Philly Man Building Actual Batman Batsuit
Some people launch Kickstarter fundraising campaigns to make bison wool socks. Others want to make a documentary about Phish fans (ugh). But Philadelphia University industrial design Jackson Gordon has a much more fun goal in mind: He wants to build a Batman batsuit.
Gordon launched his campaign called Batman: Real Combat Armor on Monday and has raised $450 so far.
From the campaign description:
It’s important to stress that this is not a costume, but rather an actual fully functioning replication of what a person would want in a modern type combat suit. This suit is not being designed to take on gunfire, as that would cost exponentially more and is above my skill set, but rather towards hand to hand combat and weapon defense against bats, knifes, and other club like objects.
I don’t plan on replicating his additional gear, such as the grapnel gun and smoke grenades, just the protective suit itself. While creating a protective suit is not all that difficult in and of itself, applying a theme to said suit, in this case Batman, leads to a lot of interesting design possibilities, as there is a plethora of base materiel to consider for inspiration and styling guidelines to stick to to make the character recognizable.
No, I don’t plan on fighting crime in my suit upon its completion, but from a design standpoint, it must be able to function in that manner in order to be considered a success.
Gordon says he needs the funds for 3D printing, mould-making and pricey fabrics. Naturally, Batman doesn’t wear polyester.
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