry brushing a silver acrylic. You can also use a silver marker the kind with the rattle ball in them. Just get some of the ink on the edges and smear it across the edge with your finger or a rag/napkin. I've also used silver rub n buff. There are a lot of techniques you can try.

i glued shin and piece above it together... The knee I strapped on snugly over the top piece for adjustability and added mobility. Kind of makes a slight squeaking sound though when I walk so might glue it down after all but I dunno. Foot guard was held on separately with elastic and Velcro.

 

[fuzzystrawberry]

Got my abs cut out and beveled. I have the pectorial armor cut, heat gunned, and beveled. So on to new questions:

Do you paint each of these pieces before plastic dipping?
Did you mount your "ab frames" to another piece that wrapped around half of your body to give you the side armor or was the side armor glued to the side of the abs? It would seem a full wrap around would be stronger but would add bulk which is not a good thing.

 

[LegacyArmory]

The last time I use PD, I sprayed a primer coat to seal up any unwanted blemishes and do a very light sand to smooth it down.

 

[Reznor9]

Plastidip is used to seal the pores of the foam. So you paint after the dip. If sanding is required I do it before the dip. If you want it to be additionally smooth you can first coat it with a couple layers of watered down mod podge or PVA glue. Then you can lightly sand that and then dip and paint.

 

[fuzzystrawberry]

Crap realized I typo'ed... I meant did you assemble and glue the abs prior to dipping.

 

[Reznor9]

I dipped and painted each piece prior to gluing.

 

[Bigbat23]

Sorry so late to the party. Thanks for the shout out. But Jerry has answered your questions. Looks great so far. Love the family pic. Awesome when the family wants to join in on the fun. Good luck on the build. Don't hesitate to ask questions.