DX9 Batman Armor Upgrade?

I know a lot of people are blown away by this figure, and I admit the likeness is truly amazing, but one thing that has always bothered me was the fact that he is in a full rubber suit. To me a DX should mean a level of detail more then just a rubber suit. So I have embarked on a journey to add a second layer of complexity to the suit. Even though it wont be that noticeable and may even detract from the over all look of the figure, I wanted to give it a try. So I ordered a second body from Toy Anxiety and a black jumper from Kato and started cutting.

Here are photos of my progress. I will continue to post in this thread as it continues.

It's looking pretty sweet so far. Can't wait to see more progress and keep up the great work!

Very nice idea! Kato suit matches very well. However wasnt the zipper on the back?

Edit: doesnt really matter as you wont see the zipper anyway when mask and belt are attached.

Yep, beaten to the punch.

I bought extra bodies for this very concept. From the day I learned that it would be a one piece body suit I knew I wanted to try/see something like this someday. It's definitely way more accurate.

Thanks for sharing. I had a cloth Sideshow Stormtrooper undersuit in mind, this creation of yours is clearly better.

May have to try it out.

Yeah Kato doesn't have anymore back zipper jumpers so I had to go with what he had. Like you say, cant see it anyway.

Interesting idea. Can't wait to see it finished.

Nice work robbie. It's lookin' great!

Awesome Job Robbie . Great Idea buddy

very nice Robbie!

looks amazing and can't wait to see more man!

I was kind of skeptical when I read your title and first post ( before looking at the pics) as I thought the figure and suit was already perfect to begin with.

But after looking at your pics, I'm impressed

Awesome work, bud! Can't wait to see it done!

Nice work, hope to see the finished figure, thanks for sharing!

I hope you don't mind me posting my WIP of the same idea. I don't want to open another thread about the exact same thing (and maybe we can share ideas here) Here are some pictures of mine. Same recipe with Kato jumpsuit. Mine doesn't have the armor glued on yet as you can see in the pictures since I'm still refining the edges of where I cut around each piece of the armor. (And I couldn't wait to see how much more articulation this mod will bring)

Again, keep in mind that the armor is not glued on yet, therefore you will see it sticking out or separated from the kato suit. It should look all nice and flat to the suit once glued.
(don't mind the inside of the elbow area. In this picture, I didn't pull it enough and it's bunching up from when I pushed in on the gauntlets.)




I don't know if you noticed Robbie, but the chest and front part of the shoulders has to be filled inside (preferably from under the kato suit) so that the lower front part of the mask, including the bat logo is not too separated from the chest armor. Just enough to have a small gap for the cape, though.

What glue are you using? I have in mind insta-flex (cyanoacrylate) which is a flexible superglue special for rubber, but I want to hear if yours is better or the same.

Post away bud. No worries.


Did you put the Kato suit over the lycra suit?

I did and I like how it fills the suit out more. Tightens things up.
I also did not trim out the inside of the legs for the crotch and thigh armor. Wasn't sure how the crotch would play out and so I thought I would leave it. I like how it worked out. Probably going to keep it.

Glue- Im using my tried and true extra-thick Maxi-cure cyanoacrylate that I use for everything. Its not flexible but Im not gluing whole areas down, but just tacking certain points. Theory is that it will allow the suit to slide some under the armor.

Areas that are holding me up at the moment are the elbows/forearms and calf armor. Elbows look to thin to me so im thinking on how to fill them out more and also how to attach the curved armor peices that go on the calf and forearm. I dont want them to look too thick.

Looks like you may have his knee caps upside down.

robbiethepainter said:

Post away bud. No worries.


Did you put the Kato suit over the lycra suit?

I did and I like how it fills the suit out more. Tightens things up.
I also did not trim out the inside of the legs for the crotch and thigh armor. Wasn't sure how the crotch would play out and so I thought I would leave it. I like how it worked out. Probably going to keep it.

Glue- Im using my tried and true extra-thick Maxi-cure cyanoacrylate that I use for everything. Its not flexible but Im not gluing whole areas down, but just tacking certain points. Theory is that it will allow the suit to slide some under the armor.

Areas that are holding me up at the moment are the elbows/forearms and calf armor. Elbows look to thin to me so im thinking on how to fill them out more and also how to attach the curved armor peices that go on the calf and forearm. I dont want them to look too thick.

Click to expand...

I took the lycra suit off thinking the kato suit wouldn't fit on top. Since you're confirming it does, then I'll put it back on. I just hope it will still allow the lower body to be able to flex into sitting position for when the batmobile comes out. As I have it right now, he can sit.

Yeah, I'm also thinking of not gluing whole areas, but just the edges and some inside sections.

About the calf, forearm and knee armor, have you thought of thinning them down a bit from the inside (back) so they don't look too thick?

Let me know how you figure out how to fill the elbows, though they don't bother me a lot.

robbiethepainter said:

Looks like you may have his knee caps upside down.

Click to expand...

Since they are not glued yet, they kept falling off, so I kept putting them on repeatedly and that's how they came in the pictures. Before gluing, I will use my other untouched figure for reference on how the armor goes.

Looking good fellers! Anxious to see the outcome.

Man, this is pretty sweet. I will be checking in more often.

Commtech said:

Click to expand...

I'm going to assume these guys can do this:

S. Griffin said:

I'm going to assume these guys can do this:

Click to expand...

Cant the figure do it? Dont own one so couldnt know, but I assume that if its possible with the proto pics, its possible with the figure?

Very nice!!