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Dark Talon Profile
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Caped Crusader

Registered: 02-2004
Posts: 2098
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How To Beef Up a V.2 Begins Cowl


Ok, not entirely my idea as some of it came from Brin but since I got mine finished last night, I thought I'd offer up a few pointers.

First you need the list of ingredients:

1 Begins cowl

1 black nylon 12" zipper

1 bag of Crayola Model Magic

1 12"x12" piece of couch foam

1 Batman face mask (available at Walmart... ADULT sized)


Ok, depending on the shape of your cowl from packing, you can take the piece, put it in a pillow case and pop it in your clothes dryer for 5 to 10 minutes. What this does is soften the PVC material up and actually makes it go back into it's original shape.

Now when you pull it out of the dryer, get a Styrofoam head or a medium/large nerf ball up in it while it's still hot. This will give the cowl something round to rest on while it's cooling and will help it hold it's shape.

After the cowl is completely cool, take the cowl off the stand and start installing the zipper. Be patient, work slow and make sure you get it straight as possible. You can use any type of super glue that you choose but I've found that using a gel base works best and minimizes the glue from wanting to run.

After the zipper is installed, you'll want to move onto installing the face mask. Start by cleaning the facemask and the inside of the cowl with rubbing alcohol to remove any mold release agents from the factory. This will allow the glue to stick better.

Now cut off the ears of the piece and give it a light sanding where you cut to make sure the edges are smooth.

Hold the hard facemask inside the cowl to get a good idea of where you want it. Now, carefully take your superglue and put a dot roughly the size of a dime onto the forehead and hold it in place until it dries.

Once dry move onto the temple areas, do this one side at a time and hold until COMPLETELY dry. After that move down to the cheek areas.

After the above steps are done, you'll notice a difference right off as the front of the cowl will now hold it's shape (much like the Spiderman costumes do with a hard undershell installed in the mask).

With this step, you've got a choice to make. You can leave the facemask as is without trimming out the eyes OR before you glue it in while you're test fitting, you may choose to mark out and trim the eyes so the "shell" won't be seen under the cowl.

I chose to leave mine as is being that I think it gives it a more 3D/armored effect, not to mention that it'll cut down on the eye makeup that you'll be wearing and I'm ALL for that!

Now make sure that EVERYTHING that you glued is dry, and try the cowl on to determine just how much couch foam that you'll need.

I started by cutting a 12" x 12" piece roughly a 1/2 inch in thickness. What you'll probably end up doing is to cut the foam in an oval. You want it of course to be no wider than and to lay in between the ears WITHOUT pushing against the ears as to not misshape them.

Start at the front of the cowl and glue the foam in to where it just barely overlaps the forehead area of the facemask that you've just installed.Move onto the middle and just spot glue the foam to hold it in place and then move onto the back of the piece.

The trick here is to NOT let the foam go past the "flat ridge" on the back of the cowl. Look at your cowl and you'll see what I mean.

You're entire goal here is to take up the slack/looseness of the cowl on your head without making it too tight to your face/head. (No one likes a blow fish Batman.)

Ok, on to the last step.

Open the Model Magic and get out enough to where you think that you can fill the ears. Roll the putty into a cone shape to where you can shove it up into the points of the ears. Cram that crap up in there good, you don't want to have air bubbles that could misshape your ears later.

When you fill the ears, it IS going to misshape them. Just move back to the outside of the cowl and work them back into shape by squeezing gently where needed. Use your judgment on this, piece of cake.

After all the steps are done, get the head back on the head stand/Styrofoam head, stand back and say, "Damn, that looks a LOT better".

Anyway, I hope this helps out some of you guys. Any questions, feel free to ask!

DT

Last edited by Deadly Lemur, 3/29/2006, 6:44 pm
9/16/2005, 9:43 am Link to this post Send Email to Dark Talon   Send PM to Dark Talon
 
artsee1 Profile
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Caped Crusader

Registered: 02-2004
Location: 14 Miles from The Real Batcave
Posts: 2409
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Re: How to beef up a Gen.2 Begins cowl


That is absolutely amazing. You are a true visionary.

Like they said in When Harry Met Sally "You order it in a way that even the chef didn't know how good it could be."

Paul

---
"There is no spoon"
artsee1.com Home of the Original One Piece Muscle Suit.
Email: [email protected]
Visit me on my Bat Costuming Board- Behind The Mask http://behindthemask.yuku.com/forums/1/Behind-The-Mask#.UA1Xzo6kLzI
9/16/2005, 9:46 am Link to this post Send Email to artsee1   Send PM to artsee1
 
BelmontBat Profile
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Keeper of the Cave

Registered: 02-2004
Posts: 4228
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Re: How to beef up a Gen.2 Begins cowl


Very nice! Those half masks are in the closeout isle at Wal-Mart now. I paid $2 for one.

---
Howdy.
9/16/2005, 10:03 am Link to this post Send Email to BelmontBat   Send PM to BelmontBat
 
BatmanEd Profile
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Dark Knight

Registered: 02-2004
Location: Gotham, Ma
Posts: 585
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Re: How to beef up a Gen.2 Begins cowl


What an awesome idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :up

---
I am not Batman because I have to be but because I choose to be!

www.TheBostonBatman.com
9/16/2005, 10:08 am Link to this post Send Email to BatmanEd   Send PM to BatmanEd
 
HTrayne Profile
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BOTB Member

Registered: 10-2004
Posts: 70
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Re: How to beef up a Gen.2 Begins cowl


Brilliant! Thanks Gents!
9/16/2005, 10:13 am Link to this post Send Email to HTrayne   Send PM to HTrayne
 
stampedemag Profile
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Caped Crusader

Registered: 06-2004
Location: Under a full moon
Posts: 2033
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Re: How to beef up a Gen.2 Begins cowl


That is the best licenced Begins cowl I have seen. Great job man!
9/16/2005, 10:29 am Link to this post Send Email to stampedemag   Send PM to stampedemag
 
Blackwood Bat Profile
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Registered: 02-2004
Location: ummm...the Batcave
Posts: 6009
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Re: How to beef up a Gen.2 Begins cowl


Awesome.
Last week when I got mine the woman who worked there said this very thing. More or less just as an observation on her part,but mentioned the plastic one looks like it fit into the rubber one to hold it's shape better.
I thought it was a good idea then and now after seeing it I'm sold.

John :flapbat

---
"Wile E. Coyote is my reality,Bugs Bunny is my goal."

9/16/2005, 10:48 am Link to this post Send Email to Blackwood Bat   Send PM to Blackwood Bat
 
rytchb42 Profile
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BOTB Member

Registered: 07-2004
Posts: 67
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Re: How to beef up a Gen.2 Begins cowl


damn awesome tutorial. was wondering, can this procedure been done on the 'gen 1' masks as well?
9/16/2005, 10:55 am Link to this post Send Email to rytchb42   Send PM to rytchb42
 
Bountys Hunted Profile
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Dark Knight

Registered: 08-2005
Posts: 647
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Re: How to beef up a Gen.2 Begins cowl


 :dropjaw What a great idea!!! Man, that is just too cool! You took a "eecch" and turned it into "Wow, that's cool-looking!"

Nice job bro!!
9/16/2005, 11:52 am Link to this post Send Email to Bountys Hunted   Send PM to Bountys Hunted
 
Jedi Magnum Profile
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Registered: 07-2004
Location: Southeast USA
Posts: 3928
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Re: How to beef up a Gen.2 Begins cowl


Damn that looks good. I like the recessed look of the inner mask. Makes it appear to be armored like in the movie.

After its all said and done, could the mask be plasti-dipped?
9/16/2005, 12:06 pm Link to this post Send PM to Jedi Magnum
 


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