First post - could use utility belt advice

Costume making, prop building and other '66 Bat-related arts and crafts.

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SprangFan
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Re: First post - could use utility belt advice

Post by SprangFan »

Of a do-over is an option, I'd find a fat dowel and fake the whole thing. You can drill wood all you like.
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Macnmotion
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Re: First post - could use utility belt advice

Post by Macnmotion »

Thanks everyone for all the great advice. I'll let you know how it all comes out by the 31st. Have a great weekend.
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Batfanman
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Re: First post - could use utility belt advice

Post by Batfanman »

Looking forward to seeing/hearing about your results! One other thing, you can put a piece of Velcro behind the buckle & in the contact area of the trunks to keep the belt stable on your waist.
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svl
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Re: First post - could use utility belt advice

Post by svl »

This will hold anything-

https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Scotch-1 ... /206180471

Love the belt!
Macnmotion
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Re: First post - could use utility belt advice

Post by Macnmotion »

svl wrote: Sun Oct 27, 2019 8:46 pm This will hold anything-

https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Scotch-1 ... /206180471

Love the belt!
Thanks. I can actually get that here in Bangkok, I just found it online. I can't get it in time, but will order some so I'll have it for upgrades.
Macnmotion
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Re: First post - could use utility belt advice

Post by Macnmotion »

Here is a photo of the Shark Repellent for anyone who cares to see. I will do some paint touchups tomorrow. I notice that the word "REPELLENT" should have been a smaller font size with more letterspacing. I'll improve that in the next iteration. This will do for now. I'll also look for an aerosol can that has a closer shape to the actual can from the show. This was what I had on hand.

In response to an earlier comment, I placed this on the belt so that it is off to my right side. This way when I sit down the can doesn't interact with my thigh.

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Batfanman
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Re: First post - could use utility belt advice

Post by Batfanman »

Looks great! See if you can find a can of WD40 - it's a reasonable size and the cap (red, unfortunately) is more screen accurate. WD40 also makes a product called WD40 Specialist which is a corrosion inhibitor. It's a larger can but it comes with a yellow cap.
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Macnmotion
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Re: First post - could use utility belt advice

Post by Macnmotion »

OK no laughing!! Taking into considerations all of my limitations here in Bangkok, along with my late starting date, I'm happy with version 1. It gives me a target for next year.

My mother in law sewed the cape and shorts. The shorts might have fit a 12 year old boy, so I had to take to a local seamstress to make them larger. She went a bit overboard. My mother in law is Thai and has never seen any Batman, much less 1966. So she didn't realize the cape should be big enough to wrap around the front. Anyway she did a great job.

The mask came in time from China. It's the only halfway decent Batman mask I could find in Asia. The cowl will be at the top of my list for improvement for next year.

The long johns are as close as I could come to male tights. I think they'll be OK. I didn't have any time to think about the boots, so I'm wearing some scuba boots with a fabric wrapping around the calf. The gloves are hand made -- by myself and my office manager. We've never done anything like them, so the fact that they even fit on my hands makes me happy.

So this is my first Batman 1966 costume, proudly shared for posterity. As I improve over the next year I'll keep you updated. Thanks to everyone who has provided me with input the past 2 weeks.

Andy

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Batfanman
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Re: First post - could use utility belt advice

Post by Batfanman »

WOW! That looks great!! You and your Mother-in-law did a fantastic job. Love the gloves and don't worry about the cape so much - it looks really cool and has a good length to it. Adam wore his all arranged on the shoulders for the most part and you've accomplished that look here.

If you are looking for a '66 mask and can't get one of the commercially available ones that are made by many of the talents who frequent this board, there is a rubber mask made by Ogawa that comes from China. It looks like this:
Attachments
Ogawa Studio Bat mask 2.jpg
Ogawa Studio Bat mask 1.jpg
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Macnmotion
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Re: First post - could use utility belt advice

Post by Macnmotion »

Batfanman wrote: Thu Oct 31, 2019 8:48 am WOW! That looks great!! You and your Mother-in-law did a fantastic job. Love the gloves and don't worry about the cape so much - it looks really cool and has a good length to it. Adam wore his all arranged on the shoulders for the most part and you've accomplished that look here.

If you are looking for a '66 mask and can't get one of the commercially available ones that are made by many of the talents who frequent this board, there is a rubber mask made by Ogawa that comes from China. It looks like this:
Thanks for the info about the rubber mask. I am hoping there will be a mask available this year from Chuck Williams, I'll follow up with him.

Well, I won 4th prize in the costume contest. My wife, as Maleficent, defended last year's title and took the gold. By the end of the night half of my utility belt had fallen off, mostly because people were knocking into it. The hot glue just didn't work. I was prepared like any good Batman should be, and had super glue with me. I succeeded in gluing my left glove to my pinky, and several pieces of the utility belt to my shorts.

So a lot of work to do for version 2. Looking forward to it. I danced the Batusi tonight, and just felt awesome overall dressed up as our favorite hero.
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Batfanman
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Re: First post - could use utility belt advice

Post by Batfanman »

Aweseome! Keep us updated on your progress.
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DrewMasie
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Re: First post - could use utility belt advice

Post by DrewMasie »

The fact that you had fun is all that really matters. I think the material that you used for the cape, gloves, and trunks looks about right. Nice job on the gloves; I don't sew at all, so I would never attempt it.

Looking forward to version 2!
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SteveA
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Re: First post - could use utility belt advice

Post by SteveA »

Macnmotion wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2019 8:15 am I notice that the word "REPELLENT" should have been a smaller font size with more letterspacing. I'll improve that in the next iteration.
Other Then That It looks Spot on. The font looks right and the white border too. How did you make the Label ?
I have the cans but have not made the labels for them yet.
Great job on everything.
Macnmotion
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Re: First post - could use utility belt advice

Post by Macnmotion »

SteveA wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 4:30 pm
Macnmotion wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2019 8:15 am I notice that the word "REPELLENT" should have been a smaller font size with more letterspacing. I'll improve that in the next iteration.
Other Then That It looks Spot on. The font looks right and the white border too. How did you make the Label ?
I have the cans but have not made the labels for them yet.
Great job on everything.
Thanks for the note. When making the labels I tried a few sans serif fonts, and ended up with futura bold. The white border is just a hard-edged drop shadow in Photoshop. I had already painted the cans black. My first attempt was to print onto clear labels on my inkjet. They looked great with the white label backing but once the backing was taken off it became apparent that the saturation of the lettering wasn't strong enough to be seen against the black can. I probably could have purchased white labels and printed on them (I added a black background around the lettering to allow for a rectangular label) - that would have been the easiest way to attach the labels to the cans. But I had glossy heavy inkjet stock already, so I printed on that. I had to test various printout sizes in order to get the label to fit my can (I imagine that anyone would have to do some trial and error, as cans are different sizes). After trimming the label, I used a glue stick to attach it to the can. Spray adhesive would have been easier, but I didn't have any handy. The edges of the paper where I had cut out the label were showing white (due to the thickness of the paper), so I used a black marker to color those white edges. And finally I sprayed on a number of coats of clear coat to protect the image and help hold it in place.

I am more than happy to share the file here for anyone who wants to use it. I'd like to play with the size of the charactes in "REPELLENT" first. Is it OK for me to share this file here?
Macnmotion
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Re: First post - could use utility belt advice

Post by Macnmotion »

OK I've adjusted the font size and letter spacing to better match the actual label. The best I could do was to measure relative height of the letters in the two words, and duplicate that ratio in the label. I then spaced the word "SHARK" so it appeared similar to how it appears relative to the width of "REPELLENT" in a low resolution image I found online.

Here is a JPEG so you can see the changes. The file has the same label twice, which gave me a backup when printing out. I have the original Photoshop file, a TIF image and a JPG image ready to share, once I'm assured it's allowed here. I hope someone can let me know.

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