Pimp My Batmobile!

Archive for April, 2008

I was reminded by another poster that I hadn’t shown any of my  own custom work yet. There’s a good reason for that. I had decided not to do ANYTHING but collect parts until I saw what the Elite and Super Elite had to offer.  I’m going to get one of each anyway, so why search for perfect seatbelts etc. if one of the other models is going to come with them? I reeeeally doubt that they will – but you never know.

But since we are issuing a parts upgrade set I am getting to play with and tweak and modify a bunch of small parts. So I thought I’d show some of that work. This is the Futura wheel I am currently working on.

I am constantly checking products for usable components and I found this beveled eyelet at Michael’s and thought it would fit the new wheel barrel I had made from a pen.

I wanted the center speedo and instrument cluster to be able to be ‘gently’ back-lit so Read the rest of this entry »

Too little too late really. Good scale but otherwise unimpressive. I haven’t been able to figure out who is excited for and buys these DC porcelain (which is resin, by the way) statues of cars. Figural statues – I get. Diecast cars or model cars – I get. But static porcelain cars? Especially when there have been other nearly exactly the same versions of the same cars in diecast or model form? I don’t get it. Still and all – I might have even gotten this one – afterall it’s the 1966 Batmobile – if it wasn’t for the badly sculpted proportions. This one looks just like the Lunar Models version of the car from the 80′s. In fact there was a pattern plan knocking about that the Lunar guy had created so it’s not outside the realm of possibilities that someone actually used those plans to create this statue. So let’s do some math. For $250 you could get:

1. 8 standard Mattel Hot Wheels Batmobiles (plus change)
2. 3 Elite Mattel Hot Wheels Batmobiles (plus change)
3. 1 Super Elite Mattel Hot Wheels Batmobile (you’d owe $25)
4. This statue

Andy Garringer has my nomination for “Most Detail Oriented” Hot Wheels Batmobile Modeler of the year award. Not content to just live with the raised placard rectangles molded into the metal top of the car – he decided to remove them. And that means grinding. And that means repainting. And that means leaving the car in a bucket of castrol for a few weeks to remove the factory paint job. This will be a Batmobile to write home about. However  – if I know Andy, it’s gonna be a while. :)