One evening, I stumbled upon a video of an elaborate cardboard LEGO minifig costume. As fantastic as it was, I recall thinking that “costume” was a generous descriptor, as the person within couldn’t actually walk. It was more like a living sculpture, a theatrical set piece. Still, inspiration struck! With Halloween was just three weeks away, I set out to design and build my own unique version, complete with fully-functioning legs.
But I couldn’t make just any LEGO character… it was Halloween, after all. I decided to work in black (and sometimes very, very dark gray).
The Bat-Build
I purchased large sheets of black foam core, which is black both inside and out. This was crucial, as the cylindrical hands, arms, and head would be created by scoring dozens of long, parallel lines a quarter inch apart and curling the material, revealing the inner foam.
Beneath the foam core cowl was a face of colored paper. The eyes were a cloudy, translucent material, illuminated by an LED headlamp. More colored paper was used for Batman’s logo and, er, rippling plastic abs.
My wife Melissa suggested Oly*fun for the cape. This light and sort of plasticy fabric held its shape well, giving the appearance of the stiff little bit of fabric used on LEGO minifigs.
The elbows were made from flexible plastic drainage piping, carefully glued to the upper and lower arms. The “palm” of each claw hand had a hole large enough to stick my hand through. I wore thin, black winter gloves, ensuring my hands disappeared into the darkness.
Each leg was a long box with the back of the calf cut open, enabling me to bend my knees and walk. I wrapped each of my thighs in bulky, squishy egg crate foam, then stepped into the legs. It was a tight squeeze by design: the foam filled the boxy channel, and the combination of pressure and the foam’s grippy texture and pressure held the legs in place.
Or at least, that was the idea! Halloween morning was the first time I walked further than the length of my living room. As I walked down the street, I soon realized that the legs weren’t tight enough! The leg pieces slid down a bit with each step until they were skidding along the ground. I kept having to shimmy them back up. When I arrived at work, I attached long strips of duct tape to each leg and looped them over my shoulders. That’s right, kids: Batman wears suspenders.
The Bat-Bus
But wait, how did I get to work? Billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne may have the Batmobile, but decidedly non-billionaire Mark Grambau rides the T.
Suffice to say, my journey to downtown Boston took a bit longer than usual. After all, our buses and subways aren’t exactly designed for enormous, slow moving, boxy crimefighters with poor visibility. About a third of my fellow commuters excitedly snapped photos and asked for selfies, another third ignored me entirely, and the last third were miffed that I was taking up so much room. 🤷🏻♂️ One rider, however, reported his Bat-sighting on Reddit, forever immortalizing the LEGO Batman of Boston.
I’m happy to say the costume was a hit at work. For the second year in a row, I won Circle’s Halloween costume contest! Does this mean I can call myself an “award-winning designer?” I don’t see why not…
Bat-Conclusion
A big Bat-Thanks goes to my wife, Melissa. In addition to helping in the costume’s construction, she escorted me on the first leg of my commute, documenting the journey and ensuring my pointy ears fit through the door of the bus. Here we are, after my return journey (with my legs looking a bit worse for wear).
After a long Bat-day, it was nice to kick back on the front porch for a bit. Before long, though, the LEGO Batman of Boston resumed his watch, striking fear into the hearts of criminals—and joy into the hearts of trick-or-treaters.
