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.