Portability

"... And men fear most what they cannot see." – Ra's Al Ghul

 A few more weeks of templating, acquiring materials and planning had me suddenly thinking.  In the 1990's incarnations of Batman movies and animated series, Bruce Wayne had made it possible to pack up his entire batsuit inside a suitcase, that could easily be transported in the trunk of one of his luxury vehicles, or delivered to him by Alfred, enabling the Caped Crusader to be able to "suit up" on the fly, in the comfort of his rear seat.  This function of portability seems to have been lost in the recent Christopher Nolan films, with the more rigid and bulky looking batsuits.

That being said, there was probably more than one reason that Wayne wanted to have the batsuit redesigned with more modularization between Batman Begins and Dark Knight.  On film, his primary reason was that he required more range of movement with his suit.  However, modularization also comes with the double edged sword of being easier to pack for carrying, weighed with its increased exposure to weapons penetration.

This had me thinking about portability and response time issues.  How realisitically can a Dark Knight styled batsuit be packed into a suitcase without possibly damaging the suit's features, and how easily can a suit be donned?  Typical response time for a typical metropolitan emergency department is around 5 minutes.  Can Batman make it to the scene of the crime before the police do reliably?

In the effort of exploring these ideas, I had dug out a rather old carrying case for an antiquated casette camcorder.  First impression is that this case should be about the same size of a regular carry-on suitcase, and should be the kind of size that the batsuit would have to fit into, given the requirements for both portability and anonymity.  It wouldn't do to lug around a few luggages the size of bodybags every time you're near the scene of a crime.

The great part of this is... This carrying case is actually quite durable.  In fact, I think it's made of some kind of polyurethane or hard plastic.  They don't make stuff to last like they used to, that's for sure.  The question now remains...  Will the suit fit?

An old VHSc Carrying Case

Interior with foam inserts removed

Range of Motion

One of the major issues I've been contemplating was the matter of having semi-rigid armor and still being able to provide range of motion.  After comparing the several different designs between the Batman Begins, Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises film costumes, and finally decided to go with the Dark Knight / Dark Knight Rises design.  While it does not offer neck protection as high up as the Batman Begins batsuit, and probably leaves a larger throat area open, it seems to offer a good range of motion if propped out properly.

The neck ringscales should ideally be held together with some kind of semi-flexible backing, and I realize that foam would not be the ideal medium for this, since with sustained extreme flexure, foam is likely to tear.  I'm currently contemplating a rubber material to be used for this section, and possibly for some other sections of flexible assembly backing.

I've seen a tutorial out there that uses bicycle inner tires for the entire kit and kaboodle, so I might go that route, if no other economical options present themselves.  That said, here's the neck template pieces and paper fitting.

Neck Paper Template

Neck Ringscales Fit

Edit: After much deliberation, I've decided to separate the neck piece at the collar from the rest of the suit, and velcro it onto the compression suit during "suit-up".  This decision was made to ensure that there is a good, tight fit and such that I can easily fit my head through the suit's collar.

Prototyping Begins

Whether it is your first or your nth DIY, it is important to know exactly what you're doing before cutting into your material, in case later you should come across an "oops".  For me, this is especially important, as not only is it my first time even creating a foamcraft costume piece, I also have very little to go by in the ways of detailed blueprints and other such good things, other than some fairly decent templates and instructibles on various websites and forums.

So, that said, the first step of course then is to create a prototype, using an easily workable and fairly inexpensive material: paper.  While paper is not great for bending complex curves and simultaneous 2-axes deformation, it is a great place to start, so you can get an idea what some pieces should look like.

I've decided that my first paper template should be a fairly easy piece of the armor, the bracers.  So without further adieu, here's the result of the papercraft today.

Gauntlet Paper Template

The Spike Assembly

Front View - Right Gauntlet

Left Gauntlet Fit

Left Gauntlet Inside View

Left Gauntlet Spike Detail

Foamies Templated

A Question of Reliability, Answered

Reliability and durability is an issue that I've grappled with for years, even before taking on this project. Coming from an engineering background means that sometimes you tend to overthink certain things in a design process. The common train of thought is that even if you cannot make something to be perfect, the goal should be in getting it to the point where it is close enough, that it is virtually unrecognizeable from being so.

So naturally, the question of "how well can this suit take a hit?" entered my brain as soon as I set down to the planning process.  Multiple things (like protective gear for hockey and soccer, metal plating, and flexi glass for example) have been sourced out and compared initially in a physical thought experiment.

While all of those might be great things to use and try, pre-made sports protective gear doesn't offer the customization that I wanted, and working with rigid stamped/casted sheet material is just too cumbersome and time consuming.

Enter James Bruton from xRobots.co.uk.  I accidentally came across this gentleman's video on plastic casting a foam item.  Lights went off and I said, "This is perfect!"  I can shape the foam easily to create the armor pieces I want, and then cast each piece in plastic, and voila!  I have plastic armor, without having to worry about the possibility of someone punching ol' bats in the chest and denting the foam.

After watching his video tutorial, I decided to contact James, and he was kind enough to give me some tips on how to make the whole process work within the specifications of my project.  That was very awesome of him to do, so here I would like to share his video for all of you as well.

The keen-eyed will notice that in the previous post, I've already included the Smooth-Cast 65D Roto Liquid Plastic Compound in the shopping list, which is actually a semi-rigid polyurethane plastic.  Perhaps in the future I will experiment with a rigid plastic compound also.

A Shopping List, and a SHOP.COM difference

"We order the main part of this cowl from Singapore."
"Via a dummy corporation."
"Indeed . And then, quite separately we place an order to a Chinese company for these."
– Alfred Pennyworth and Bruce Wayne

Every would-be hero needs to start somewhere.  Some wear their pajama pants or their swimsuits to fight crime.  Others wear a brown paper bag over their head.  Some...  Well, we won't go there.

As an obsessive-compulsive would-be-billionaire playboy vigilante with no special powers other than my own force of will and martial arts training, it helps to have some forethought and preplanning as to what to use to make a functional costume.

And, it certainly doesn't hurt to budget it all out and buy everything through a site that saves you money.  One like SHOP.COM, for example.

What is SHOP.COM?

SHOP.COM is a new kind of shopping comparison site that offers the most comprehensive shopping experience on the web.  SHOP.COM's shopping experts have drawn on their industry experience and insider connections to bring you the best collection of the stores you can't live without, and the brands and products you love – all in one place.

As of this writing, SHOP.COM is currently ranked #61 on the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, and have been named the most improved by ForeSee Results.

Not only that... But they get me the best deals to save me money, and even give me money back for shopping through their site.  If only every retailer was so customer oriented...

Anyway, on with the list!

Items available from SHOP.COM

• Premade costume pieces
• Adult Batman Full Mask
• Price: $35.00
• maCashback: $0.70
• Adult Batman Utility Belt
• Price: $19.99
• maCashback: $0.40
• Undersuit
• Eastbay EVAPOR Long Sleeve Compression Crew & Tights
• Price: $29.99
• maCashback: $0.60 
• Survival Suit
• EVS Cold Weather TUG Long-Sleeved Shirt
• Price: $29.99
• maCashback: $0.60 
• Answer Racing Evaporator Tights
• Price: $24.99
• maCashback: $0.50
• Gloves
• River Road Pecos Mesh Gloves
• Price: $17.99
• maCashback: $0.36
• Shoes
• RedHead Front Zip 10" Waterproof Lined Rubber Boots
• Price $29.98
• maCashback: $0.60 
• Armor & Details
• EVA Foam Sheet Assortment (Pack of 78)
• Price: $14.99
• maCashback: $0.30
• Foam Sleeping Pad (Already Own)
• Price: $13.00
• maCashback: $0.26
• Aleene's Foamtastic Foam Glue
• Price: $3.99
• maCashback: $0.08

Other Items

• Fabrics & Textiles
• Panne Velour, Black – 60" × 3 metres
• Price: $35.40 + Tax
• Elastic Fabric, 3" Black – 2 metres
• Price: $9.60 + Tax
• Elastic Fabric, 2" Black – 2 metres
• Price: $3.40 + Tax
• Nylon Band 3" Black – 2 metres
• Price: $6.98 + Tax
• Velcro 2" Hook-and-Loop Closure Tape – 1 metre
• Price: $3.80 + Tax
• Unique 15mm Snap Fasteners (Pack of 4)
• Price: $1.19 + Tax

Note: Idiot me did not check SHOP.COM partners thoroughly for the above items...  I could've saved about 50% off the cost of these (and got maCashback too).  Unfortunately fabric materials are not refundable...  Lesson learned :(

• Resins
• Smooth Cast 65D Roto Liquid Plastic Compound – 1 Pint
• Price: $25.37 + Tax

Note: Again, idiot me...

• Paints & Glue
• Dupli-Color Bed Armor Truck Bed Liner, Black (a.k.a. Plasti-dip)
• Price: $16.99 + Tax
• Rust-oleum Painter's Touch Primer, Gray
• Price: $5.47 + Tax
• LePage White Glue (a.k.a. PVA, or Polyvinyl Acetate)
• Price: $7.69 + Tax

Note: Unfortunately, glue manufacturers in North America are not very keen on telling you what their adhesives are made out of.  I had to actually be ask in a Home Depot to get an answer.  And while I was at it, I purchased these three times since they were most likely "available in store only".

Planning is key

"To conquer fear you must become fear, you must bask in the fear of other men, and men fear most what they cannot see." – Ra's Al Ghul

 

So, the first step of course in planning out a DIY costume, is to measure the body measurements.  Most people look at you like you're some kind of monster if you even ask them one measurement.  I'm doing 44.

Actually, this hasn't been the most horrific experience in my lifetime.  I've been getting back into my ab-focused circuit for the past few weeks so I was pretty confident of the results from a measurement.  However, the process is still a little daunting, and I'm not even sure I'd actually end up needing all of the measures.

For what it's worth, I'll never have to worry about picking up a piece of measuring tape ever again.


Measurements

• Throat: 16.5"
• Neck: 17.5"
• Shoulder to Shoulder
• Fore: 16"
• Back: 18.5"
• Armeye to Armeye
• Fore: 19"
• Back: 19.5"
• Chest: 38.5"
• Waist (at Navel): 31"
• Hips: 32.5"
• Thigh: 22.5"
• Above Knee: 14.5"
• Below Knee: 13.5"
• Calf: 14.5"
• Ankle: 8.5"
• Instep Girth: 12.3"
• Arch: 10.5"
• Instep to Knee: 13.5"
• Instep to Ankle: 28.5"
• Instep to Floor: 31"
• Circ. of Armseye: 18.5"
• Bicep: 12.5"
• Forearm: 10.5"
• Wrist: 6.5"
• Waist to Hip: 4"
• Waist to Below Knee: 25.2"
• Waist to Floor: 42.8"
• One Shoulder Length: 7"
• Shoulder to Elbow: 13"
• Elbow to Wrist: 10"
• Shoulder to Wrist: 23"
• Armpit to Wrist: 21"
• Armpit to Waist: 14.5"
• Midshoulder to Waist: 19.5"
• Top of Shoulder to Waist:
• Fore: 22.5"
• Back: 19"
• Neck to Waist:
• Fore: 19"
• Back: 19.5"
• Midshoulder to Bust: 10"
• Neck to Floor
• Fore: 55"
• Back: 58"
• Side: 57"
• Crotch
• Stride: 22.5"
• Girth: 60"
• Depth: 7.5

What is Project: Dark Knight?

Project: Dark Knight started as an idea.  A symbol, an incorruptible, everlasting dedication to principle.  Much like many other comic and hero fanboys out there, I grew up thinking how cool it would be to live a day in my favorite hero's shoes – along with the rest of the outfit.

 

Some of the officially licensed products out there, like the Grand Heritage Collection Dark Knight costume are actually pretty decent.  That is, if you are willing to throw down a handful of money for a one-size-fit-none, cookie cutter item that's exactly the same as the next billionaire playboy wannabe's plaything.

So, instead of dishing out large amounts of money for a costume that may or may not fit me right, and looks the same as the next guy's, my obsessive-compulsive personality took over and I decided to take matters into my own hand somewhat.

Project: Dark Knight is an attempt to create a unique, form fitting, and semi-protective batsuit that is (for the most part) accurate to props and concepts from recent movies and game titles, for a lower cost than the licensed product.