Pimp My Batmobile!

Leonard Leon is a engineering robotics technician, and a precision tolerance specialist who also is an accomplished Batmobile modeler! We welcome him as a contributor to Pimp My Batmobile! He is the first modeler we’ve seen that has opened and hinged the hood and trunk of the standard model Hot Wheel 1:18 1966 Batmobile. It looks like Leonard has some great mods started and more on the way! Check out his dash lighting and running boards.

Here are Leonard’s hood hinging techniques:

HINGING THE HOOD
 
Materials:  You will need some aluminum tube stock 3/32 in diameter. Any hobby shop will have it.
Some JB weld (the 5 min J.B. weld is not recommended)  5 min or 2 ton epoxy. Hardware store.
Some sheet styrene 1/16 thick, look for the roof slat that are less than a 1/4 inch wide.
Sand paper.
 
I’m getting ready for bed so here is the short version. Hopefully it can get you started.
First the hood must be removed. The very tip of the hood dips into a little slot when it pivots open. This slot under the front is very rough. You must file this smooth so you will not damage the tip of the hood when it opens. Don’t worry the filing is all done from the inside of the slot.
If you look  under the very front of the car  you can see  (Continue reading…)

Andy Garringer is one of the most knowledgeable 1966 Batmobile officianados on the planet. As one of the Pimp My Batmobile development partners, we are poud to have his keen eye and skills on the job. Andy has created decals and photo-etch sets for other scales and kits of the Batmobile in years past that have graced some of the best Batmobile models in the world. Wait until you see what we’ve got cooking with Andy for the Hot Wheels diecast Batmobile!

Andy is in the process of completely stripping and re-detailing his own Hot Wheels 1:18 Batmobile right now. Here are a few of his newest upgrades:

1. The Hot Wheels beacon/siren (left)  is too small, the wrong shape and the wrong construction. Andy’s new version (right) is a modified Polar Lights beacon that he carefully hollowed out with a dremel and exacto knife. Ready for a siren light! (You can buy a spare PL Batmobile on eBay and make a mold and cast one yourself for hollowing out. OR - you could buy ours in our parts upgrade kit on the products page.)

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TPM Customs is the work of Tim Meyer, one of the Pimp My Batmobile development partners. Tim has created some nice high-end re-detailed Hot Wheels Batmobiles for a few clients and has had a couple on eBay as well.

In addition to helping develop many of the accessory parts for PMB, Tim also gets first shot at actually USING them for his car models! So his clients get some of the first ever upgrades ever seen for this car. If you have no interest in perforiming these mods yourself - you could get Tim to completely re-detail a 1:18 Hot Wheels Batmobile for you. I have to warn you - excellent modeling work does not come cheaply. If you are interested in having work done by TPM Customs, end us an email and visit TPM’s gallery of work HERE (coming soon)

Here are a few of his newest upgrades:

1. Chute details: Tim added metal tape, Jewelry wire and some gold metalic paint to accurize the chutes more like the #1 car.
 

2. Interior Details: Dash light array, start buttons, bat-ram lever and corrected Futura steering wheel are just a few of

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