WS2 1939 cowl shell sculpture

[Chuck Williams]

Hi All,

Just wanted to give the gang here the first preview of our newest cowl design.

The WS2 1939 model.

It will be covered in black leather and the ears are incorporated into the shell so it will feature a more seamless look overall.
I wanted to embrace more of the bat in the character and not just create a graphic shape to represent ears.
This is a giant bat to me without getting to literal.

I wanted to get some new silhouettes and shapes as it moves in space.
I also tried to give a suggestion of movement even at rest.

PLEASE DO NOT SHARE THIS ANYWHERE! We are not ready to launch but I wanted your opinions on it.

Let me know what you think!
Take care and talk soon,
Chuck...

[Lou Szabo]

That looks fantastic Chuck. Do you have that bust you made a while back for comparison?

I’m glad you didn’t give it that beak-like face. This is a much more realistic cowl than the first appearance cowl.

Making it 3D sure does make it tougher than a 2D drawing on a page.

Also looking at Dan Jurgens work, I like the concave look of yours as it represents a real bat ear versus his drawing (see the thread I started in off topic).

Side view WS2

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Side View Jurgens

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However, head on, the shape is very similar.

Face on Jurgens

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Face on WS2

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[Chuck Williams]

Thanks Lou!

The bust I did awhile ago was made to look like one drawing so it doesn't compare to this BUT I am going to sculpt a more comic face for the display of this design.

The beak only works if your face is proportioned like a Bob Kane drawing!

I just leaned into the bat shapes rather than run from them...

[Jimmy L. 66]

Phenomenal Chuck!!
Will this be fiberglass as well? I am curious about the weight nd how it will sit on someone’s head.

[Chuck Williams]

Yep, lightweight fiberglass shell. Just a few ounces more than our earlier versions.

[rsaffle]

Looks fantastic to me. I like this shape better than the comic version too.

I was curious how it would look with a pointier cheek to nose area, so I modified the picture above. Just thinking out loud.
Appreciate you sharing it here first!

[AndyFish]

I'm with Randy-- here's what I would do; With respect to a lot of creators like Dan Jurgen's, they miss the narrow space between the eyes and the edge of the cowl. Kane's showed full cheeks. And the cowl line flows up to the shape of the ears (see purple lines).

Again, brilliant work, but 2c worth of comments.

[BatToys]

Chuck, that is a great looking 1939 cowl and I think Andy Fish's suggestion is good about raising the cheek line.

[Chuck Williams]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

The angle from nose to ear is thankfully an easy trimming job on the shell.
I will take a look with it in mind to see how it reads in 3D.
Like I mentioned earlier, it works great if the face is proportioned like a Bob Kane drawing. It looks a bit weird on a human.
As the line goes around the cheek the plane changes. The pilot cowl illustrates how it can get lost in translation in that area.

Andy, this is where the human element gets in the way of the design.
The angle is very limited . The serial 43 cowl has very slanted eyes and it's like looking through a keyhole to me, BUT , I'll see if they can be tweaked.

Thanks again for the fresh eyes on this!

[AndyFish]

Definitely like looking through a keyhole-- but I'd rather have that option during a fight than not being able to turn my head like the Keaton suit.

[BiffPow]

it works great if the face is proportioned like a Bob Kane drawing.

Agree. Bob Kane’s Batman, like Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, was 2/3rds chin.

(But the modified concept does look good.)

[SteveA]

WOW ! Chuck great looking cowl design. I love the more bat like ears. I incorporated that idea into my 1939 Batman Maquette design and think it brings out the true Dark Knight experience. I went with the slanted eyes, I thought that, with the brow design gave him a more stern and menacing look.
I can't wait to see it finished, something truly for the collection.