# batman costume ideas



## dane82 (Sep 24, 2012)

first post besides my intro...

i'm putting together a bale-era batman costume and i need some tips.

1) does anyone have any suggestions on making a cape? i'd like to think it's as simple as getting a couple of yards of fabric and bam, cape, but i don't think i'm that lucky. mainly want to know how to make it hang correctly (i.e. drape around the shoulders) and how to attach it to the costume.

2) my basic idea is to use craft foam pieces attached to a compression shirt and pants to mimic the armor pieces. i think this will create a good effect but the part i don't know how to pull off is the chest piece. on the real thing, it's more built up on the chest than elsewhere. don't know how to re-create that.

3) i have the latex mask, it looks nice but it's built around an attached neck piece rather than the bale mask which basically just covers the head. this keeps it from being as form-fitting as i'd like. i can pull it back a bit and it tightens up, but there's a fair amount of extra latex there. fixing this might be as simple as cutting some of it off, but i'm hesitant to do this unless i know it would end up like i want. any suggestions here?

i'm at work right now, i can post some explanatory pictures later. thanks for any advice.


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## dane82 (Sep 24, 2012)

i keep forgetting to get a picture of my mask when i'm at home. here's a picture pulled from GIS, i apologize if using this image violates any forum rules and i'll take it down if it does:









i've heard people talk about shaping a mask with a hair dryer, but i'm worried i'm going to deform the parts that are supposed to be shaped a certain way. is this something i should worry about? is it easy to "shrink down" the parts that are too big with a dryer?


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

You wont be able to "shrink" it. The only thing you can do to get it to fit is pad it.


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## dane82 (Sep 24, 2012)

Shadowbat said:


> You wont be able to "shrink" it. The only thing you can do to get it to fit is pad it.


it's hard to explain the ill fit...it's not exactly like it's too big, there just seems to be excess material. i know that sounds contradictory but like i said, hard to explain, ha. i'm thinking of trimming off some of the material that extends down below the neck, pulling it taut, and then making some sort of neck piece to hold it taut. the mask looks great, it just needs a little work to look perfect.


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## dane82 (Sep 24, 2012)

i'm going to start working on the "armor" this weekend (using craft foam pieces, as mentioned in the OP above). has anyone worked with that material much? my two main hopes are that it is easy to cut clean edges with an x-acto, and that fabric glue won't bleed through like glue can sometimes do (not really bleed through, but just noticeably show on the outside where the glue line is). any thoughts on those matters?


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