Old school cowl maker
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Costume making, prop building and other '66 Bat-related arts and crafts. Great place for info and helpful tips. Proudly display your latest creation. Please keep it '66 Batman related otherwise it will be moved to OFF-TOPIC.
(NO SOLICITATION). If you're looking to BUY or SELL something, go to the MERCHANDISE SECTION. Even if you're trying to assemble a costume by buying or acquiring different crafted items rather than constructing or customizing them yourself, then it belongs in the MERCHANDISE SECTION. Don't even ask somebody if they're planning on selling something within this section.
Be sure to read the Board Rules as well before posting for the first time.
Thank you!
Old school cowl maker
I know Wally was one of the first cowl makers but who was the other guy that Mede had hem? I believe CY offered them.
- Scott Sebring
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Re: Old school cowl maker
Wally, CY farmed out people to make cowls and never had his own make of one as product, Mark Puette, Brett Vasey, Ken Davis, Prop Department and then quite a few South American costuming places. There was one out of Orlando I believe (Southern Wing perhaps was the name?). And let's not forget the folks that simply tried to make their own for themselves. I searched high and low checking them all out and was very happy with my Wally one and wore it for years (still have it) but when Chuck and Lynne teamed up on it, nothing else compared since.
Here's some pics
Fist picture ever of me in my Wally around this time in 2004. Didn't have a suit yet. Just fabric for a cape.
A Brett cowl
Member Mauled Vader modeling a few back in the day: Mauled with a Brett
Mauled with Prop Department
Ken with a Ken Cowl
Mark Puette
From the first Live Forum Party in Novi 2006.
Wally, Chuck v1.0, Brett, Mark Racop's homemade deluxe and a Ken
Here's some pics
Fist picture ever of me in my Wally around this time in 2004. Didn't have a suit yet. Just fabric for a cape.
A Brett cowl
Member Mauled Vader modeling a few back in the day: Mauled with a Brett
Mauled with Prop Department
Ken with a Ken Cowl
Mark Puette
From the first Live Forum Party in Novi 2006.
Wally, Chuck v1.0, Brett, Mark Racop's homemade deluxe and a Ken
Re: Old school cowl maker
Let's not forget Will Reeb too.
I had a Wally cowl and loved it to death-- I regret everyday that I didn't hang on to it but it went to a good home. At the time I had it on a display in a hallway that lead to my studio so people would pass a fleet of cowls coming in, and almost always I'd have someone beg me to sell them one. Over the years I've had several Chuck cowls for this reason too. Since moving I've been able to hang on to the one I have.
I remember the 2006 gathering very well, and it was so cool seeing all the cowls lined up together. Was it there that someone had brought in the Hardeman cowl? Wherever that was THAT was eye opening, because all of the repro cowls were so much better than the real thing. It always makes me chuckle when someone says they want a 'screen accurate' one-- no you don't-- many of those were really thrown together.
I had a Wally cowl and loved it to death-- I regret everyday that I didn't hang on to it but it went to a good home. At the time I had it on a display in a hallway that lead to my studio so people would pass a fleet of cowls coming in, and almost always I'd have someone beg me to sell them one. Over the years I've had several Chuck cowls for this reason too. Since moving I've been able to hang on to the one I have.
I remember the 2006 gathering very well, and it was so cool seeing all the cowls lined up together. Was it there that someone had brought in the Hardeman cowl? Wherever that was THAT was eye opening, because all of the repro cowls were so much better than the real thing. It always makes me chuckle when someone says they want a 'screen accurate' one-- no you don't-- many of those were really thrown together.
Artist-Writer
http://WWW.ANDYTFISH.COM
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Re: Old school cowl maker
I had a Prop Dept, the Ken Davis, them Wally, and Chuck. Each one was an improvement over the previous. My head is 24 3/8, so near Adam’s head. Will made a great cowl for larger domes!
Some days you just can't get rid of a ... SHARK!
- Scott Sebring
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Re: Old school cowl maker
Of course not. Just didn't have a pic handy when posting this.
He brought it to Wizard Anaheim 2010 and would put it on people's heads.
- Ben Bentley
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Re: Old school cowl maker
Holy throwbacks! This stuff was all cutting edge at some point in its own right.
Here is my first cowl which was made by our pal Will Reeb, a really solid construction and I was overjoyed to finally own a cowl of my own but it was always too big for me from the get go. That being said, I made some fantastic memories in this cowl during my first ever trip to the US in 2009.
From San Diego Comic Con...
My second cowl below was a Ken cowl, but during the time when Ken was using the Wally shells that were pulled from a 3D scan of Adam's head in the mid 1990's.
My upgraded suit that followed featuring my Ken cowl...
Here is my first cowl which was made by our pal Will Reeb, a really solid construction and I was overjoyed to finally own a cowl of my own but it was always too big for me from the get go. That being said, I made some fantastic memories in this cowl during my first ever trip to the US in 2009.
From San Diego Comic Con...
My second cowl below was a Ken cowl, but during the time when Ken was using the Wally shells that were pulled from a 3D scan of Adam's head in the mid 1990's.
My upgraded suit that followed featuring my Ken cowl...
- Jimmy L. 66
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Re: Old school cowl maker
I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cosplay.
Thanks for sharing the great pics lads.
Thanks for sharing the great pics lads.
- Chuck Williams
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Re: Old school cowl maker
Yep, Mark Puette was a legend back in the day. Super nice guy.
Ages ago we made two for Clint Young. I think he kept one and sold the other. It was supposed to be three but the third never happened.
I think the cowl at Novi was the first blue cowl we ever sold!
The first cowl we ever sold was pink! pictured here. Sorry for the early digital image!
Ages ago we made two for Clint Young. I think he kept one and sold the other. It was supposed to be three but the third never happened.
I think the cowl at Novi was the first blue cowl we ever sold!
The first cowl we ever sold was pink! pictured here. Sorry for the early digital image!
Quick, Everyone, Flee for your lives, into the street!!!!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/WilliamsStudio ... eller_info
http://www.etsy.com/shop/WilliamsStudio ... eller_info
Re: Old school cowl maker
I love the purple fabric, I've got to convince Chuck to make me a purple version to go with my other Chuck cowl. Purple is the way I remember it from back in the days of bad color TV.
Meanwhile, I love seeing all the various cowl attempts out there.
Another cowl in my collection was the Ben Novack Jr set shown here, I was the Heritage winner. Ben was tragically murdered and his million dollar collection was auctioned off piece by piece. I'm pretty sure this was a Ken cowl too, but I don't have the eye to whittle down the makers. I can recognize a Chuck and a Wally but that's about it.
There was also a cowl maker named Batman-Joe who made a sort of hybrid Will and Brett cowl.
Now this one is labeled 'Will' but I think this is my photo from many years ago, and I remember the Joe cowl being very stretchy material.
Now this one is definitely my photo, it's my old studio in the old building, a rare case of some of the cowls being out of their covered display cases as we were moving things. There's a Chuck in there, an Ogawa studios from Japan and I think the one in the extreme foreground is the Joe Cowl. The Mattel cowl photographs pretty nicely.
Artist-Writer
http://WWW.ANDYTFISH.COM
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Re: Old school cowl maker
Back in the 80s when I was deep into Original Battlestar Galactica, I was lucky enough to make friends with people in the costume and prop department. I was loaned some props, mainly the Colonial Pistols and Rifle. I wqas SHOCKED ro see what they looked like up close. When I asked my Friend in the Prop department, H told me something that I've NEVER forgotten: He said,"Larry, we have to make props and costumes so that they look good for as long as they are on screen, they hold up only so long as they are on screen and we have to make them as cheap as possible!". I'm sure that the same thing held true for the cowls as well.
Larry
Re: Old school cowl maker
I’m quite sure any of these would not hold up to nightly patrols around Gotham very long. Let# just say that’s why Batma’s look changes every so often
Some days you just can't get rid of a ... SHARK!
- Chuck Williams
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Re: Old school cowl maker
It's one of the things I love about the blu-ray DVDs. You see all the chipped paint, tape and wires holding stuff in place!
Lynne says that one of her older Hollywood costuming gals would say, "It's going to be seen on a galloping horse for two seconds."
The original cowls were made with what I would call a "brittle" resin and fiberglass. The pink cowl has brass collar stays glued on the sideburns under the fabric to strengthen them. I got to glue one back in place for the owner!
The original fabric was pretty tough. Tougher than any satin I've seen since but of course it faded quickly.
I just want to say that if it weren't for Wally Wingert and his conversations with Jan Kemp, we would all still be trying to find out what the heck the fabric they used was!!
Both of those gentlemen's kindness to Bat-Fans , Jan's to Wally and Wally to me, changed my life and made more accurate cowls possible.
Lynne says that one of her older Hollywood costuming gals would say, "It's going to be seen on a galloping horse for two seconds."
The original cowls were made with what I would call a "brittle" resin and fiberglass. The pink cowl has brass collar stays glued on the sideburns under the fabric to strengthen them. I got to glue one back in place for the owner!
The original fabric was pretty tough. Tougher than any satin I've seen since but of course it faded quickly.
I just want to say that if it weren't for Wally Wingert and his conversations with Jan Kemp, we would all still be trying to find out what the heck the fabric they used was!!
Both of those gentlemen's kindness to Bat-Fans , Jan's to Wally and Wally to me, changed my life and made more accurate cowls possible.
Quick, Everyone, Flee for your lives, into the street!!!!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/WilliamsStudio ... eller_info
http://www.etsy.com/shop/WilliamsStudio ... eller_info
Re: Old school cowl maker
I made a pdf of Wally’s website going through the cowl mfg process. If I can find it, I’ll let you all know. I don’t know if that website is still active.
***admin edit***
Dead Link. It may have still worked in a cache of some sort. The pages for that part of his site were pulled some time ago during the site's re-design. I know because I'm the webmaster there. lol
***admin edit***
Dead Link. It may have still worked in a cache of some sort. The pages for that part of his site were pulled some time ago during the site's re-design. I know because I'm the webmaster there. lol
Some days you just can't get rid of a ... SHARK!
- Chuck Williams
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- Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2012 7:57 am
Re: Old school cowl maker
I know those pages by heart Lou!! LOL!
Quick, Everyone, Flee for your lives, into the street!!!!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/WilliamsStudio ... eller_info
http://www.etsy.com/shop/WilliamsStudio ... eller_info