Superman Belt Assembly Line

I found time to bang out four belts this weekend, each of the slightly different in color than the others. From the picture, you can see how they are all subtle shades of yellow, but the picture does not really show the colors properly. Oh well. I'm really just going from memory on the color, but the main goal is for it to be visually pleasing in person, not in photos or on film.

Three of the castings are completely without flaw. One has a TINY air bubble one one of the straps. Pretty good hit rate, if you ask me.

I also made a couple changes to the mold in order to make the pulls come out smoother. Just a little flash trimming, and I used my cuticle trimmers to pick some boogers out of the belt loop parts. So as of right now, the belts are just coming along beautifully.

Another reason I'm cranking so many out is because the urethane has a short shelf life. Better to knock out a bunch now and use up my supply than to have it go bad. Also fun to do while I'm "In the zone" as far as belts go.


In other news, my friend Gino has ordered some swatches from his fabric contacts in an attempt to find a close match for the cape fabric. Not sure how long it will take to get results, but nice to know it is still in progress.

I also heard back from one of the companies that is supplying me with samples of the material that I SUSPECT was used for the texture on the outer skin of the fabric. This company is VERY responsive, and I expect to have some samples in my hands shortly. Which is really nice, as I'm VERY eager to find out if I'm on the right track with this stuff.

Cape Fabric: Now I Need YOUR Help!

Below is a pretty high resolution scan of a swatch from either a made-for-production cape or a screen used one. Or, it could just be a leftover scrap. I don't know. But I need your help. I don't really know the first thing about fabric. Don't know how to describe it, label it, discuss it. I don't know what type of weave this is, or realy anything about it.

And that is where I need the help of my readers. I'm looking for ANY information you can give me about this fabric that might help me find a good match for it.



Based on an interview I read (which is linked to somewhere in this blog) the cape fabric was a custom weave, and is wool. That's all I know. But I want more information. Is this a particular type of weave? It looks to be more deeply textured than say, my bed sheets, for instance. But how do I refer to it? If I wanted to call up a fabric store and say "do you have a fabric that is a thicker weave than my bedsheet?", would they know what the heck I was talking about?? I doubt it.

So please help me out, and let me know if you have any insight into this fabric, and any clues that might help me locate a suitable match for it.

Thanks!



EDIT & UPDATE

A few folks from online have profided some information that I want to record in this posting. First up, a knowledgeable fellow member "Gilmore of OK" at 300DC tells me:

"Well Matt, it looks like you have a tight cross weave wool there. I mean, I really wouldnt be suprised with the scale magnitude of what the budget and anticipation put to Superman Returns was...its was probably loomed by hand....specifically for Roth.

here is a shot from Abbyshots fabric they used to make their Neo Coats (Matrix) a few years ago.

http://www.abbyshot.com/graphics/new.../woolscan1.jpg

its a 4 knit wool cross weave...., pretty similar, yours looks to be single cross... hope this gives you a little insight to what your dealing with."


On a forum dedicated to superhero costuming, The League of Heroes, I got help from a couple talented users.

User "Redbird" was the first to identify it as a gabardine, which was then confirmed by longstanding member and talented costumer "GreenArrowFL". Which interestingly enough, is what was used in the Christopher Reeve superman capes. Booya. "callmemilo" said:

"as far as i remember, the interior lining of the SR cape was made of wool with a slight ombre to it"

I'm not sure what an ombre is, and wikipedia was no help. However, they did have a really great article on Gabardine, including a picture that (although low resolution) actually looks a lot like my sample, and is even made of wool.

With me being a newbie to this fabric stuff, I am not sure if the insight from the different forums is contradictory or complementary. Can a wool gabardine be a tight cross weave wool?? Is that the very definition of a gabardine, or or those different things??

I also fear that the skewed photo was what contributed to the idea that this was a gabardine? I do not know if the weave itself is skewed in my sample, or if it's just the way the sample was cut. My plan is to post this link to the various contributing forums and see what they have to say about it.

Big thanks to anyone who contributed ideas.


UPDATE II

MAN OH MAN, the hits just keep coming. I did a little google-fu on CallMeMilo's "Slight Ombre", and was REALLY excited to find out that this is the way the dye smoothly transitions from one color (or shade) to another. YES, the cape did indeed have that effect, and it was quite pronounced. Prior to asking for help, I did not know what the terminology for this effect was, but now I do! This will prove to be VERY helpful, as I was previously having a really hard time tracking down how to achieve this effect, as I did not know what it was called. The first website I found is full of examples of what this "ombre" looks like. Check it out here.

I found a little video that shows how the ombre dying process is done. Looks like a lot of work, and a lot of supplies/expertise are needed. I'm pretty sure I will try to outsource this process, as I don't want to get involved with that mess!!!!!


UPDATE III

I'm getting a little philisophical this weekend, and had a couple more thoughts about the fabric. In the interview I mentioned earlier, the costume makers say that the fabric is a custom weave, due to it's width. The bolt is obviously a non standard size, but what JUST occurred to me is that maybe it's a standard weave, just in an unstandard size. Maybe that's wishful thinking, but if this turns out to be a VERY straightforward gabardine, though just at an unusual bolt width, that gives me hope that I may either be able to find a suitable alternative OR might be able to get a custom weave of my own.

And yes, price is not a detractor :) I know it will be pricey, but I'm ok with that. This is, after all, pretty much the ONLY project I'm focused on right now. No home improvements, not saving for a new car, not saving for car repairs, or a new kitchen remodel. This is IT. And I'm gonna do it right. Hell or high water and all that good stuff.


UPDATE IV

Some folks over at the Replica Props Forum have chimed in with some information and confirmations.

User clayslinger tells me:

"Hi Matt,

I applaud your dedication to getting it right!!

Robins vest happens to be made with wool gabardine so I have samples.

Looks like a straight forward wool gabardine to me. The grain can vary quite a bit as you can see in the photo.
I would get some swatches from B. Black and Sons. The gabardine they have has that stronger grain line to it.

All the best in your quest!!
Chuck... "

Good stuff Chuck! And thanks for the kind words. I have since sent an email to B Black and sons, and asked them for information on their gabardine. Their website can be found here.

User Darth Mule tells me:
"Yep. You've got a gabardine there. Gabardine is characterized by its twill weave, the cross grain weave which you see in the pic. Looks like it may be a medium weight. 12oz or so, but that's just a guesstimation from a picture.

Similar to gabardine is a worsted wool, but I lean more towards gab, because you can see fuzziness and slubs in the weave. Both fabrics are essentially woven the same but are prepared differently. Worsteds are heavily combed and twisted to make them very smooth in texture.

So looks like you're on it. I think you may be on to something in your blog about the custom weave referring to width in which they had it woven. "

which is good information all around, and also nice to hear a confirmation of my theory that it is not the weave that is custom, but more the size of the bolt. Granted, Mule's "seconding" of my theory doesn't make it fact, but it's cool to hear from someone who seems to know what they're talking about that I'm on the right track.

I must confess, the whole internet thing is really panning out for me today! Lot's of REALLY great assitance from a few very disparate places on the net.



UPDATE V

User mdb from the Replica Props Forum had this to say:

"Looks like the fabric is a woollen twill. It is also cut on the bias so the edges don't unravel but it's making it hard to determine the weave. I think it's a simple 2:1 Z wale (Warp goes over two wefts and under one and steps by 1, the diagonal patterns sloping in the same direction as the middle of a Z- the opposite is S wale) but most places just do not know what that means Looks like about 48 warp threads to the inch too. It looks even so the weft will be the same

Gabardines tend to be worsted if they are wool and have a very smooth surface and have twice as many warp threads as weft so the diagonal line of the twill face is quite distinctively steeper. "

While I understood about three words in the post, there's a lot of good technical information in here that will be helpful in tracking down a sample. I guess the punchline is that mdb thinks it is NOT gabardine, but a twill. Interesting. I think it's time to get some samples in front of me so I can do some hands on comparisons.

Another Day, Another Belt

Now that I have perfected my process for producing Superman Returns belts, it seemed only fair that I move forward with it and produce one for myself. One that I will keep. I will actually bang out a series of them, as there are still a few finishing steps to be done on them that could prove problematic. The paint job is very subtle on it, and I want to have a few belts handy in case I screw it up once or twice.

This should be a familiar site to regular readers. Here is the set up of the belt.



I pulled this one out a few hours later, even though it had not fully cured. My workspace was not entirely level, and the belt turned out to be a bit fatter on one side. I doubt anyone would ever notice it once it was in place on the costume, but this is a nice piece.

The mold was a LITTLE bit dirty for this pour, and some of the junk in the mold was passed on to the casting.



It's still a VERY nice casting, and I feel the color is good. The picture shows it being a little brighter than it is in person, but it's pretty nice. I will probably use this one as a test bed for my painting techniques, and ultimately throw it out. I think my plan will be to crank out five paint-worthy belts, and then put the mold to bed.

For now.

Muahhahhahahahahh!

TDK: Two Face Coin

Today I have a neat little prop to show off. I ordered this online from a guy in Singapore who makes them. Or has them made.

It is a Harvey Dent / Two-Face coin from "The Dark Knight". I haven't really compared it to screen captures, but what I like most about it is the formality of its execution. It is a VERY well made piece! If there are people out there replicating coins to this degree of precision, I imagine there is a booming market for coin forgeries. It's a really nice piece, and I believe properly captures the spirit of the piece that was seen in the movie.





It's got a nice heft to it, and frankly, feels like a real coin. While this is not a prop I covet, for only fifteen bucks, it was impossible to pass up. It's a pretty iconic piece from the movie, and is instantly recognizeable. If you ask me.

Cape Origins

Something I'm sort of becoming obsessed with is the source material for the outer skin of the cape. Although I think it is VERY cool that I had the opportunity to mold a production made cape, it is not without it's flaws. The mold, that is. Because the cape did not lay perfectly flat, I captured any of the surface warbles and waves that were in the original. Those are poving to be problematic in the mold. There were also some shortcomings in my mold making efforts, mainly due to the sheer size of the piece.

I got it into my head that if I could track down whatever it was that was used in the making of the cape, I could tackle it from a different angle. This would also give me the opportunity to avoid some of the limitations imposed on me by having the original cape to mold. For example, I could make a BIGGER cape. I could make a more full cape. All kinds of stuff.

My main motivator though is materials. I am having problems running urethane into a silocone mold. Those two repel. If I can make a rigid mold, out of fiberglass for example, that would really free up my choice of materials.

Despite the fact that I have documentation of the outer skin of the cape being made of latex, I'm just not sure that is right. The way the production made cape felt and behaved seemed MUCH more like urethane than latex. Though I will be perfectly happy to have a finished latex cape, I'd rather it be urethane, for a number of reasons.

With that said, I started my search for the source material for the cape. I've learned a lot so far in my search about terminology and materials. I don't want to get into too much detail here on my blog, for purely selfish reasons. I just want to be the first person to find the stuff! Well, the first person in the fan base to find it. I'm sure SOMEONE at the batshop knows what it is.

I ordered a few samples online, and of the three I ordered, one came back, and it was the wrong stuff. Bummer. I have since found another place online that sells something that looks REALLY good, but there is no sense of scale to the photos. So for all I know, the diamonds are one inch across, which is way too big for what I'm looking for in a texture.

So that's all I have as far as updates go. I haven't poured up any new pieces, and don't have any updates on the boots. I DID clean up my workspace a few days ago, but I hardly consider that photo worthy.

Star Trek Insignia Pins

I remember the days when I used to drive all over town looking for some newly released toy or something that I thought was cool. I could waste an entire lunch hour bouncing from store to store, hitting up the three Targets in my area, and maybe a Wal-Mart if I was feeling spunky.

Those days are over, and I'm glad.

But I had a BRIEF taste of that aged misery just a few days ago, when they released the new JJ Abrams Star Trek movie on DVD and BLU-Ray. I'm not really a big collector of movies anymore, but sometimes something will come along that catches my attention, and that I deem worthy of paying a few bucks for. I figured this movie was one of them.

What intrigued me even more was the fact that Best Buy was releasing a deluxe set that came packed with four metal rank insignia pins, just like the ones in the movie. Or so the copy on the advertisements read.



(Photo courtesy www.scifiwire.com)

I zoomed down to my local Best Buy right after work, only to learn they were sold out. Feeling that nagging sense of ugly-nostalgia flaring up, I decided right there and then that I would NOT be driving all over town to pick one up, despite the fact that the 3 disk edition came with the shiny silver pins. No sir. Not me.

Instead, I went home and pulled up the interwebx. Best Buy had it on their website, but for some reason, it was going to take FOUR WEEKS to ship it to me. Oh hellz no. But they also have a feature where you can pay for it, and then go pick it up at a local store that has it in stock. I found a store just a bit further up the street that had it in stock, paid the bucks, and slept soundly.

I had a chance after work today to make my way up to the Best Buy, where my new copy of Star Trek was waiting for me. Nice! Not only was that a very cool process, but it turns out that the pins are REALLY nice.

Regular readers will know that I am a difficult man to please. I am a real stickler for quality, accuracy, and craftsmanship. And I must confess I was more than pleasantly surprised when I finally opened up this disk set to reveal the four rank pins. They are REALLY nice. The finish on them looks just like I thought it would, and the shape seems pretty good. I haven't done any side by side comparisons, but from what I recall the insignias looking like, they nailed it.

The pins are made by QMX, a company that makes all kinds of licensed, er, products from some cool properties. While I have noticed that they have broadened their product base to include some items that I find completely uninteresting, they do also have some really killer stuff. I think it is very cool to see such a high quality replica included in such a huge release, and I hope QMX gets the attention and kudos they deserve for putting out such a fine product.

Noble Collection Batman Grapnel Gun

Maybe I'm just a sucker for good advertising. I'm not sure. But once halloween wrapped up, lots of folks across the innertubes started posting pictures of their halloween adventures. A thread in particular, which can be found here over on a Batman costuming forum known as The Brotherhood Of The Bat REALLY caught my attention.

This guys TDK suit is executed really well. Amazingly well in fact, and it made me realize that the state of the union for fan costumes from The Dark Knight has finally reached a level where I'm interested in jumping in. I've already gotten a fantastic utility belt kit which I have yet to complete, and these revelations make me very tempted to pursue a complete TDK suit in ernest.

With that said, I've kind of had all things bat on my brain recently. One of the props I really liked from the Bale movies is the Grapnel Gun, the thing Bats uses to scale buildings and stuff. DC Direct put out a version, Noble Collection put out a version, and a very talented fellow prop builder who goes by the name JmTwo put out a version. I read a hobbyist review of all three, and I came to the conclusion that the Noble one would meet my needs the best.

But the timing was off, and I wanted the prices to drop. They never did, BUT a friend sent me some coupon codes for the Noble Collection website, so I was able to get it for 30 dollars off retail.

It arrived today, and I could not help but tear open the box, slice through the styrofoam, and unearth what is a REALLY amazing prop.



It comes attached into the display case, but it can be removed with a little work. I decided not to take it out, since I would only end up putting it right back in.



It has a working trigger, and a really smooth finish. The thing I like most about it is that it looks like a real piece of hardware. It doesn't have the soft edges or wonky lines that are often associated with a garage or fan kit. It's just darn beautiful. I feel that his is of the level of quality that the fan builder "Henry Wayne" has become known for delivering. Just a great piece, at a really good price. The fact that it comes with a really posh looking display case makes it that much better.

Oh, Now I'm Just Getting Greedy!

In an attempt to prove that I've gotten my molds and pouring technique perfected, I set out to bang out another chest emblem in one day.



Which of course worked like a charm! The colors are a little different, with the red being a bit more red, and a little brighter. The yellows are shockingly similar.

So very cool. I think I may crank out another one or two, just to have on standby in case something goes wrong, but I can now consider this part of the project done. yay!

Third Time Is A Charm

The turkey baister approach worked, and I managed to output a very respectable front half of the chest emblem.

After a little bit of trimming, I put it together with the backplate I made a week or two ago. Here are the final results:



Overall, I am incredibly happy with the results. It looks frickin' great, and I love it. But, being Matt Munson, it's only fair of me to notice the flaws. On the one hand, the main flaw that I was worried about turned out to be a complete non-issue. This is the blunder that I made on the mold due to negligence. It ended up causing zero problems. There are a couple of flaws in the master, which were passed onto the copy. Nothing I can do about that, and they are not terribly noticeable. If anyone ever stops me on the street and says "Great costume, but I couldn't help but notice that tiny flaw in your chest emblem", I will promptly pound them into the ground using my heat vision.

I adjusted the colors a bit too. The master S is almost a dark brown/burgandy, and the yellow part is an orange/yellow/green. While I'm sure this looked great on the screen all color corrected and perfect, I think it looks a little odd in person. That, AND it's almost impossible to match colors that closely by eye. I think the right move was to make the colors bolder, but at the same time maintain the overall "muted" tones of the ones seen on screen.

I have to say, getting this piece to come together has been a LONG road, and has proven very expensive. Time consuming is an under statement, but along the way I really learned A LOT about urethane, working with it, and how to get pigments to behave the way you want them to. I think if I ever tackle another project that involves urethane in any way, I will be VERY well prepared for it.

Third Pour Into The Mold

For my third pour, I tried a different approach. Previously, I was pouring urethane into the open mold, then closing the top onto it once it was full. This time, I'm starting with the mold closed, on an incline, and used a turkey baister to squirt urethane into the mold. I started at the bottom of the incline, so the urethane had to work its way upward into the mold.



The turkey baister was one of the 99 cent ones from the grocery store. nothing fancy. I actually didn't even use the squeeze ball. I had to open up one of the vents a little bit with an exacto blade so I could get the tip in there a little better. I filled up the baister with urethane, and let gravity do the rest. After a while, I ended up blowing into the thing to push more urethane into the mold, which worked out really good.

A few hours from now, and we shall see how it turned out.