You're right Joe, we did talk about the plumbers tape thing. I completely spaced on that.
The haphazard look of the mask does retain some appeal for me. I'm not sure I'll ditch it entirely, though I might use it exclusively as the flashback batman, for back when he first took to the streets, and wanted to hide his identity, making the mask with what he had on hand to make it with (not unlike how I made it... lol). For his militaristic look, though, I think Hypno is on to something. Last night I tried out those goggles (you and I talked about them for a Batman custom a long time ago, when I first posted Steel Rain wearing them), and they really do look like they are meant for this style of bat man. I painted the hood of that clone head to come down further, and it really is a start towards a still unique, but much less rough around the edges version. Now I just need to replace Steel Rain's goggles. Gave her a pair of shades for now, but I like the idea of her and Bruce wearing some similar gear, given how I tied her story into his.

Tim, thanks as always. I know you don't like the softgoods as well, but I'm glad you can live with them here. I thought the split cape on the armored up look was a nice variation.

Dan, glad I could surprise you a bit with the upgraded armor piece. Joe gave me the picture I used for that particular symbol - very strong yet simple, which I thought fit just perfectly. I was happy that the waterslide turned out so well, since it is a larger decal than most of the patches I do.

I'm definitely not done with the Bruce figure yet either. I didn't have the time to get his eyes right, for one thing, and I know I'm going to do something different on the outfit, just not sure what. It might be to give him an undershirt of some variety, and paint the shirt and/or coat to be a more cohesive color scheme. I'd go with a suit/tie look, but I don't like too many of the choices for the upper body otherwise. Maybe I could fuse one of the move Sabretooth torsos to this wasit. The loss of articulation wouldn't bother me on this figure I suppose.

What I like about the shippy torso is that while it's thin for coat, like you mentioned, it also still is muscular looking, which I wanted for Bruce, and it's not too thin in appearance when combined with the coat. I'm definitely still mulling my options to get that one completed, and like I said he was nothing but a jumble of parts and ideas up til about 3 hours before those pics were taken, so I know I'm far from done with him.

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..........

That's me standing up to clap.

Pure Awesomeness. Not much else to say that hasn't already been said. The cowl bothers me just a little but I can pass it off as being scrapped together like you said. Bruce is spot on, like he just came back from a weekend in the Hamptons with a bunch of models. I really don't think Bruce has to be a suit and tie guy. This works just fine. But that write up. Man, I feel like I'm there when I read these. You need to start a separate Excal site. Just perfect. With that being said, this is at least 2 post written by PFC Parker. Where is he? Come On, Dennis, get cracken'!

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Was hoping you'd like the meat of this post Millsy. Glad to hear you do. You might be glad to hear: 1) I've already remedied the cowl. I took Hypno's suggestion to heart. It's a quirkier version than the traditional one I was shooting for here, but is much much cleaner in appearance. 2) I think (fingers crossed) I found a happy medium on the civvy Bruce. Understand that the first version was completed very quickly, and it didn't have the finished feel to it that I wanted. I've since upgraded the look to a more Bruce Wayne type outfit, but still with a twist. I hope to have pictures soon. 3) Parker is done. But I'm waiting until I get his alter ego into proper EXCAL shape, and I'll admit I'm stumped.

Anyway, hope to post updates soon.

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I still have an update pending, to upgrade the mask for bats, thanks to Hypno's idea, and GIJoey's help on how to make it work best. In the meantime, here is my update to civvy Bruce.

Some of you will like this, some might not. I agreed with the people who thought the first version was too carefree of a look for Bruce Wayne. I honestly wasn't a fan of the color combo either, and I really did "finish" it quickly to be able to post him with the bats custom.

This version is close to the same recipe (different arms), but I've hopefully changed the look quite a bit. It's not executive Bruce, though it could serve as Executive Bruce after a long day at work, in a pinch. But for my world, there's really no such thing as Executive Bruce, as Wayne Enterprises is now owned by EXCAL. Wayne is a "director" for EXCAL, but is mostly a facade, as his time is spent mostly as the Shadow Knight Bat Man.

But, I think Bruce still needs to have face time in the public eye to maintain his duality, and not be found out by the enemy. I assume that while EXCAL is funded in part by governmental resources, and in part by wealthy investors, that there are numerous black tie events out there for fundraisers and the like. Or many other opportunities to wine and dine, etc... So the Wayne from my world wears his tux as much as Wayne from most media. But I have taken a nod from Bale's performance, and have made Wayne such that he uses these opportunities to establish an arrogant public persona, one that at least helps create a false hard-party playboy image. That's what we see here. Bruce Wayne, several "drinks" in to the night, and after loosening up the black tie. It actually has more use than just that limited scenario, but that was my initial motivation for making the figure this way.

I think a character like Bond gets more closely associated with the tux look, and making a neat looking tux and calling the figure Bruce Wayne seemed kind of artificial to me (whereas doing the same for Bond would seem perfect). But I asked myself what would be different between Bond in a tux and Wayne in a tux, and decided Bond would not have a thread out of place after mutliple drinks, ladies and gunshots, while Wayne might snap at any moment (whether for real or for show).

Anyway, here he is giving a toast...

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Yeah, that is what I'm talking about. That works very well.

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Now all he needs is a Swedish bikini model on each arm. Nice update.

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Here's the final version of Bats, with his new mask, thanks to Hypno then GIJoey for input. I think I like it a touch better when worn with v.1 of the armor, but both armor sets are still used bythe Bat Man, depending on the situation. I've also included some updated comp pics with the new Bruce Wayne, as well as various pics of Bat Man with other Knights he has mentored or partnered with from time to time.

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Yes yes yes. The new mask looks much better and really fits in with your interpretation of Batman

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Oh yeah, MUCH better. Gives off a 1939-ish Batman vibe - works really well.

How'd you make it?

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Now that's what I'm talking about! Perfection! I'll PM you my adress so you can box them up and send them over.

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The new mask totally makes the figure. It gives a Gotham By Gaslight meets Mission Impossible feel to it. Man, you are truly creative with your bios and figs. Keep them coming. Being a Bat-enthusiast myself, these customs are right up my alley.

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I'm very pleased with the warm reception to the update. I absolutely love this site, in terms of not just the positive feedback, but also the helpful suggestions. I was "ok" with my first draft of each figure, but I pretty much know going in now that I'm not done when I first post to critiques. And the feedback is making me better and my figures better. Love it. And I'm greatful for the help in making this combo better. Bats was easily a year in the making, and I'm much happier with the end result than what I thought I'd be even a couple weeks ago.

As for the look, I got the same original Batman movie feel from this as well. And the look is just "tactical" enough to come off as a disguise with function, or so I hope.

Chief, all I did here was fashion some bat ears onto the sandstorm Luke Skywalker goggles, and make the hood on the hooded clone head come down further to meet the goggles. My first set of bat ears were random bits of pointy plastic, but they did not lay flush, or point in the right direction. I tried sculpting them to fit better, but after trial and error, I started over and a Dark Knight head loaned his ears to the cause. I just paid more attention to position them better on the 2nd go round.

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The extra work paid off man. He looks much better. Also the bigger goggles makes more sense for all the vision systems he'll use instead of the contact lenses that the comics tend to portray him using.

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This is me standing up and claping.
You took a simple suggestion and did just right. The mask looks like a Modern Noir bat mask.

That really means a lot to me Joe. I know you know how much I struggled with this one, and your input really put me over the top. In many ways my batman is a bastard child of all your bat creations, as I'm only making the one, yet borrowed many things from all your various figures.



Thanks pluv. This guy was a year in the making, and probably falls short of the build up, but I'm much more pleased with the end result than I ever thought I'd be.

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